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Frederic  Bancroft 

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THE 


ILLUSTRATED 


v> 


History  of  Methodism 

Great  Britain,  Am!;i!1ca,  and  Australia, 

FROM  THE  DAYS  OF  THE  WESLEYS  TO  THE  PRESENT  TIME, 


BY 

REV.  W.  H.  DANIELS,  A.M. 

AUTHOR    OF    "MOODY:    HIS    WORDS,    WORK,    AND    WORKERS;"    "  THE  TEMPERANCE    REFORM 
AND    ITS   GREAT    REFORMERS,"    ETC. 


WITH  AN  INTRODUCTION  BY  BISHOP  HARRIS,  D.D.,  LL.D. 

Ilhtstralctj  hirllj  ofcrer  250  ^ngrafautgs,  Paps,  antr  Cljarla. 


SOLD  ONLY  BY  SUBSCLiLPTION. 


METHODIST  BOOK  CONCERN: 
PHILLIPS  &  HUNT,  805  Broadway,  New  York. 
WALDEN  &  STOWE,  Cincinnati,  Cmeago,  and  St.  Louis. 

J.  P.   MAGEE,  Boston.  J.   B.  HILL,  San  Francisco. 

H.  H.  OTIS,  Buffalo.  .  •,  ,'     'VM;  BXIGGS,  Toronto,  Ontario. 

JOSEPH  HORNER,  Pittsbur^vh.    ;     •    i        \      \    't   \  '<,    jS.'FI  HiiUSTIS,  Halifax,  N.  S. 


Copyrigh^  1S79,,  by  V-u-.uv,  iS:  K'uAt,  Ne'v  York. 


OFFICIAL  INDORSEMENT  OF  THE  REV.  DR.  WHEDON, 
The  Book  Editor  of  the  Methodist  Book  Concern. 


Office  of  tue  Methodist  Quarterly  Review, 

805  Broadway,  New  York,  Sept.  22,  1879. 

Rev.  W.  H.  Dawfrls,  A.  M. : 

Your  "Illustrated  History  of  Methodism"  is  written 
with  an  accuracy,  a  life,  and  a  freskness  whicli  will,  I  think, 
insure  it  a  deserved  and  wide-spread  popularity.  The  numer- 
ous engraved  illustrations,  fresh  from  their  originals,  aid  to 
give  reality  to  the  narrative.  Every  Methodist  who  has  not 
the  time  for  reading  Dr.  Abel  Stevens'  great  work  should  read 
yours.  And  not  only  Methodists,  but  all  Protestant  Christen 
dom  is  interested  in  the  wonderful  revival,  of  which  Wesley 
and  Whitefield  were  leaders,  and  will  find  rich  entertain- 
ment and  quickening  power  in  the  perusal  of  your  pictorial 

history. 

D.  D.  WHEDON. 


PREFACE. 


During  the  last  Imndred  and  fifty  years  that  little  band  of  young 
men  at  Oxford  derisively  called  "  The  Holy  Club  "  has  grown  into  a 
world-wide  Christian  communion.  Its  regular  clergy  numbers  twenty 
thousand,  its  actual  membership  over  three  milhons,  and  its  adher- 
ents about  twelve  millions  of  souls. 

Methodism  is  supernatural.  Such  historic  marvels  as  the  Empire 
of  the  first  Napoleon  may  be  accounted  for  on  natural  principles,  with 
a  liberal  mixture  of  the  infernal ;  but  the  rise  of  this  vast  religious 
empire  cannot  be  referred  to  the  operation  of  any  laws  or  forces  known 
to  state-craft  or  philosophy :  science  did  not  discover  it,  logic  did  not 
deduce  it,  kings  did  not  will  it,  nor  legislators  enact  it ;  but,  like  the 
new  Jerusalem  of  the  Apocalypse,  it  came  down  out  of  heaven  :  a 
divine  benefaction  of  spiritual  light,  and  joy,  and  power. 

To  worthily  record  the  sweep  of  this  divine  movement  would 
require  the  inspiration  of  a  prophet  and  the  experience  of  an  apostle. 
Human  sight  is  too  slow  to  discover,  and  human  speech  too  weak  to 
portray,  the  majesty  and  glory  of  this  work  of  grace ;  and  whoever 
thoughtfully  approaches  such  a  task  must  ever  be  oppressed  to  think 
how  far  this  'theme  transcends  his  powers. 

Another  embarrassment  is  found  in  the  immense  mass  of  historic 
material  which  has  accumulated  in  the  archives  of  the  Church.  Hun- 
dreds of  volumes,  and  almost  countless  pages  in  other  forms,  both 
written  and  printed,  invite  the  research  of  the  student  and  claim  the 
attention  of  the  historian  :  though  this  embarrassment  partially  disap- 
pears when  he  discovers  to  how  great  an  extent  his  predecessors  have 
reproduced  the  same  materials  in  different  forms. 

Why  then  reproduce  them  still  again  ? 

To  this  question  there  are  several  replies.  In  the  first  place,  it  had 
become  painfully  evident  to  those  in  charge  of  the  literature  of  our 
Church  that  her  glorious  and  helpful  history  was  generally  neglected. 
The  able  and  stately  volumes  of  former  authors  have  evidently  been 
thrust  aside  by  the  mass  of  other  and  lighter  reading  constantly  kept 
before  our  people,  especially  our  young  people,  and  it  therefore  became 
the  plain  duty  of  the  ofiicial  publishers  of  the  Church  to  make  an  effort 
to  restore  its  history  to  its  lost  place  in  popular  attention  and  interest. 
With  this  end  in  view  the  present  work  was  projected. 


8  Preface. 

Again,  a  marked  change  has  taken  place  in  the  histonc  methods 
since  the  vohiminous  works  of  Bangs  and  Stevens  were  written ;  new 
material  has  accumulated ;  the  rapid  improvement  of  the  engraver's 
art  invites  its  more  liberal  use  than  in  any  previous  volume  of  Church 
history.  In  view  of  these  facts  it  has  been  the  endeavor  of  the  Church 
authorities  charged  with  such  duties  to  furnish  her  people  with  a  book 
which,  by  its  freshness  and  beauty,  as  well  as  by  its  vigor  and  com- 
pactness of  style,  should  attract  them  to  the  study  of  characters  and 
events  at  once  the  most  delightful  and  important. 

To  say  that  the  size  of  this  volume  does  not  admit  of  even  the 
briefest  sketch  of  all  our  distinguished  men  and  women  is  far  below 
the  truth.  ]^o  work  of  any  practical  size  could  contain  so  much. 
God  has  so  abundantly  blessed  our  Church  in  this  respects  that  the 
effort  to  record  his  bounty  to  Methodist  minds  and  hearts  would  be 
like  attempting  to  gather  up  and  set  forth  the  work  of  the  sunshine 
and  the  rain  upon  this  fruitful  land  of  ours.  Only  a  few  representa- 
tive characters  and  careers  among  the  multitudes  which,  if  they  were 
not  so  many,  would  any  one  of  them  be  worthy  of  a  volume,  can  possi- 
bly find  place  in  these  pages. 

The  author  is  under  especial  obligations  to  the  Rev.  Mr.  Tyerman 
and  Dr.  Smith  for  the  assistance  he  has  found  in  their  large  and  admi- 
rable works ;  as  well  as  to  the  Rev.  Dr.  Jobson,  the  Wesleyan  Book 
Steward,  for  the  ample  literary  and  artistic  materials  supplied.  The 
American  side  of  this  volume  owes  much  to  Drs.  Bangs  and  Stevens,  to 
Bishop  Simpson,  from  whose  admirable  "  Cyclopsedia,"  by  the  courtesy 
of  the  author  and  publishers,  valuable  literary  and  artistic  matter  has 
been  obtained,  to  the  leading  literary  men  of  the  Methodist  Church 
of  Canada,  and  to  the  numerous  biographers  of  our  deceased  celebrities, 
whose  labors  are  almost  oppressive  in  plentifulness  and  excellence.  To 
the  brethren  who  so  cheerfully  aided  the  author  in  his  tour  of  research 
among  historic  scenes  and  places  he  here  again  expresses  his  thanks. 

The  annals  of  Methodism  have  long  been  a  favorite  study  with  him 
who  now  attempts  to  collate  and  record  them.  In  a  retrospect  of  his 
work  there  are  portions  of  it  which  he  wishes  might  have  been  done 
better ;  but  he  feels  no  twinge  of  self-condemnation  in  view  of  any 
known  unfaithfulness  or  neglect.  Others  might  have  done  better ;  he 
may  do  better  in  the  future  by  the  help  of  this  additional  experience  ; 
but  he  has  certainly  given  himseK  unreservedly  to  this  work,  and  done 
it  "heartily  as  unto  the  Lord."  May  the  Lord  and  the  Church  be 
pleased  graciously  and  indulgently  to  accept  it  at  his  hands. 

W.  H.  DANIELS. 


INTRODUCTION. 


Having  been  requested  to  write  an  introduction  to  the 
"Illustrated  History  of  Methodism,"  about  to  be  published 
by  our  Book  Concern,  I  most  cheerfully  comply;  because  I 
am  in  full  accord  with  the  general  drift  and  purpose  of  the 
book,  and  more  especially  because  I  deem  it  of  the  first  im- 
portance that  our  people  should  give  more  attention  to  the 
study  of  our  history  as  a  Church. 

Methodism  is  not  a  new  system  of  philosophy,  ethics,  or 
theology ;  neither  is  it  a  mere  method  in  religion,  as  its  name 
might  imply.  It  does  not  belong  to  that  class  of  institutions 
w^hich  can  properly  be  said  to  be  "  founded  "  by  any  one,  as 
dynasties  or  schools  are  said  to  be  founded,  by  this  adven- 
turer in  politics,  or  that  refoimer  in  religion ;  and  the  author 
of  this  volume  is  right,  as  it  seems  to  me,  in  saying  that  John 
Wesley  was  "as  much  the  product  as  the  promoter  of  Meth- 
odism." It  was  not  John  Wesley  who  founded  Methodism 
so  much  as  it  was  Methodism  which  founded  John  Wesley. 
The  tide  which  bore  him  on  in  his  wondei'ful  career  was  one 
of  those  outpourings  of  waters  such  as  the  Prophet  saw  in 
his  vision ;  "  first  ankle  deep,  then  rising  to  the  knees,  then 
to  the  loins,  and  finally  waters  to  swim  in,  a  river  that  could 
not  be  passed  over."  May  God  give  to  the  Church  a  realiza- 
tion of  the  words  of  the  angel  who  showed  him  the  vision, 
and  who  said :  "  And  every  thing  shall  live  whither  the  rivei 
Cometh."  Ezekiel  xlvii,  9. 

Wesley,  before  his  conversion,  was  an  ardent  youth,  capa 
ble  of  organizing  and  conducting  a  Holy  Club ;  which,  however 


10  Introduction. 

fell  to  pieces  on  his  first  considerable  absence  from  Oxford ; 
but  he  was  no  more  capable  of  planning  and  leading  the  great 
exodus  of  British  souls  out  of  State-Church  formalism  than 
Avas  Moses,  just  after  he  had  finished  his  studies  in  the  schools 
of  Egypt,  capable  of  leading  a  nation  of  slaves  out  from 
among  the  brick-kilns.  In  each  case  it  was  God's  good  pleas- 
ure that  the  people  should  go  out,  and  he  raised  ujd  and 
trained  a  leader  for  them ;  but  the  real  leader,  in  both  cases, 
was  He  who  dwelt  in  the  fire  and  in  the  cloud.  Neither 
Moses  nor  Wesley  knew  one  day  the  pathway  they  should 
travel  the  next,  and  the  most  and  best  that  can  be  said  of 
either  of  these  men  is,  what  Paul  says  of  himself :  they  were 
"not  disobedient  unto  the  heavenly  vision."  Acts  xxvi,  19. 

The  author  of  this  volume  has  di*awn  the  portraits  of  his 
characters  with  a  free,  bold  hand.  It  is  somewhat  of  a  sur- 
prise to  find  among  some  of  the  illustrations  which  so  admi- 
rq,bly  adorn  these  pages  the  portrait  of  the  great  John  Wes 
ley  as  a  very  boyish-looking  young  man ;  for  most  of  his 
admirers  never  think  of  him  as  less  than  sixty  years  of  age. 
His  ritualism,  also,  during  those  early  years  in  which  he 
had  such  a  "  troublesome  soul  on  his  hands  and  did  not  know 
what  to  do  Avith  it,"  is  placed  in  full  and  striking  contrast 
with  his  experience  and  views  after  his  conversion ;  a  con- 
trast somewhat  startling  to  those  who  have  never  had  any 
other  than  a  general  idea  of  the  man ;  but  which  is  true  to 
the  life,  and  useful  Avithal,  as  showing  that  Wesley  was  what 
he  was  in  the  days  of  his  power,  not  chiefly  by  means  of  his 
great  talents  and  culture,  but  only  by  and  through  the  abun- 
dant grace  of  God.  They  fail  to  understand  him  who  speak 
of  him  as  the  "  founder  of  Methodism."  As  well  might  the 
Apostle  Peter  be  called  the  founder  of  Pentecost. 

It  is  a  matter  of  great  satisfaction  to  me,  and  I  trust 
it  will  be  to  the  Church  at  large,  that  the  author,  in  these 


Introduction.  11 

pages,  gives  special  prominence  to  the  missionary  spirit  and 
history  of  Methodism,  both  in  his  account  of  the  British 
Wesleyans,  and  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  It  has 
come  to  my  knowledge  that  certain  detractions  have  been 
attempted  against  the  workings  of  our  Missionaiy  Society; 
I  wish,  therefore,  to  say  what  my  opportunities  of  observa- 
tion enable  me  to  say  intelligently,  that  never  since  Method- 
ism was  planted  in  this  land  did  oui'  Church  make  more 
rapid  progress  in  new  fields  than  it  does  to-day :  it  is  my 
sincere  belief  that  the  work  of  God  moves  on  now  as  rapidly 
and  efficiently  in  the  missionaiy  circuits  and  stations  of  our 
Church  along  our  vast  frontiers  as  it  did  when  the  frontiers 
were  east  of  the  Alleghanies. 

In  our  foreign  missionaiy  fields  the  same  comparison  holds 
good.  Thei'e  are  as  many  sinners  from  among  the  heathen  in 
India  and  China  converted  and  brought  into  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  in  proportion  to  the  outlay  of  labor  and 
money  to  that  end,  as  there  are  fi'om  the  regular  Methodist 
congi'egations  in  New  York,  Philadelphia,  or  elsewhere  in  the 
United  States.  Or,  to  state  the  case  in  a  financial  way  :  it  may 
be  said  that  a  dollar  \vill  go  as  far  in  the  work  of  saving  sin- 
nei"S  in  either  our  home  missionaiy  or  foreign  missionaiy 
circuits  and  stations  as  it'will  in  our  oldest  and  most  favored 
localities  in  this  land ;  and  in  no  period  of  our  history  were 
results  any  greater  in  proportion  to  the  outlay  of  labor  and 
money  than  they  are  to-day. 

In  this  work  Mr.  Daniels  has  seen  proper  to  depart,  in 
one  noticeable  instance,  from  certain  fashions  which  some  for- 
mer \vriters  have  followed.  He  tells  us  that  the  heroic  age 
of  Methodism  has  not  yet  passed  away — a  statement  in  which 
I  concur,  and  which  I  wish  most  heartily  to  indorse.  It  is 
not  necessary  to  undervalue  the  present  race  of  Methodist 
preachers  in  order  sufficiently  to  honor  the  fathers ;  and  it  is 


12  Introduction, 

a  liistoric  mistake  to  set  forth  the  difficulties  \\4th  which  the 
fathers  of  our  Church  were  obliged  to  contend  as  entitling 
them  to  a  monopoly  of  heroic  honors.  If  the  piivations,  dan- 
gers, and  sufferings  which  are  cheerfidly  endured  on  our  mis- 
sion stations,  in  the  destitute  portions  of  great  cities,  in  wild 
mountain  regions  of  the  interior,  and  in  our  border  work 
both  West  and  South,  could  only  find  a  pen  to  wnte  them 
and  a  voice  to  tell  them,  the  story  would  be  every  way  ^vor- 
thy  a  place  beside  that  of  the  pioneer  Bishop  himself  and  of 
his  glorious  itinerant  compeers. 

Methodist  preachers  do  not  lie  on  the  ground  and  sleep 
in  the  woods  on  theii*  circuits  in  New  York  and  Pennsyl- 
vania, for  the  simple  reason  that  there  is  no  occasion  for  such 
conduct;  but  they  are  doing  this  veiy  thing  yet  in  Western 
and  Southern  fields.  Men  are  not  mobbed  and  murdered  in 
Maryland  and  Virginia  for  doing  the  work  of  a  minister  in  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  but  they  are  mobbed  and  mur- 
dered in  Georgia,  Alabama,  and  Arkansas.  If  any  doubtful 
brother  is  anxious  to  know  whether  there  is  still  a  call  for 
heroism  of  the  old  stamp  in  the  Methodist  ministiy,  let  him 
volunteer  for  some  of  our  frontier  appointments ;  and  he  may 
be.  able  to  satisfy  himself,  within  a  very  biief  space  of  time, 
that  ^Ae-ve  are  heroic  days — martyr  days,  even — of  Methodism, 
as  truly  as  in  the  closing  years  of  the  last  century. 

Our  Church  has  never  yet  been  frightened  from  its  duty 
by  difficulties.  However  hard  the  work,  or  however  great 
the  danger,  there  have  always  been  eager  volunteers  for  the 
service ;  and  such,  no  less  than  heretofore,  is  the  state  of  the 
case  to-day. 

At  the  risk  of  being  misunderstood,  though  the  fact  is 
plain  enough,  I  should  like  to  call  attention  to  what  the  au- 
thor in  this  volume  calls  "The  overflow  of  Methodism."  For 
many  years  the  social  status  of  our  Societies  was  such  that 


Introduction.  13 

theie  was  a  constant  temptation  for  persons  who  were  con- 
verted among  us  to  unite  with  some  more  popular  body  of 
believers ;  and  thus  the  figures  given  in  our  Minutes  from 
year  to  year  have  not  shown  the  whole  number  of  conver- 
sions which  have  blessed  the  labors  of  our  preachers  and 
people.  No  accurate  statement  of  this  constant  overflow  can 
ever  be  made,  but  the  movement  has  been  considerable  and 
important,  and  while  we  have  gi'own  less  rapidly  because  of 
it,  other  denominations  have  been  strengthened  and  cheered 
thereby.  Perhaps,  also,  the  doctrines  and  methods  of  our 
sister  Churches  have  through  this  agency  been  somewhat 
modified  and  inspirited.  If  so,  we  give  thanks  to  Almighty 
God. 

If  Methodism  were  able  to  claim  all  its  own  it  would 
probably  be  superior  in  numbers  to  all  the  other  orthodox 
Protestant  bodies  in  America  put  together:  a  state  of  things 
which  would  neither  be  good  for  us  nor  for  our  neighbors. 
No  insignificant  portion  of  the  best  working  talent  of  othei' 
denominations  has  been  under  Methodist  tutelage.  We  Judge 
this  large  class  of  Christian  workers  to  be  all  the  more  com- 
petent and  effective  on  this  very  account,  and  we  have  no 
sympathy  with  those  who  accuse  Methodism  of  some  inher- 
ent weakness  because  it  does  not  always  retain  in  its  own 
communion  all  persons  converted  at  its  altars. 

A  word  ought  to  be  added  as  a  Just  commendation  of  this 
latest  and  best  work  of  the  author,  whose  accounts  of  other 
great  religious  movements  have  been  so  widely  circulated  and 
read,  and  which  have  proved  so  great  a  blessing,  both  in 
England  and  America.  He  has  done  his  work  well — faith- 
fully, loyally,  wisely,  lovingly.  May  it  be  approved  by  the 
great  Head  of  the  Church,  and  be  a  great  and  lasting  blessing 
to  our  people. 

WILLIAM  L.  HARRIS. 


COKTENTS. 


PAET  I. 


WESLEY   AND    HIS    TIMES. 


CHAPTER  I. 

ENGLAND  IN  THE   EIGHTEENTH   CENTURY. 

England  under  the  Georges. — The  Church  in  England  vs.  the  Church  of  En- 
gland.— Outline  of  English  State  Churchism. — The  Reformation,  only  a  partial 
and  temporary  success  in  England. — Irreligious  learning. — The  Dissenters. — 
State  of  religion  in  Scotland. — Ireland. — Methodism  a  benediction Page  43 

CHAPTER  II. 

THE  WESLEY  FAMILY. 

John  "Westley. — Samuel  Wesley. — The  mother  of  the  Wesleys. — Mrs.  "Wes- 
ley's Home  School. — Mrs.  Wesley!s  "Conventicle." — Epworth  politics. — A 
brand  plucked  from  the  burning. — Samuel  Wesley  as  an  author. — The  Charter- 
House  School Page  60 

CHAPTER    III. 

THE   HOLY  CLUB. 

Wesley  ordained. — John  Wesley,  "Sometime  Fellow  of  Lincoln  College." — 
Charles  Wesley,  the  first  "Methodist." — Pious  labors  of  the  Holy  Club. — George 
Whitefleld. — Whitefield  at  Oxford. — Whitefield's  experience  of  conversion. — 
The  doctrines  of  the  Holy  Club. — The  Holy  Club  broken  up Page  79 

CHAPTER  IV. 

THE  MISSION  TO   AMERICA. 

A  soul  to  be  saved. — The  colony  of  Georgia. — A  word  in  season. — Wesley's 
scholarship. — Troubles  thicJten. — An  "escape  from  matrimony." — Wesley's  fare- 
well to  Georgia Page  104 

CHAPTER  V. 

WHITEFIELD  ORDAINED  AND  THE  WESLEYS  CONVERTED. 

Whitefield's  theology. — Praying  without  a  book. — Whitefield  sails  for  Geor- 
gia.— The  conversion  of  Charles  Wesley. — The  conversion  of  John  Wesley. — 
Wesley  at  Herrnhut. — Mrs.  Wesley's  conversion Pago  123 


Contents.  15 

CHAPTER  VI. 

THE    GOSPEL   IN   WOED    AND    IN   POWEE. 

Prison  ministry. — Society  and  banks. — Whitefield's  return  from  America. — 
Power  accompanies  the  Word Page  147 

CHAPTER  VII. 

"  THE    WOELD    IS    MY    PAEISH." 

Field-preaching. — Bristol  and  Kingswood. — Wesley  takes  to  the  fields. — The 
world  is  my  Parish. — The  Kingswood  school. — Wesley  and  Beau  Nash. — John 
Wesley  and  his  critics. — Dr.  Doddridge  on  the  Methodists. — The  "New  Room" 
and  the  "Old  Foundry. — Some  Moravian  heresies  — Mr.  Wesley  leaves  the  Mo- 
ravian Society. — The  Methodist  United  Society. — Lay-preachers. — Howell  Harris. 
— John  Cennick. — Thomas  Maxfield Page  162 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE    CALVINISTIC    CONTEOVEEST. 

Opinions. — Lady  Huntingdon. — Trevecca  College. — Class-meetings. — The  quar- 
terly visitation.  —  Wesley  at  Newcastle.  —  Wesley  preaching  on  his  father's 
tomb. — Death  of  Mrs.  Wesley. — Mrs.  Wesley's  new  tomb Page  185 

CHAPTER  IX. 

STOEMY  DAYS  FOE  METHODISM. 

The  Black  Country. — Wesley  and  the  Methodists  denounced  as  Papists  and 
traitors. — Wesley  faces  his  enemies. — Tlie  press-gang. — Caught  in  his  own  trap. 
John  Nelson. — Nelson  impressed  for  a  soldier Page  207 

CHAPTER  X. 

"FIGHTINGS    WITHOUT    AND    FEAES    WITHIN." 

The  first  Methodist  Conference. — Wesley's  Churchmanship. — Early  Methodist 
reading  houses. — Methodism  carried  into  Ireland. — Methodism  in  Cork. — Wesley 
as  a  disciplinarian. — Wesley's  money  matters. — The  Foundry  Bank. — Wesley  as  a 
medical  man. — Another  "escape  from  matrimony." — Marriage  and  Separation. — 
More  matrimony. — Marriage  of  George  Whitefield Page  226 

CHAPTER  XI. 

rWO    HISTOEIC    lEISH    METHODISTS. 

Adam  Clarke. — Ordination  of  Adam  Clarke. — A  narrow  escape. — Clarke's  Com- 
mentary.— Adam  Clarke's  views  of  marriage. — Adam  Clarke's  theology. — Gid- 
eon Ouseley. — Ouseley's  conversion. — His  call  to  the  ministry. — Ouseley  among 
the  Irish  peasants. — A  sacred  language. — A  saddle  for  a  pulpit. — Irish  Methodist 
emigrants.— Ouseley  as  an  author. — M'Quigg  and  the  Irish  Bible Page  2.36 


16  Contents. 

CHAPTER  XII. 

TRIALS    AND    TRIUMPHS  :     FRIENDS    AND    FOES. 

Methodism  in  Scotland. — Early  Methodist  discipline. — Conference  roll  in  1751. 
— The  Rev.  John  Fletcher. — Checks  to  Antinomianism. — Fletcher's  "appeal."— 
Mrs.  Mary  Fletcher. — The  Fletcher  Memorial  College  and  Chapel. — Revolt  of  the 
American  Colonics. — The  courtesies  of  debate. — More  Wesleyan  politics. — Row- 
land Hill  vs.  John  Wesley. — City  Road  Chapel. — A  decline. — Strength  of  Meth- 
odism in  1780 Page  279 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

A    WORTHY    CLIMAX    TO    A    GLORIOUS    CAREER. 

Wesleyan  ordinations. — Alexander  Mather  ordained  as  superintendent. — The 
deed  of  declaration. — A  vigorous  old  age. — Death  of  Chas.  Wesley. — Tiie  tomb 
of  Chas.  Wesley. — Wesleyan  hymnology. — Chas.  Wesley  as  a  poet. — Wesley  and 
the  Anti-Slavery  Society. — Wm.  Wilberforce. — Wesley's  last  visit  to  Ireland. — 
The  Irish  Conference. — Wesley's  last  circuit.— A  brave  ride. — "Visiting  the  classes. 
—Wesley's  last  Conference.— Statistics  1780  to  1790.— Plain  words  to  rich  Meth- 
odists.—Death  of  John  Wesley.— Wesley's  will. — Wesley's  tomb Page  312 

CHAPTER    XIV. 

IN    MEMORIAM. 

Monument  to  John  and  Chas,  Wesley  in  Westminster  Abbey. — Dean  Stanley  on 
John  Wesley. — Bishop  Simpson's  response. — Livingstone  and  Wesley. — John  Wes- 
ley as  a  preacher. — Wesley  as  a  scholar. — Wesley's  method  in  theology.  .Page  349 


PAET  11. 


AMERICAN    METHODISM. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

METHODISM    TRANSPLANTED    TO   AMERICA. 

The  heroic  age  of  Methodism. — Methodism  a  theological  reform. — 1776  and 
before. — Robert  Strawbridge. — Methodism  in  New  York. — Philip  Embury. — The 
first  Methodist  sermon  in  New  York. — Barbara  Heck. — Captain  Webb. — The  rig- 
ging loft. — The  first  Methodist  Church  in  America. — Taylor's  letter  to  Wesley. — 
Early  Methodism  in  Philadelphia. — St.  George's  Church. — Methodist  oeginning 
in  Baltimore Page  360 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

THE   ENGLISH   MISSIONARIES. 

Volunteers  for  America. — Robert  Waltham. — Boardman  and  Pilmore. — The  ar- 
rival of  the  missionaries  at  Philadelphia. — Francis  Asbury. — Elizabeth  Asbury.  - 


Contents.  17 

Aflbury's  views  on  itinerancy. — Rankin  and  Shadford. — First  Methodist  Confer 
€nce  in  America. — Asbury  settles  the  Societies  in  Baltimore. — Strawberry  Alley. 
— Lovely  Lane. — The  last  missionaries  from  England. — Whitefield's  last  visit  to 
America. — Whitefield's  slave. — The  quadruple  alliance Page  404 

CHAPTER  XVII. 

METHODISM    AND    THE    AMERICAN    REVOLUTION. 

Wesley's  "  Calm  Address." — William  Watters. — Philip  Gatch. — Benj.  Abbott. — 
•Gough  of  Perry  Hall. — The  second  American  Conference. — Freeborn  Garrettson. 
— A  prison  for  a  pulpit. — A  great  revival  in  Virginia. — Asbury  in  seclusion. — The 
English  missionaries  depart. — Otterbein  and  the  United  Bretliren Page  437 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 

A    CHURCH    FOR   THE    NEW    NATION. 

War  versus  religion. — Asbury  again  at  the  front. — An  ordained  Wesleyan  min 
istry. — The  Rev.  Thomas  Coke,  LL.D. — Dr.  Coke  becomes  a  Methodist. — Dr.  Coke 
and  Methodist  Missions. — A  missionary  wife. — Coke's  Commentary. — Dr.  Coke 
and  the  Irish  Conference. — British  Wesleyan  Home  Missions. — Missions  among 
French  prisoners  of  war. — Dr.  Coke's  last  mission. — Richard  Whatcoat. — Thomag 
Tasey. — Rev.  James  Creighton. — The  validity  of  Methodist  Episcopacy.  .Page  464 

CHAPTER    XIX. 

THE    METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH. 

Black  Harry. — The  Christmas  Conference. — Election  and  consecration  of 
Bishop  Asbury. — The  Methodist  Discipline. — On  slavery. — On  baptism. — Preach- 
■ers'  fund. — The  first  home  mission  fund. — Statistics,  1875 Page  492 

CHAPTER  XX. 

PROGRESS    UNDER   DIFFICULTIES. 

BisliopCoke  an  Abolitionist. — The  first  Southern  Conference. — Visit  of  Bishops 
Coke  and  Asbury  to  Washington  at  Mount  Vernon. — Bishop  Coke  departs  for 
England. — Wesley's  defense  of  Bishop  Coke. — Bishop  Coke's  second  visit  to  the 
United  States, — Cokesbury  College. — A  dancing-hall  transformed  into  a  Method- 
ist school-house. — The  old  Light-street  parsonage. — Pioneering. — Has  he  a  horse? 
— Richmond  Nolley. — Asbury's  episcopal  discipline. — The  first  Conference  in  New 
York. — Encouraging  reports. — Revival  scenes. — O'Kelly  and  the  "Republican 
Methodist  Church." — Thomas  Ware Page  503 

CHAPTER  XXI. 

EARLY  METHODISM  IN  NEW  ENGLAND. 

The  first  Methodist  Societies  in  New  England. — Methodism  an  intruder  in  New 
England. — The  Calvinistic  controversy  again. — Asbury  among  the  sons  of  the 
Pilgrims. — Metliodism   in    Boston. — Jesse   Lee. — The   first   Conference   in    New 


18  Contents. 

England. — The  Wesleyan  Academy. — Minor  Raymond,  D.  D.--The  Wesleyau 
University.— Wilbur  Fisk,  D.D,— Stephen  Olin,  D.D.— "Zion's  Herald."— The 
Boston  University. — Father  Taylor,  the  sailor  preacher  of  Boston  .    ...  Page  537 

CHAPTER  XXII. 

WESTERN  PIOKEEKS. 

Ohio. — Francis  M'Cormick. — Asbury  in  the  Indian  country.  —  Some  Meth- 
odist geography. — Henry  Boehm.  —  Bishop  M'Kendree.  —  Episcopal  luxury. 
—James  B.  Finley.  —  The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  the  first  temperance 
society. — The  North-west. — Fort  Dearborn. — Marsden's  tribute  to  American 
Methodism Page  569 

CHAPTER  XXIII. 

BISHOP  ASBURY  AND  HIS  EARLY   SUCCESSORS METHODISM   IK   THE 

SOUTH-WEST. 

Episcopal  gravity  and  humor. — Asbury  a  judge  of  men. — Asbury  on  matri- 
mony.— Asbury's  last  sermon. — Bishop  George. — Bishop  Roberts. — Bishop  Hed- 
ding. — The  radical  movement. — The  Methodist  Protestant  Church. — Nicholas 
Snethen. — Bishop  Emory. — Bishop  Waugh. — Bishop  Morris. — Alabama. — Mis- 
souri.— Jesse  Walker  in  St.  Louis. — South- vsrestern  Methodism Page  590 

CHAPTER  XXIV. 

THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH,   SOUTH. 

Bishop  'Andrew. — Organization  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South. — 
Border  troubles. — Methodism  during  the  war. — The  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  again  in  the  South. — Fraternity  re-established. — A  memorable  day. — 
Meeting  of  the  Joint  Commission. — Statistics  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
South, — Education Page  621 

CHAPTER  XXV. 

GERMAN    METHODISM. 

Wm.  Nast. — Other  German  missionaries. — German  Methodism  in  St.  Louis. — 
German  Conferences  organized. — The  German  missions. — Dr.  Jacoby. — Dr.  Lieb- 
hart. — The  institutions  of  German  Methodism. — Present  condition  and  influence 
of  German  Methodism Page  659 

CHAPTER  XXVI. 

LATER  CHARACTERS  AND  EVENTS. 

Pacific  Coast  Methodism. — Oregon. — California. — Methodism  in  Mormondom. 
—  Bishop  Hamline. — Bishop  Janes. — Bishop  Baker. — Bishop  Ames. — Bishop 
Burns. — Bishop  Roberts. — Bishop  Clark. — Bishop  Thomson. — Bishop  Kingsley. — 
Lay  Delegation. — The  Centennial  of  American  Methodism. — Centennial  statistics. 

Other  Methodist  bodies Page  672 


Contents,  1.9 

CHAPTER  XXVII. 

THE  STAFF  OF  THE  METHODIST   EPISCOPAL,  CHURCH. 

Bishop  Scott. — Bishop  Simpson. — Bishop  Bowman. — Bishop  Harris. — Bishop 
Foster. — Bishop  Wiley. — Bishop  Merrill. — Bishop  Andrews. — Bishop  G.  Haven. — 
Bishop  Peck. — Bishop  Warren. — Bishop  Foss. — Bisliop  Hurst. — Bishop  E.  O. 
Haven. — General  Conference  Officers. — Tiie  Book  Concern. — Reuben  Nelson,  D.D. 
—The  Missionary  Society.— John  P.  Durbin,  D.D.— Thomas  M.  Eddj',  D.D.— 
The  Woman's  Foreign  Missionary  Society. — Sunday-schools. — The  Church  Ex- 
tension Society. — Preedmen's  Aid  Society Page  704 


PAET  III. 


MODERN    BRITISH    AND    COLONIAL    METHODISM. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

MODERN  BRITISH   METHODISM. 

After  John  Wesley  what? — Episcopal  party. —  "Superintendent"  Mather. — 
"Alarming  Progress  of  Methodism." — Metliodist  ordination. — Bunting,  the 
Prime-Minister  of  English  Methodism. — Bunting  and  Lay  Representation. — 
Robert  Newton. — Centenary  of  British  Methodism. — The  Wesleyan  Theological 
Institution. — Rev.  Geo.  Osborn,  D.D. — The  Didsbury  Branch. — Rev.  William  B. 
Pope,  D.D. — Rev.  Dr.  Rigg. — Wesleyan  Missions. — Rev.  Wm.  Morley  Punshon, 
LL.D. — Rev.  Wm.  Arthur,  M.A. — Metropolitan  Chapel  Fund.— Rev.  Gervase 
Smith,  D.D. — Rev.  Frederick  Jobson,  D.D. — Wesleyan  Book  and  Periodical 
Editor. — Rev.  Benj.  Gregory,  D.D Page  731 

CHAPTER  XXIX. 

COLONIAL     METHODISM. 

Missions  in  Newfoundland. — Nova  Scotia  and  New  Brunswick. — Methodism  in 
Western  Canada. — Henry  Ryan  add  the  Ryanites. — Rev.  William  Case,  the  Father 
of  Canadian  Missions. — Case's  Jubilee  Sermon. — War  and  Peace;  Declension  and 
Revival. — British  Wesleyanism  in  Canada. — M.  E.  Church  of  Canada. — State 
Churchism  in  Canada. — The  Canadian  Episcopacy. — Bishop  Richardson. — Bishop 
Carman. — Rev.  Egerton  Ryerson. — Conference  of  Eastern  British  America. — The 
Methodist  Church  of  Canada:  Statistics;  Colleges  and  Schools. — The  Wesleyan 
Theological  College  at  Montreal. — Mount  Allison  Wesleyan  College  and  Acad- 
emies.— The  Staff  of  Canadian  Methodism. — Alexander  Sutherland,  D.D. — Enoch 
Wood,  D.D.— Edward  Hartley  Dewart,  D.D.— Rev.  W.  H.  Withrow,  M.A.— 
Rev.  William  Briggs. — Humphrey  Pickard,  D.D. — Duncan  Dunbar  Currie, 
D.D Page  750 

CHAPTER  XXX. 

STATISTICS. 
General  summary  of  Methodists  throughout  the  world. — Growth  of  Lay  Mem- 
bership compared  with  that  of  Population. — The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
in  the  Southern  States. — Theological  Institutions  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church. — Conclusion : Page  782 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


PORTRAITS, 


Ames,  Bishop  Edward  R 684 

Andrew,  Bishop  James  0 627 

Andrews,  Bishop  Edward  G 713 

Annesley,  Miss  Susanna 64 

Arminius 187 

Arthur,  "William 745 

Asbury,  Elizabeth 413 

Asbury,  Francis 368,  409,  463 

Baker,  Bishop  Osmon  C 686 

Bascom,  Bishop  Henry  B 640 

Boardman,  Richard 404 

Boehm,  Henry 578 

Bowman,  Bishop  Thomas 708 

Bunting,  Jabez 731 

Burns,  Bishop  Francis 691 

Calvin,  John 186 

Capers,  Bishop  William 630 

Carman,  Bishop  Albert 770 

Cartwright,  Peter 680 

Carvosso,  William 749 

Case,  William 755 

Clark,  Bishop  Davis  W 694 

Clarke,  Adam 256 

Coke,  Thomas 470 

Cromwell,  Oliver 49 

Doddridge,  Philip 176 

Doggett,  Bishop  David  S 650 

Douglas,  George 776 

Durbin,  John  P 724 

Early,  Bishop  John 643 

Eddy,  Thomas  M 725 

Embury,  Philip 380 

Emory,  Bishop  John 611 

Finley,  James  B 583 

risk,  Wilbur 556 

Fletcher,  John 279 

Foss,  Bishop  Cyrus  D. 721 

Foster,  Bisiiop  Randolph  S 711 

Fry,  Elizabeth 147 

Garrettson,  Freeborn 449 

George  III.,  King  of  Great  Britain  and 

Ireland 297 

George,  Bisliop  Enoch 598 


Hamline,  Bishop  Leonidas  L 683 

Harris,  Bishop  William  L 710 

Haven,  Bishop  Erastus  0 723 

Haven,  Bishop  Gilbert 716 

Heck,  Barbara 383 

Hedding,  Bishop  Elijah 603 

Hill,  Rowland 303 

Huntingdon,  Countess  of. 194 

Hurst,  Bishop  J.  F 722 

Janes,  Bishop  Edmund  S 684 

Jobson,  Frederic 747 

Johnson,  Dr.  Samuel 295 

Kavanaugh,  Bishop  Hubbard  H 646 

Keener,  Bishop  John  C 658 

Kingsley,  Bishop  Calvin 698 

Knox,  John 57 

Livingstone 354 

Marvin,  Bishop  Enoch  M 654 

M'Kendree,  Bishop  William 569 

M'Tyeire,  Bishop  Holland  N '656 

Merrill,  Bishop  Stephen  M 713 

Morris,  Bishop  Thomas  A 614 

Nelson,  John 218 

Nelson,  Reuben.   722 

Olin,  Stephen 559 

Otterbein,  Phihp  W 4G0 

Paine,  Bishop  Robert 635 

Peck,  Bishop  Jesse 718 

Pierce,  Bishop  George  F 648 

Pilmoor,  Joseph 404 

Pickard,  Humphrey 780 

Pope,  William  B .• 740 

Punshon,  William  Morley 743 

Rankin,  Thomas 418 

Rigg,  James  H 741 

Roberts,  Bishop  John  Wright 692 

Roberts,  Bishop  Robert  R 600 

Ryerson,  Egerton 771 

Scott,  Bishop  Levi 704 

Simpson,  Bishop  Matthew 706 

Sheer,  Henry 681 


Illusteations. 


21 


PAGE 

Smith,  Gervase 746 

Snethen,  Nicholas 608 

Soule,  Bishop    Joshua 621 

Stanley,  Arthur  Penrhyn 350 

Strawbridge,  Robert 375 

Summerfield,  John 703 

Taylor,  Edward  T 562 

Thomson,  Bishop  Edward 696 

Ware,  Thomas 529 

Warren,  Bishop  H.  W 720 

Washington,  President  George 463 

Watson,  Richard 735 

Watts,  Dr.  Isaac 329 

Waugli,  Bishop  Beverly 612 1 


PAGE 

Webb,  Captain 386 

Wesley,  Charles Frouiispiece 

Wesley,  John,  at  twenty -three 82 

At  forty 203 

At  eighty-five Frontispiece 

Wesley,  Susanna 60 

Westley,    John,    Grandfather    of    "the 

Wesleys  " 62 

Whateoat,  Bishop  Richard 481 

Whitefield,  George 91,  428 

Wightman,  Bishop  William  M 652 

Wiley,  Bishop  Isaac  W 712 

Wood,  Enoch 778 

'  Young  Pretender,"  The 70 


MISCELLANEOUS. 


Albert  College,  Belleville,  Canada 

Asbury,  Francis,  Childhood  Home  of. . . 

Baltimore,  First  Methodist  Sermon  in. . 
"  Black  Country,"  the,  A  Scene  in 

A  Welcome  to  the 

Bocardo,  The,  Debtors'  Prison  at  Oxford 

Some  Prisoners  in  the 

Broad  Walk,  The,  at  Oxford 


PAGE 

768 
411 

401 
207 
209 

87 


Fletcher  Memorial  College 
Frontier  Residence,  A. . . . 
Funeral,  An  Irish 


PAGE 

294 
516 
271 


Camp-meeting,  View  of  a 

Centenary  Church,  St.  Louis 

Charter-House  School,  The 

Diniiig-hall  of  the 

Christ  Church  College,  West  Front  of. 

Entrance  to  Hall  of 

Dining-hall  of 

Meadow  of 

Cincinnati  Wesleyan   College 

City  Road  Chapel,  London,  The 

Interior  of 

Class-meeting,  The  Man-of-War 

Coke  Memorial  Schools,  The 

Conference,  The  First  American 


503 

645 

76 

77 

79 

54 

56 

103 

573 

306 

307 

312 

474 

422 


German  Methodist  Book  Concern,  Brem- 
en   

Gibraltar,  Rock  of 

Grace  Church,  Wilmington   

Graves  of  Bishops  Asbury,  George,  Em- 
ory, and  Waugh 

Hartley  Preaching  through  the  Gratings 
of  his  Prison  Window 

Healey,  after  being  Knocked  off  his 
Horse 

Heck  Hall,  Garrett  Biblical  Institute, 
Evanstou 

Hovel,  An  Irish 

Howard-street  Church,  San  Francisco. . 


Dunmore  Castle,  Scotland 281 

"Elm,  the  Old,"  Lee  Preaching  under..  536 

Embury,  Philip,  Residence  of 382 

England,  South  Coast  of 161 

Epworth  Rectory,  The  Burning  of 72 

The  New 74 

Fetter  Lane  Chapel,  Interior  of 153 

Field   Preaching 162 


Indian,  Instructing  an 

Inhospitable  Country,  An. . . 

Kingswood  School,  The  New. 
Knox's  Church,  Edinburgh . . . 


Light-street  Parsonage,  Baltimore.. 
Lincoln  College,  Chapel  of 

Quadrangle  of 

London,  A  Bit  of  Old 

Bridge,   Old..., 

Losee  Traveling  his  Canada  Circuit. 
Lovely  Lane  Church,  Baltimore. . . . 


659 

128 
438 

620 

450 

236 

701 
276 
677 

106 
222 

169 
59 

513 
83 
84 
45 
46 
753 
492 


Madeley  Church 288 

Manwood  Cottage,   Handsworth 494 


22 


Illustrations. 


Martyrs,  the,  Memorial  of 52 

Meeting-house,  a  Double-decked 234 

Meridian-street  Clmrch,  Indianapolis. . . .  568 

Methodist,  Arresting  a 454 

Methodist  Chapel  at  Cork,  Parson  But- 
ler's Attack  on 226 

Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  Morristown  524 
Methodist  Episcopal  Ciiurch,  Salt  Lake 

City 678 

Methodist  Preaching  House,  First,  Boston  537 
Methodist  Protestant  Cliurch,  The  First, 

Pittsburgh 609 

Metropolitan  Cliurcli,  Washington 461 

Metropolitan  "Wesleyan  Church,  Toronto.  761 

Monument,  Bishop  Kingsley's,  Beyroot.  699 
Monument  of  Jolm  and  Charles  Wesley, 

Westminster  Abbey 348 

Mount  Vernon  Place  Church,  Baltimore.  402 

Newgate  Prison,  London 136 

A  Congregation  in ...  148 

Ocean,  A  View  of  the 479 

Old  Foundry,  Tlie 177 

Olivet  Cemetery,  Church  Lot  in  the 596 

Orphan  House  at  Newcastle,  The 200 

Wesleyan  Schools 201 

Oxford,  View  of 43 

Pembroke  College,  Tower  of 94 

PriBon  Chapel,  A  Modern 149 

Radcliffe  Library,  Oxford 85 

Religious  Criminals,  Procession  of,  going 

to  Prison 50 

Ride,  A  Brave 337 

Rigging  Loft,  The,  New  York 389 

Roadside  Sermon,  A 267 

Saddle-bags  Man,  A 519 

Season,  A  Word  in 110 

South  Leigh  Churcli 134 


St.  George's  M.  E.  Church,  Philadelphia.  397 

Mural  Tablets  in 399 

St.  Mary's  Church,  Oxford 89 

Interior  of 95 

Gateway  of 97 

St.  Paul's  M.  E.  Cliurch,  New  York 403 

Stone  Chapel,  The 377 

Storm,  A  Horseman  in  a 466 

Strawberry    Alley    Church,     Baltimore, 

Interior  of 425 

Strawbridge's  Log  Chapel,  Sam's  Creek.  369 

Swamp,  A  Southern 115 

Swiss  Mountains,  Scene  among 286 

Sword  and  Crook 242 

Tail-pieces 122,  146,  347,  620,  671,  781 

Thousand  Islands,  View  among  the 750 

Trap,  Caught  in  his  Own 217 

Trevecca  College 197 

Union  M.  E.  Church,  St.  Louis 590 

Wesley  and  his  Friends  at  Oxford 42 

Wesley  and  Beau  Nash 171 

Wesley  and  Zinzendorf 143 

Wesley  Chapel,  John-street,  New  York.  379 

Wesley  Charles,  Tomb  of 327 

Wesley,  Mrs.  Susanna,  Monument  of . . .  205 

Wesley  Preaching  on  his  Father's  Tomb  185 

Wesleyan  Academy,  Wilbraham. . .  .553,  554 

Wesleyan  Association  Building,  Boston..  560 
Wesleyan  Normal  and  Practicing  School, 

Westminster 765 

Wesleyan  Theological  Institution,  Rich- 
mond, Eiig 739 

Wesleyan  University,  Middletown 557 

Wesley's  Tomb,  City  Road  Chapel 345 

Wesley's  Tree,  Winclielsea 335 

Wesleys,    Monument   of   tlie,    at   West- 
minster Abbey 348 

Westminster  Abbey,  North  View  of. . . .  364 

Whilefield's  Last  Exhortation 434 

Willamette  University,  Salem,  Oregon.. .  672 


MAPS    AND    CHARTS. 


Map  of  the  Thirteen  Colonies 32,  436 

Map  of  the  United  States,  from  tlie  Close 
of  the  Revolution  to  the  Purchase 

of  Louisiana,  1783-1803 462 

Map  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland 31 

Map  of  the  United  States 33-36 


Chart,  showing  the  Tour  of  Bishop  Harris 
in  the  Eastern  Hemisphere  on  his 
Missionary  Circuit  of  the  Globe. 37—40 

Lithographic  Chart,  showing  the  ratio 
of  Church  Accommodation  in  tlie 
United  States 782 


INDEX. 


PAGE 

A-bbctt,  Benjamin,  sketch  of 440 

After  John  Wesley,  "What 731 

Allison,  Charles  T.,  munificence  of T75 

America,  rush  of  IrfSli  Methodists  to, . . .  277 

American  Colonies,  revolt  of  the 295 

Wesley's  "Calm  Address"  to  the.. .  295 

Wesley  writes  to  North  in  behalf  of,  299 

American  Methodism,  centennial  of 701 

American  Methodism,  commencement  of.  374 

Ames,  Bishop  Edward  R.,  sketch  of . . . .  687 

Dr.  Fowler's  testimony  to 690 

death  and  burial  of. 690 

Andrew,  James  0.,  elected  Bishop 627 

case  of  at  General  Conference  of  1844  627 

recognized  as,  by  Church,  South. . . .  634 

Andrews,  Bishop  Edward  G.,  sketch  of.  714 

Annesley,  Rev.  Dr.,  religious  state  of . . . .  146 

Annesley,  Susanna,  marriage  of. 65 

Antislavery  Society  and  Wesley 330 

Aphorism,  a  good 60 

Arthur,  Rev.  William,  sketch  of 744 

Asbury,  Elizabeth,  (mother  of  Francis,)  412 

Asbury,  Francis,  early  history  of 410 

volunteers  for  America 414 

last  sermon  of,  in  England 414 

his  arrival  at  Philadelphia 416 

his  views  of  the  itinerancy 415 

in  concealment 454 

and  Shadford,  their  last  interview. .  457 

again  at  the  front 465 

requests  Wesley  to  send  an  ordained 

minister 468 

elected  and  consecrated  Bishop 496 

labors  of,  466,  514,  522,  542,  575,  586,  590 

as  a  man  of  prayer 532 

sympathy  and  kindness  of . . . .  590,  591 

his  views  of  matrimony 593 

last  sermon  of 594 

death  and  funeral  of 595 

Auricular  Confession,  Emily  Wesley  op- 

poeea 90 

Baker,  Bishop  Osmon  C,  sketch  of 685 

Ball,  Joseph,  mentioned 538 


PAGB' 

Bangs,  Nathan,  elected  Bishop  by  Can- 
ada M.  E.  Church 764 

Barratt,  Judge,  mentioned 459 

Bassett,  Governor,  notice  of 459 

Bennett,  John,  marries  Grace  Murray. . .  247 

separation  from  Wesley,  and  death  of  253 
Benson,   Bishop,   his  opinion  of  White- 
field 162 

Benson,  Joseph,  at  Trevecca  College 289 

Birstall,  riotous  conduct  of  mob  at 214 

Bishops'  monuments,  the,  at  Baltimore. .  597 

"  Black  Country,"  the 207 

"  Black  Harry,"  notices  of. 493 

Black,  William,  notices  of 546 

Boardman,  Richard,  sketch  of. 406 

volunteers  for  America 405 

arrival  of  at  Philadelphia 406 

Bocardo,  the,  debtors'  prison  at  Oxford..  87 

Boehm,  Henry,  history  of 577 

Bond,  John  W.,  his  opinion  of  Asbury.  591 

Book  Concern,  the 719 

Border  Troubles,  notice  of  the 635 

Borlase,  Rev.  Dr.,  foiled  by  Wesley 217 

Bosanquet,  Miss  Mary,  notice  of 292 

Boston,  Methodism  introduced  into 545 

Boston  University,  notices  of 561,  784 

Bowman,  Bishop  Thomas,  sketch  of.. . . .  707 
Bray,  Mr.,  instrumental  in  the  conversion 

of  C.  Wesley 133 

British  Conf.,  first  after  Wesley's  death..  732 

British  Conference,  Presidents  of 365 

British  Wesleyanism  in  Canada 760 

Broughton,  Mr.,  of  the  "  Holy  Club  "...  89 

Brunson,  Alfred,  presence  of  mind  of. . .  586 

Bunhill  Fields,  Mrs.  Wesley  buried  at..  205 

Burke,  W.,  takes  charge  of  Ohio  District.  571 

incidents  respecting 574 

Burns,  Francis,  Bishop  of  Liberia 690 

California,  Methodism  saves  to  freedom.  676 

Calvinism,  Wesley's  objections  to,  stated.  190 

Calvinistic  Controversy,  the 542 

Canada  M.  E.  Church,  brief  history  of  ..  762 

Canadian  Methodism,  earlr 760 


24 


Index. 


Cajiers,   Willinm,    action    of,   in   General 

Couforeneo  of  1S44 62S,  629 

Case,  "William,  sketch  of 755 

"Jubilee  Sermon  "  of 757 

death  of 760 

Carman.  Bishop  Albert,  sketcli  of 770 

Cartvrright,  Potor.  death  of 682 

Celtic,  tie.  a  sacred  lansruage . .   272 

C«nnick.  J.,  first  Methodist  lay  preacher.  1S3 

his  work  in  Dublin 235 

Chartered  Fund,  the 501 

Charter-House  School,  history  of  the 75 

"  Christmns  Conferenc*,"  preparation  for  495 

of  whom  composed 496 

Chichester,  Bishop   of,  a  letter  of  the. . .     55 

Churchism,  State,  in  Canada 763 

Church  Extension  Society,  the 727 

Church,  mistaken  zeal  for  the 214 

Church  of  England  under  Henrr  VIII. .     49 

under  Mary  and  Elizabeth 51 

City  Road  Chapel,  account  of 305 

Clark.  Bishop  Davis  W.,  sketch  of 693 

Clark.  John,  notice  of. 5S5 

Clarke,  Adam,  early  history  of 256 

first  interview  of,  vrith  "Wesley 259 

TOWS  to  abandon  study  of  classics. .   261 

his  Commentary 263 

his  views  of  marriage 263 

marries  Miss  Cook 264 

appointed  to  the  London  Circuit  ...   265 

death  of 266 

Class-meetings,  providential  inception  of.  19S| 

Classes,  quarterly  visitation  of 1 99 1 

Coke,  Dr.  Thomas,  sketch  of 47  ij 

appointed  to   preside   at   the   Irish 

Conference  of  17S2 476 

ordained  by  "Wesley  Superintendent 

of  the  work  in  America 477.  4S5 

prepares  his  Commentary 476 

President  of  the  British  Conference .   477 
and  Asbury,  "Wesley's  letter  of  ap- 
pointment of 4S5 

Tasey,  and  "Whatcoat,  arrival  of. . . .  492 
his  favorable  opinion  of  Americans.  495 

incident  respectiug 503 

preaches  against  slavery 504 

and  Asbury,  visit  Pres."Washington .  505 

his  first  return  to  England 506 

defense  of  by  "Wesley 507 

second  visit  of,  to  America 507 

again  on  horseback 503,  525 

second  return  of  to  England 514 


Coke.  Dr.,  missionary  zeal  of. .   473.  477,  47& 

his  last  mission  and  deatii 47& 

his  mission  cared  for  by  British  Con- 
ference     480- 

Cokesbury  College,  brief  history  of 609- 

Columbia  River  Conference,  its  territory.   677 
''Committee  of  Xine,"  preamble  and  re- 
port of,  adopted 631 

Conference,  first  Methodist,  in  England  .   226- 

its  members  and  doings 226,  227 

Conference  of  1751,  attendants  on 284 

Conference,  "Wesley's  last 338 

Conference,  first  Methodist,  in  America..  422 

Conference,  the  "  Christmas  " 495- 

Conference,  the  first  in  the  South 504 

Conference,  General,  of  1844,  notice  of  . .   626 
Conflict  between  British  and  American 

Methodism  in  Canada,  how  settled.  762 

Coughlan,  Laurence,  notice  of 77S 

Convention,  Southern,  at  Louisville,  Ky.,  632 
Conversion,  instances  of  ..154,  155,  156,  157 

Coi,  Philip,  Book  Steward 720 

Creighton,  Rev.  James,  sketch  of 483 

assists  in  ordinations 4S4,  4S5 

Cummings,  Joseph,  notice  of 559 

Currie,  Rev.  Duncan  D.,  sketch  of 781 

Debate,  courtesies  of,  violated 296 

"  Declaration  "  of  Southern  Members  of 

General  Conference  of  1S44  noticed.   629' 

"Declaration,"  "Wesley's  Deed  of 315 

Decline  in  Methodist  membership  in  1 7  7 9 .   308 

Delamotte.  Mr.,  goes  to  Georgia 106 

Dewart,  Rev.  Edward  H.,  sketch  of.. . . .   778 

Dickins,  John,  notice  of 719 

Disciplinarian,  "Wesley  as  a 242 

Disciphne,    Book    of,    adopted    by    the 

'•  Christmas  Conference  " 498 

Disciphne,  early  Methodist 282 

Doddridge  on  the  Methodists 176 

Douglas,  Rev.  George,  sketch  of 776 

Dow,  Lorenzo,  notice  of. 616 

Dnrbin,  John  P.,  sketch  of 724 

action  of^  in  Gen.  Conf.  of  1344 631 

Eastern  British  America,  Conference  of..  773 

agreement  of  with  M.  E.  Church. . .  773 

Eddy,  Thomas  M.,  sketch  o£  725 

Edwards,  Jonathan,  great  revival  under.  158 

wins  "Whitefield  to  Calvinism 1S6 

E'JiotL  Charles,  mention  of 631 

Embury,  Philip,  early  history  of 378 


IvDZX. 


25 


PASS 

Emory,  Bishop  John,  sketdi  of. 610 

£n£^Qd,   Church  of^  origin  ^id  early 

hiBtory  of  the. 4t 

England,  relig-'oos  state  of  in  the  reign  of 

George  IL 44 

rice  of  the  people  when  Methodism 

arose 46 

English  missionaries  sent  by  Wesley  to 

America 404,  405,  414,  417,  426 

Episcopal  luxury,  instance  of. 582 

Ep worth,  excitement  at,  r^pecting  politics  11 
burning  of  rectory  at,  and  narrow 

escape  of  John  Wesley 72 

ErsMne,  Eev.  Ealpb,  on  conversion 160 

Field  preaching  commenced  by  Whitefield  163 

Finley,  James  B.,  sketch  of, 582 

and  ten  gallons  of  whisky. 584 

resolution  of,  in  case  of  Bp.  Andrew  6 

death  of 5 

Fisk,  Wilbur,  sketch  of 5 

elected  Bishop  of  3sL  E.  Church 5 

elected  Bishop  in  M.  E.  Chnrdi  of 

Canada 5 

death  of 5 

Fletcher,  John  W.,  early  history  o£ 

conversion  of. 

appointed  Ticar  of  Madeley 

zeal  and  eloquence  of. 2S8 

"  Checks"  and  "Appeal'"  o^  noticed  290 

death  of 293 

Wesley's  regard  for. 294 

Memorial  College 295 

Fletcher,  Mrs.  Mary,  death  ot -294 

Ford,  John  S.,  in  Alabama 616 

Foss,  Bishop  Cyrus  D..  sketch  of 720 

Foster,  Bishop  Eandolph  S.,  sketch  of. .  710 

Foundry,  the  Old,  sketch  of. 177 

Fraternity,  action  of  Joint  Conmiission  on  652 

Freedmen's  Aid  Society,  The 727 


German  GonferezcfcS.  s'^'ds^OB  of 

Genoan  Methodism,   present  oonditafHi 

and  mflnenffi  cC 

Gib«»,Ksbop,  "Pastoral  Letta-"o{l.. 

Wfail^eld's  reply  to. 

Gibson,  Tobiaa,  Aettii.  of. 

opens  ttie  sooth-vest  to  Methodism . 

Googh,  of  Perry  Ball,  notice  of 

Graham,  Chailes,  a|^KNnted  to  missiin 
work  in  Irdand. 

Boaoesx  o€,  in  his  work. 

death  of. 

Greenfield,  Edward,  Anecdote  of. 

Gregory,  Ber.  Benjamin,  skeidi  of 

Grimsl-.  &r^:-f::.e  :f  Jc"^::  y^lszz.  at... 


PA£K 

570 

66» 
17a 

174 
61.S 
614 


272 
275 
278 
215 
14& 

99* 


i»&rk  in  Irelar.r.. 

-  -  Mediodism,"  quota- 


:"  Jesse  Lee." 
S45, 

=  L..  sketch  of. 


2E: 


i:£- .'- -St.  Church 
irom.  to  Author 


.Dned.. 


Gambold.  Mr.,  of  the  "  Holy  Club  " 89 

Garrettson,  Freeborn,  sketch  of 448 

Dr.  Coke's  description  of. 493 

sen  I  to  summon  preachers  to  "  Christ- 
mas Conference  " 493 

Galch,  Philip,  joins  the  itinerancy. 440 

General  Conference  of  1844,  reference  to  628 
General  Conference  of  the  M.  E.  Church 
declines  to  receive  Lovick  Pierce 

as  Fraternal  Del^ate 637 

George,  Bishop  Enoch,  sketch  of 597 


2iT  iii:;.;.  _-;    ; 
Harris,  H"  t. 
Hartiey,  Joirj 
Hanzell,  J.  C 
Haven,  '£'■ 
Havrai,  Z 
He<i,  B;: 

incites : :     - 
Hedc,  George,  1 
Hedding,  E15;ah.  sketch  of. 
Heresies,  some  Mc- 3 
••  Heroic  age  '"  of  il^ 
Hermhut,  Wesley's  ■  ; 
Hill,  Bowland,  arts:  :- 
Hofer,  German  local 
"Holy  Qub,"  The.  :;      _       ;  :-ei 

notice  of  its  labors 

Pharisaic  character  of  the 90, 

dissolution  of 

Home  Missions,  British  Wesleyan. . 
Hopkey,  Miss,  Wesley's  lore  aSair  with. 

"Horse,  has  he  a?" 

Huntingdon,  Lady,  sketch  of 

Hurst,  Bishop  John  F.,  sketch  of. 

Hymnology,  Wesleyan. 


ri.. 


21% 
278 

511 

546 
6S2 
653 
164 
709 
182 
449 
623 
722 
715 
382 
38» 
383 
603 
179 
370 
142 
302 
661 
8& 
87 
100 
102 
477 
115 
518 
195 
721 
321 


-26 


Index. 


PAGB 

Inch,  President  J.  R.,  mentioned 775 

Indians,  Wesley's,  character  of 112 

Ingham,  Mr.,  accompanies  Wesley  to  Ga.,  106 

Ireland,  introduction  of  Methodism  into.  233 

further  accounts  of  Wesley's  visits  to  237 

Wesley's  last  visit  to 332 

Irish  Conferences,  notices  of. 241,  333 

Irreligious  learning,  remark  on 55 

Jackson,  quotation  from 131 

Jacoby,  Ludwig  S.,  conversion  of 661 

religious  experience  of 666 

begins  the  mission  in  Germany  ....   666 

Janes,  Bishop  Edmund  S.,  sketch  of 684 

Bishop  Simpson's  testimony  to  ... .   685 

Jarratt,  Rev.  Mr.,  noticed 451,  453,  459 

Jobson,  Rev.  Frederick,  sketch  of 747 

Johnson,  Dr.,  and  Wesley,  friendship  of.  295 
John-street  Church,  the  first,  dedicated..  390 
Jones,  Peter,  conversion  of 756 

Kavanaugh,  Bishop  H.  H.,  brief  notice  of.  646 

Keener,  Bishop  J.  C,  mention  of 658 

Kennon,  John  W.,  in  Alabama 616 

King,  John,  preaches  the  first  Methodist 

sermon  in  Baltimore 400 

King,  Lord  Chancellor,  notice  of 231 

his  "  Primitive  Church  "  noticed  . . .  485 

Kingsley,  Bishop  Calvin,  sketch  of 698 

Kingswood,  first  open-air  preaching  at.  163 

Kingswood  School,  commencement  of.. .  169 

Knox,  John,  noticed 57 

Kobler,  John,  visits  Fort  Washington. . .  572 

Koeneke,  Henry,  successful  labors  of. .  662 

Kynett,  Rev.  Alpha  J.,  mentioned 727 

Lay  delegation,  adoption  of 700 

Lay  preachers,  the  first  three 182 

Lecky,  anecdote  from 57 

on  theology  of  Church  of  England  .     53 

Lee,  Jesse,  sketch  of 546 

labors  of  in  New  England 547 

appearance  and  manners  of 548 

defeat  of,  for  Bishop 553 

death  and  burial  of 553 

monument  erected  to  by  New  En- 
gland Methodists 597 

Lee,  Jason,  founds  the  Oregon  Mission  .  673 
Legal  Hundred,  the,  of  the  British  Wes- 

leyau  Conference 318,  322,  736 

"  Lending  Society,"  a,  formed  by  Wesley .  244 
liiebhart,  H.,  elected  editor 667 


PAOB 

Light-street  Church,  Baltimore. 513 

Lincoln,  President,  assassination  of 641 

Livingstone  and  Wesley,  quotation  from 

Bishop  Simpson  on 354 

Log  Chapel,  Strawbridge's 377 

London,  intemperance  of,  in  1836 45 

Longslreet,  Dr.,  presents  the  "  Declara- 
tion of  the  Southern  delegates". .   629 

Losee,  William,  labors  of 752 

Lovely  Lane  Church,  Baltimore 426 

Lynn,  Mass.,  Lee  forms  a  Society  at. . . .  550 
Lyon,  John  C,  notice  of 663 

Macaulay,  his  estimate  of  Wesley 349 

M'Cabe,  C.  C,  noble  act  of 681 

M'Clintock,  John,  death  of 682 

M'Cormick,  Francis,  sketch  of. 573 

M'Ferrin,  J.  B.,  action  of  in  General  Con- 
ference of  1844 630 

M'Gaw,  Dr.,  friend  of  Asbury 459 

M'Kendree,  William,  early  sketch  of. . . .  578 

elected  Bishop  in  181 2 581 

incidents  respecting  him 581 

M'Nabb,  Alexander,  expulsion  of 309 

reinstatement  of 311 

M'Tyeire,  Bishop  H.  N.,  brief  sketch  of.   656 
Maitland,  Sir  Peregrine,  asks  for  English 

preachers  764 

Mansfield,  Chief  Justice,  anecdote  of. . . .     78 

Marriage,  John   Wesley's 250 

Marsden,  Joshua,  tribute  of. 689 

Marvin,  Bishop  Enoch  M.,  brief  notice  of.   654 

Mather,  "  Superintendent,"  case  of 733 

Maxfield,  Thomas,  conversion  of 156 

second  Methodist  lay  preacher 184 

as  a  soldier 225 

Mead,  Professor,  his  opinion  of  the  influ- 
ence of  Methodism 542 

Medical  man,  Wesley  as  a 244 

Merrill,  Bishop  Stephen  M.,  sketch  of . . .  712 

Methodism  during  the  late  war 638 

Methodism,  early  history  of. 43 

a  benediction  to  the  British  nation  .     58 

"  heroic  age  "of 370 

a  theological  reform 373 

American,  founded  1766 374,  378 

beginnings  of  in  Baltimore 400 

in  Mormondom 678 

in  Western  Canada 752 

Methodist,  first  use  of  the  title 44,  86 

Methodist  Episcopacy,  validity  of 486 

Methodist  B.  Church  again  in  the  South,  638 


Index. 


27 


PAGE 

Methodist  Church  of  Canada 773 

Methodist  Episcopal  Church  of  Canada, 

formation  of 762 

statistics 782 

Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  withdrawal 

of  Southern  portion  of,  from  the. .   633 

causes  which  led  to  separation  of. .   621 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South,   or- 
ganization of. 634 

first  General  Conference  of 637 

Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South,  sta- 
tistics of,  in  1879 657 

educational  institutions  of,  1879  . . .   657 

Methodism  in  Western  Canada 752 

Methodist  "  United  Society,"  formation  of.  181 
Missionary  Society  of  the  M.  E.  CImrch.   723 

Missouri  Conference,  formation  of 617 

Mitchell,  William,   local  preacher,  forms 

first  Methodist  Society  in  Michigan.  586 

Molesworth,  Lord,  anecdote  of 480 

Money  matters,  Wesley's 243 

Moravian  Society,  Wesley  leaves  the ...  180 
Moravians,  join  Oglethorpe's  emigrants.  106 
Moravians,  composure  of,  during  a  storm  109 

Wesley's  free  intercourse  with 109 

some  heresies  of 179 

Morgan,  Mr.,  of  the  "Holy  Club." 86 

Morris,  Bishop  Thomas  A.,  sketch  of.. . .   613 

Mulfinger,  M.  and  G.  L.,  noticed 661 

Murray,  Grace,  and  John  Wesley 245 

"  My  Parish,"  Wesley's  aphorism  of. . . .   167 

Nash,  Beau,,  and  John  Wesley 170 

'Nast,  William,  history  of 659 

Nelson,  John,  sketch  of 218 

and  Wesley,  anecdote  of 224 

impressed  for  a  soldier 223 

the  brave  wife  of,  mentioned 224 

Nelson,  Rev.  Dr.  Reuben,  sketch  of  ... .  723 

Newcastle,  Wesley's  first  visit  to 200 

Orphan  House  at 202 

"New  England,  first  Methodist  Societies  in  537 
Methodism  in,  deemed  an  intrusion .   539 

Asbury's  first  visit  to 542 

first  Methodist  Conference  in 551 

Newfoundland,  Methodism  in 751 

'Newgate  Prison,  labors  of  the  Wesleys 

in 147,  153,  154 

Newman,  Dr.  J.  P.,  at  New  Orleans 640 

TTewton,  Robert,  delegate  from  the  British 

Conference 625 

"New  York,  first  Methodist  Conference  at  523 


"New  York  Tribune,"  quotation  from  .  .  624 

Nolley,  Richmond,  devotedness  of 520 

North  America,  British  Provinces  of . . . ,  750 

North,  Lord,  Wesley's  letter  to 298 

North-west  Territory,  the 585 

Nova  Scotia,  Methodism  in 751 

Nyon,  birth-place  of  J.  W.  Fletcher 285 

Ogle,  Joseph,  first  Methodist  in  Illinois..   585 

Oglesby,  Joseph,  mention  of 617 

Oglethorpe,    Gen.    James    E.,   proposes 

founding  a  colony  in  Georgia. . . .  105 
Oglethorpe,  pointed  reproof  of,  by  Wesley  110 
Ohio  District,  extent  and  character  of. . .  571 
Ojibway  Indians,  Metliodism  among..    . .   758 

temperance  anecdote  of 759 

O'Kelly,  James,  sketch  of 527 

Olin,  Stephen,  mention  of 628 

sketch  and  works  of 558 

Ordination,  by  Wesley,  of  Pawson,  Han- 
by,  Taylor,  Keigliley,  Atmore, 
Warrener,  Hammet,  Barber,  Cown- 

ley,  Mather,  Moore,  Rankin 314 

Ordination,  Wesley's  views  of,  in  1756..  469 
Oregon  Indians,  four,  arrive  at  St.  Louis 

in  search  of  "the  great  Book  "...   672 

Oregon  mission,  history  of  the 674 

Oregon  and  California  Mission  Conference  674 

extent  of  territory  of 674 

Olterbein,  Philip  W.,  noticed 460 

Ouseley,  Gideon,  his  earlier  years 266 

conversion  of 268 

call  of,  to  the  ministry 269 

his  methods  and  usefulness 271 

success  of  his  labors 276 

death  of 278 

"  Pacific  Christian  Advocate  "  founded. .  674 

Paine,  Bishop  Robert,  brief  notice  of . . .  635 

Palatines,  first  arrival  of,  in  New  York.  380 

another  arrival  of 383 

Peck,  George,  mention  of 631 

Peck,  Bishop  Jesse,  sketch  of. 717 

Peck,  Nathan  R.,  labors  of,  in  California.  677 

Pedicord,  Caleb,  brief  mention  of 449 

Perry  Hall,  an  asylum  for  the  itinerants.  447 

Philadelphia,   early  Methodism  in 396 

Pickard,  Humphrey,  sketch  of 780 

Pierce,  Bishop  G.  F.,  brief  notice  of 648 

Pierce,  Lovick,  fraternal  delegate  to  Gen. 

Conf  of  the  M.  E.  Church 637 

death  of , 658 


28 


IinoEX. 


Pierce,  Mr.,  sent  to  Utah 678 

Pilmoor,  Joseph,  volunteers  for  America.  405 

arrival  of,  at  Philadelphia 406 

travels  widely 407 

Plain  "Words  to  Rich  Methodists 339 

"Plan  of  Separation,"  adoption  of  the,  by 

General  Conference  of  1844 631 

not  approved  by  the  requisite  num- 
ber of  Annual  Conferences,  and 

therefore  a  failure 632 

operation  of  the,  on  the  border 636 

Pope,  Wm.  B.,  tutor,  delegate,  president.  740 

Preachers'  Fund,  the 501 

Preaching-houses,  early  Methodist 233 

Pressgaug,  the,  atrocities  of 215 

Punshon,  Dr.  "W.  Morley,  sketch  of 743 

•'  Quadruple  Alliance,"  the 432 

Randall,  Josiah,  in  Alabama 616 

Rankin,  Thomas,  sketch  of 417 

arrival  of,  in  America 421 

returns  to  England 427 

Raymond,  Minor,  sketch  of 554 

Red! ord,  quotation  from 633 

Revolutionary  "War,  religious  effects  of. .  464 

Reynolds,  Bishop  John,  of  Canada 769 

Richardson,  Bishop  Canada  M.  E.  Church  769 

Ride,  a  perilous 336 

"  Rigging  Loft,"  New  York,  preaching  in.  389 
Roberts,  Bishop  Robert  R.,  sketch  of. . ,  599 
Roberts,  John  "W.,  Bishop  of  Liberia. . .  692 
Roberts,  "William,  Superintendent  of  Ore- 
gon and  California  Mission 674 

Rocky  Mountain  Conference  formed 680 

Rodda,  "William,  indiscretion  of 426,  456 

Ryan,  Henry,  sketch  of 753 

Ryerson,  Rev.  Edgerton,  sketch  of 771 

Schmucker,  Peter,  unites  with  Methodist 

Episcopal  Church 661 

sent  to  Barrsville,  Ky 662 

Scotland,  visit  of  "Wesley  to 279 

Scott,  Bishop  Levi,  sketch  of 705 

Shadford,  George,  early  history  of 419 

arrival  of,  in  America 421 

and  Asbury,  last  interview  of 457 

departs  for  England 458 

after  ministry  and  death  of 458 

Simpson,  Bishop  Matthew,  sketch  of. . . .  705 

his  reply  to  Dean  Stanley  noticed  . .  353 

Slavery,  disciplinary  rule  on 623 


Slavery,  views  and  discussion  on 622" 

Smith,  Rev.  Gervase,  sketch  of 74& 

Snethen,  Nicholas,  sketch  of 60& 

"Societies,"  use  of  term  by  the  "Wesleys   150- 

their  nature  and  purpose 151 

Soule,  Joshua,  brief  notice  of 628 

election  of,  as  Bishop 621 

invited  to  become  Bishop  in  the  M. 

B.  Church,  South 634 

Southey,  R.,  his  estimate  of  "Wesley. . . .  349- 

St.  George's  Church,  Philadelphia 397 

St.  Ives,  chapel  at,  destroyed  by  a  mob. .   214 

"Wesley  assaulted  at 214 

St.  Just,  influence  of  Methodism  at 214 

Stanley,  Dean,  his  estimate  of  "Wesley..   350 

Statistical  Tables 782 

Statistics,  Centennial,  of  Methodism. .. .   702 
Stevens,  Mr.,  "caught  in  his  own  trap".   217 

"Stone  Chapel,"  the,  built  in  1783 377 

Stormy  days  for  Methodism 207 

Strawberry  Alley  Church,  Baltimore 425 

Strawbridge,  Robert,  account  of 375 

Strong,  Rev.  John,  arrival  and  work  of  .   762 
Sturdevant,  Matthew  P.,  in  Alabama. . .   616 

Sunday-schools  of  M.  E.  Church 726 

Sutherland,  Alexander,  sketch  of 776 

Swahlen,  J.,  sent  to  "Wheehng 661 

"Taylor,  Father,"  sketch  of 562 

Taylor,  Thomas,  letter  of,  to  "Wesley 393 

Thomas,  Eliezer,  death  of 677 

Thomson,  Bishop  Edward,  sketch  of . . . .  695- 

makes  first  visit  to  India 697 

Toleration,"  Act  of,  referred  to 51 

Tolly,  a  preacher,  pressed  for  a  soldier. .  216- 

Toplady's  aspersions  of  "Wesley 290,  304 

Travis,  John,  and  his  unlimited  circuit. .  617 

Trevecca  College,  notice  of 196- 

Trimble,  J.  M.,  resolution  of,  in  the  case 

of  Bishop  Andrew 628 

Tyerman,  Luke,  on  "Wesley's  ordination 

of  Dr.  Coke 489,  490 

"Uniformity,"  Act  of,  referred  to 61 

Universities  of  Oxford  and  Cambridge, 

former  low  spiritual  state  of  ... .     55  ■ 

Vasey,  Thomas,  sketch  of 482 

Vazeille,  Mrs.,  marries  "Wesley 250' 

Virginia,  great  revival  in 450'" 

Walker,  Jesse,  joins  the  "Western  Confer- 
ence in  1802 587' 


Index. 


29 


Walker,  Jesse,  and  Sinclair,  anecdote  of.  588 

in  Missouri 617,  619 

death  of 620 

"War  Department,  a  decision  of 639 

Ware,  Thomas,  sketcli  and  labors  of . . . .  529 

Warren,  Bishop  H.  W.,  sketch  of 719 

Watson,  Richard,  an  opinion  of 160 

Watters,  William,  first  American  itinerant  439 

Waugh,  Bishop  Beverly,  sketch  of. 612 

Webb,  Captain,  history  of. 386 

preaches  at  the  Rigging  Loft 388 

visits  England  in   behalf  of  Amer- 
ican Methodism,  and  returns 391 

death  of 392 

Wesley  family,  history  of  the .60,  64 

Wesley,  Charles,  at  Westminster  school.  77 

Garrett  Wesley  desires  to  adopt. ...  78 

the  first  Methodist 85 

forms  the  "Holy  Club" 86 

goes  to  Georgia 108 

stationed  at  Frederica 112 

incurs  displeasure  of  the  people  at.  113 

returns  to  England 125 

conversion  of 130 

nnd  the  Sheffield  mob 208 

marriage  of,  to  Miss  Gwynne 253 

death  of 326 

as  a  poet 328 

Wesley,  John,  escape  of,  from  death.. . .  72 

enters  the  Chnrter-House  School. . .  75 

letter  to,  from  his  mother 81 

scholarship  of 84 

addresses  the  tutors  of  University. .  86 

appointed  to  Ogletliorpe's  colony. . .  106 

his  object  in  going  to  Georgia 106 

sails  from  Cowes  to  Georgia 109 

dissatisfaction  with,  at  Savannah. . .  112 

his  love  affair  with  Miss  Hopkey   ..  116 
expels    Mrs.    Williamson   from    the 

sacramental  table 119 

leaves  Georgia 120 

reflections  on  his  spiritual  condition.  120 

future  benefit  of  this  experience. . .  121 

experience  of,  before  conversion .  134,  141 

■conversion  of 141 

he  visits  Herrnhiit 142 

incidents  of  his  visit 144 

he  takes  to  field  preaching 166 

and  the  colliers  of  Kingswood 168 

assailed  by  critics 172 

leaves  the  Moravians 180 

forms  the  "  United  Society." 181 


Wesley,  John,  his  objections  to  Calvinism 

diated 190 

and  John  Nelson  in  Cornwall 221 

heavy  legal  expenses  of. 225 

holds  his  first  Conference 226 

Churchmanship  of. 230 

as  a  disciplinarian 242 

and  Grace  Murray 245 

marries  Mrs.  Vazeille 250 

a  letter  of,  to  his  wife. 251 

visits  Scotland 279 

lays  corner-stone  of  City  Road  Chapel  305 

in  old  age 312,  324,  334 

ordinations  of 313,  314,  484 

last  visit  of,  to  Ireland 332 

perilous  ride  of,  to  St.  Ives 336 

his  last  Conference 338 

death  and  burial  of. 343 

will  of. 346 

as  a  preacher 355 

as  a  scholar 357 

as  an  author 360 

probably  designed  an  episcopal  form 
of  government  for  Methodism.. . .  490 
Wesley,  Samuel,  Rector  of  Epwortli. ...     63 
one  of  the  first  to  urge  the  estab- 
lishment of  foreign  missions 75 

desires  John  to  succeed  liim 104 

death  of. 105 

Wesley  Samuel,  junior,  opposes  tlie  doc- 
trine of  spiritual  regeneration. . . .    145 
Wesley,  Susanna,  educates  her  chUdreu.     66 
holds  meetings  at  Epworth  rectory.     67 
being  censured,  defends  her  course.     68 

success  of  her  eflbrts 67,     73 

her  account  of  her  conversion 146 

death  and  burial  of 204 

new  tombstone  to,  notice  of 206 

Wesleys,  the,  denounced  as  Papists 211 

monument  to,  in  Westminster  Abbey  349 

Dean  Stanley's  remarks  on 350 

Wesleyan  Theological  College,  Montreal.   775 

Wesleyan  University,  notice  of. 555 

Western  Conference,  first  session  of  the.   570 

Whatcoat,  Bishop,  sketch  of. 480 

Whedon,  Rev.  Dr.,  D.D.,  on  Episcopacy.  487 

White,  Judge  W.,  arrest  of 454 

Whitefleld  joins  tlie  "  Holy  Club." 91 

admitted  to  Pembroke  College 94 

conversion  of. 96 

ordination  of 123 

early  popularity  of,  as  a  preacher. .   123 


30    • 


Index. 


PAGE 

Whitefield  preaches  in  London 124 

offers  himself  for  America 125 

notices  of  his  early  preaching 126 

sails  for  Georgia 130 

his  first  return  from  America 152 

his  first  open-air  preaching 163 

he  embraces  Calvinism 186 

writes  "Wesley  on  the  subject 188 

his  marriage 254 

his  connection  with  slavery 429 

his  letter  on  the  subject 431 

bequeathes  his  slaves,  etc.,  to  the 

Countess  of  Huntington 430 

last  sermon  of 433 

ho   desires  the  "Wesleys  should  be 
buried  beside  him 433 


PACK 

Whitelamb,  John,  mention  of 203 

Wightman,  Bishop  W.  M.,  brief  notice  of  652 

"Wilberforce,  William,  notice  of. 330 

Coke's  letter  to,  noticed 489 

Wilbraham  Academy,  sketch  of 553 

"Wiley,  Bishop  Isaac  W.,  sketch  of. 711 

"Williams,  Richard,  arrival  and  work  of. .  762 

"Woman's  Foreign  Missionarj'  Society,  the  725 

"Wood,  Enoch,  sketch  of. 777 

"Wright,  Richard,  volunteers  for  America  410 

Young,  Benjamin,  appointed  to  Illinois.  .  585 

Zinzendorf  and  Wesley,  anecdote  of . . . .  143 

Zion's  Herald,  notice  of 560 


J,:BXletrSc.Cin     * 


6     a^ongitude-West   *    froia  Greenwich  j_ 


MAP  OF   GREAT  BRITAIN  AND  IRELAND. 


MAP  OF  THE  THIRTEEN   COLONIES. 


f 


OHAET  SHOWING  THE   TOUE  OF   BISHOP   HARRIS  IN  THE   E. 


JN    HEMISPHERE   ON  HIS  MISSIOXARY   CIRCUIT  OF  THE  GLOBE. 


PART  I. 

WESLEY  AND  HIS  TIMES. 


VIEW   OF  OXFORD, 


CHAPTER  I. 


ENGLAND  AND  HER  CHURCH  IN  THE  EIGHTEENTH  CENTURY. 


THE  history  of  Metliodism  opens  in  the  latter  part  of  the  year  1729, 
at  the  University  of  Oxford,  England,  where  fonr  young  men — 
John  Wesley,  Charles  Wesley,  Robert  Kirkham,  and  AVilliam  Morgan 
— had  banded  themselves  together  for  mntual  assistance  both  in  schol- 
arship and  piety. 

There  was  need  enough  for  such  mntual  lielp,  for  at  that  day 
scholarship  and  piety  were  the  two  most  unusual  attainments  among 
university  men.  To  improve  their  minds  these  persons  agreed  to 
spend  three  or  four  evenings  in  the  week  together  in  reading  the 
Greek  Testament,  the  Greek  and  Latin  classics,  and  on  Sunday  even- 
ings, divinity ;  to  improve  their  souls,  they  adopted  a  set  of  rules 
for  holy  living,  including  the  exact  observance  of  all  the  duties  set 
forth  in  the  Prayer  Book  of  the  English  Church,  besides  such  others 
as  they  were  able  to  invent  for  themselves,  all  of  which  they  kej^t  as 
strictly  and  religiously  as  if  they  had  found  them  laid  .down  in  the 
book  of  Exodus  or  Deuteronomy.  Their  exceptional  diligence  in 
studyj   and    their    still   more   remarkable  sanctity  of   manners,  soon 


44  Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 

broiiglit  down  upon  them  a  storm  of  ridicule  and  abuse,  and  the 
name  "  Methodist "  was  flung  at  them  in  derision  on  account  of  the 
clock-work  regularity  of  their  hves — a«  name  destined  to  become  a  title 
of  honor,  and  to  stand  for  the  largest  spiritual  conununion  of  Chris- 
tians in  the  world. 

Eng'land  Under  George  II. — This  was  in  the  third  year  of 
the  second  of  the  Georges,  a  prince  alike  deficient  in  mental  capacity 
and  moral  worth.  In  those  days  it  was  not  the  fashion  for  kings  to 
practice  the  Christian  virtues :  indeed,  the  almost  universal  profligacy 
of  royal  courts  would  indicate  that  it  was  regarded  as  the  high  pre- 
rogative of  kings  and  princes  to  break  all  the  ten  commandments,  and 
the  more  frequently  they  did  so  the  more  did  they  display  their  dig- 
nity and  power ;  since  nothing  could  be  a  greater  proof  of  royalty 
than  a  fearless  disobedience  of  the  law  of  God.  Enghsh  historians 
agree  in  condemning  the  manners  and  morals  of  the  reigns  of  the 
four  Georges ;  yet  it  is  but  just  to  set  over  against  the  repulsive  pict- 
ures which  they  draw  the  still  more  infamous  scenes  which  were 
constantly  witnessed  in  the  Roman  Catholic  countries  of  Europe. 
Bearing  in  mind  then  the  fact  that,  with  all  its  public  and  private 
abominations,  Protestant  England  in  the  eighteenth  century  was  a 
vast  improvement  on  the  England  of  any  previous  age,  except  during 
the  Protectorate  of  Cromwell,  the  actual  state  of  the  Idngdom,  its 
rulers,  its  people,  its  schools,  and  its  Church  as  compared  with  the 
Christian  England  of  to-day  may  be  studied  with  interest  and  profit ; 
as  showing  how  great  a  need  still  existed  in  this  foremost  country  of 
Europe  in  rehgion,  intelligence,  and  morals,  of  such  a  spiritual  refor- 
mation in  its  religion  as  that  with  which  Great  Britain  was  blessed 
under  the  leadership  of  that  chief  of  all  the  great  reformers,  John 
Wesley. 

This  was  the  money  era.  There  was  nothing  which  could  not  be 
bought  or  sold.  From  the  reeking  royal  court  down  through  aU  the 
upper  orders  of  society  there  was  one  long  carnival  of  luxury,  hcen- 
tiousness,  and  display.  Gold  lace,  velvets,  brocades,  and  jewels  were 
the  current  substitutes  for  virtue  among  women  and  honor  among 
men ;  and  with  such  examples  set  them  by  lords  and  ladies  the  poorer 
classes — sometimes  also  called  "  the  lower  classes  " — of  society,  made 
all  haste  to  fill  themselves  with  pleasure  by  defiling  themselves  with  sui. 


England  in  the  Eighteenth.  Century. 


45 


In  1736  every  six.tli 
house  in  London  was 
a  gin-shop.     The  sign 
boards  of  inns  advei 
tised  to  make  a  nin 
drunk    for    a    penn 
dead    drunk    for   tw 
pence,    and   promise 
straw  to  lie  on  whil 
he  was  getting  sobe 
From  these  dens  of  ii  i 
iquity  bands  of  youn 
men  would  sally  fori  1 
by  night  for  a  drunkt  i 
frolic,  and  commit  e 
ery  sort  of  depredatic  i 
upon  the  persons  ar 
property  of  peaceabl 
citizens,        sometim 
even   torturing  the: 
with     their     sword 
breaking  heads,  split 
ting   noses,    and   siil 
niitting  both  men  ai   I 
women    to   the   vile  t 
possible      indignities. 
The  capital  swarmed 
with     desperate     and 
shameless      adventur- 
ers,  plotting   how   to 
fasten  themselves  and 
their  families  npon  the 
Church    or   the    civil 
list,  or  picking  up  a 
precarious    living    as 
professional  wits ;  tell- 
ing vile  jokes  or  sing- 


A   BIT   OF    OLD  L0:N^D0X. 
Orange  Court,  Drury  Lane,  abi)ut  1740. 


46 


Illustiiated  HisTuiiY  OF  Methodism. 


f  ^  I 


ing  lewd  songs,  not  only  in  ale-liouses  and  bagnios,  bnt  also  in  tlio 
assemblies  of  polite  society. 

The  ignorance  of  the  common  peojjle  was  another  cui'se  of  the 
kingdom.  In  the  year  1715  less  than  twenty-live  thonsand  of  the 
children  of  the  poor  were  sent  to  school ;  being  only  about  one  fourth 
of  the  number  of  scholars  now  in  the  Wesleyan  Methodist  day  schools 
of  England,  to  say  nothing  of  the  schools  connected  with  the  other 
communions. 

As  for  law,  it  was  plenty  enough,  but  justice  was  far  more  rare. 

The  prisons  were  full  to  burst- 
ing ;  and  there  was  a  public  hang- 
ing every  week,  by  which  large 
numbers   of   sinners,  great    and 
small,  were   assisted  out  of  th.e 
world   without    perceptibly    im- 
proving it.     Neither  the  Tj'biirn 
gallows,  nor  the  array  of  heads 
^-^  newly  cut  oif  for  treason — with 
which  it  used  to  be  the  custom 
to  decorate  Temple  Bar  and  tlie 
gate-way  of  old  London  Bridge 
— availed  to  frighten  the  people 
into  good  behavior,  since  it  was  evident  that  what  was  called  Justice 
in  Great  Britain  was  chiefly  a  means  of  protecting  the  king  against 
his  subjects,  and  defending  the  rich  against  the  poor. 

The  CBmreli  iii  Siiglaiici^  versus  the  Chiirela  of 
England, — But  where  was  the  Church  all  this  while;' 

On  the  throne,  in  the  person  of  the  king;  in  the  court,  foremost 
in  intrigue  ;  in  the  House  of  Lords,  where  bishops  hob-nobbed  M'ith 
peers  of  th.e  realm  ;  in  grand  catliedrals  splendidly  endowed ;  in  fat 
livings  all  over  the  kingdom  ;  in  all  the  resorts  of  pleasure  and  fashion  ; 
but  not  among  the  surging  throngs  of  common  sinners,  wdio  were  so 
sunk  in  ignorance  and  atheism  that  they  hardly  knew,  or  boldly  denied, 
that  they  had  any  souls  to  be  saved.  The  C'hurch  of  England,  like  that 
of  Laodicea,  though  j-irond  of  its  traditions,  its  wealth,  and  its  ]30wei", 
w'as  "wretched,  and  miserable,  and  poor,  and  blind,  and  naked."  Its 
wealth  and  offices  were  constantly  prostituted  to  personal  and  political 


m^.*^^^ 


OLD   T.OXnOX  BRIDGE. 


Rngland  est  the  Eighteenth  Century.  47 

ends.  For  royal  favorites  and  zealous  partisans  it  had  titles,  benefices, 
and  preferments ;  for  the  masses  of  the  people  it  had  little  else  to  give, 
in  return  for  the  conformity  and  the  tithes  it  exacted,  except  the  forms 
of  the  lioly  sacraments,  and  a  hturgy  which  might  almost  as  well  have 
been  in  papal  Latin  for  any  good  the  unschooled  nistics  could  find  in 
it  as  it  was  drawled  or  rattled  out  by  some  half -starved  curate,  while 
his  rector  was  giving  himseK  up  to  a  life  of  rural  pleasure  or  courtly 
intrigue. 

It  is  true,  the  Lord  had  a  few  faithful  servants  both  among  the 
clergy  of  the  Estabhshment  and  the  ministry  of  the  Non-confonnists 
Churches,  but  for  the  most  part  both  priests  and  people  were  not  only 
destitute  of  the  power  of  godliness,  but  also  of  the  form  thereof. 

In  studying  the  history  of  the  great  Methodist  revival,  and  its  re- 
lation to  the  communion  within  which  it  commenced,  it  should  not  be 
forgotten  that  Christ  has  a  Church  in  England,  which  is  not  of  En- 
gland ;  a  Church  older  than  Henry  YIIL ;  older  than  Augustine,  the 
first  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  ;  older  than  the  paganism  of  the  Saxon 
conquest ;  older  than  the  Romanism  of  the  papacy.  There  were  Chris- 
tian Churches,  and  Christian  martyft  too,  in  Britain  long  before  that 
very  prudent  prince,  the  Emperor  Constantine,  could  make  up  his 
mind  to  break  with  the  Roman  idolaters  and  allow  himseK  to  be  bap- 
tized. There  were  British  Christians,  scattered  by  persecution  among 
the  Scottish  highlands  and  the  mountains  of  Wales,  hunted  by  pagan 
Britons,  and  afterward  by  pagan  Saxons ;  persecuted,  now  by  Roman- 
ists in  the  name  of  the  Pope,  and  now  by  Anglicans  in  the  name  of  the 
King — these  are  the  people  from  whom  has  descended  the  true  Angh- 
can  Church.  The  Church  in  England  is  spiritual,  the  Church  of 
England  is  political ;  the  one  is  from  heaven,  the  other  is  of  men ; 
their  historic  liiies  sometimes  cross  each  other,  but  they  seldom 
coincide  for  any  great  length  of  distance  or  time. 

Outline  of  English  ^tate-Churchism. — A  brief  sketch 
of  the  career  of  the  Church  of  England,  as  distinguished  from  the 
Church  in  England,  though  not  essential  to  this  history,  will  greatly 
assist  in  understanding  many  of  the  events  which  have  a  vital  connec- 
tion with  the  Wesleyan  revival. 

In  the  year  596  England  was  Romanized  by  Augustine ;  not  the 
Saint  of  that  name,  hut  a  Roman  monk  who  was  sent  by  Pope  Giegory 


48  Illustkated  Histoey  of  Methodism. 

the  Great  to  take  advantage  of  the  marriage  of  the  heathen  King  of 
Kent  with  a  Christian  princess.  This  marriage  was  the  beginning  of 
political  rehgion  in  England, 

"  Strangers  from  Rome  "  was  the  title  by  which  Augustine  and  his 
forty  monks  introduced  themselves  to  King  Ethelbert — Romans  first, 
and  Christians  afterward — and  when  they  had  made  a  Roman  and  a 
Christian  of  the  King,  his  subjects  dutifully  followed  him,  and  as  many 
as  ten  thousand  of  them  are  said  to  have  been  baptized  in  a  single  day. 
Here  beginneth  the  royal  headship  of  the  Church  of  England. 

The  monks  now  turned  their  attention  to  converting  the  pagans  in 
other  parte  of  the  British  islands ;  using  mild  measures  at  first,  such  as 
sprinkling  the  temples  with  holy  water,  taking  down  the  idols  Thor, 
Woden,  and  other  ]^orse  divinities,  and  setting  up  images  of  Roman 
saints ;  all  this  with  a  view  to  convert  these  British  temples  into 
Romish  churches,  and  to  displace  the  pagan  by  the  Christian  form  with 
the  least  possible  shock  to  the  pagan  mind.  It  was  this  pohtic  Roman 
monk,  Augustine,  who,  in  the  French  city  of  Aries,  in  the  year  597, 
was  consecrated  by  Pope  Gregory  as  the  first  Archbishop  of  Canter- 
bury, and  Metropolitan  of  England ;  and  chiefly  along  his  line  of  policy 
a,nd  prelacy,  with  varying  fortunes,  but  with  always  the  same  flavor  of 
statecraft  about  it,  the  Church  of  England  has  ascended  to  our  day. 

From  the  beginning  of  the  eighth  to  the  middle  of  the  sixteenth 
century  the  power  of  Rome  over  the  English  nation  had  increased, 
until  the  papal  sanction  was  necessary  to  the  settlement  of  all  polit- 
ical, as  well  as  spiritual,  questions.  The  high  offices  in  the  English 
Church  were  at  the  disposal  of  the  Pope ;  spiritual  courts  were  estab- 
lished for  the  trial  of  "  spiritual  persons,"  whereby  all  crimes,  murder 
not  excepted,  became  frequent  among  ecclesiastics,  for  whom,  so  far  as 
human  law  was  concerned,  any  iniquity  was  safe ;  and  so  grec'uy  were 
they  of  fllthy  lucre,  and  so  successful  in  accumulating  it,  that  at  one 
time  nearly  half  the  wealth  of  England  was  under  their  control. 

The  Refbrmation  under  Luther,  which  promised  so  much  for 
Europe,  produced  only  a  temporary  impression  upon  the  Church  of 
England.  Protestantism  did,  indeed,  set  up  a  new  system  of  doctrine 
and  discipline,  which  was  a  vast  improvement  on  the  ever-multiplying 
heresies  of  Rome ;  but  the  Reformation  soon  lost  its  power  as  a  rehg- 
ion by  aspiring  after,  or  rather  groveling  after,  political  supremacy. 


England  in  the  Eighteenth  Century. 


4:9 


Meanwhile,  Hemy  VIII.  of  England  projected  a  Reformation  of 
liis  own.  He  had  special  use  for  a  Church  as  well  as  for  an  army  and 
navy,  and  in  his  hands  the  one  was  as  much  a  political  instrument  as 
the  other.  In  1531  this  infamous  prince  was  proclaimed  by  his  obe- 
dient convocation  of  English  bishops  as  "  The  only  and  supreme  lord, 
and,  as  far  as  the  law  of  Christ  permits,  even  the  suj)reme  head  of  the 
Church  of  England ;"  and  in  1539  his  Parliament  j)assed  an  "Act  for 
Abolishing  Diversity  of  Opinions,"  by  which  those  who  ventured  to 


OLIVER   CROMWELL. 


hold  different  notions  of  faith  and  practice  from  those  set  forth  in  his 
ro\'al  manifesto  w^ere  condemned  ''  to  suifer  the  pains  of  death  as  fel- 
ons," or  to  be  "  imprisoned  during  the  king's  pleasure." 

In  the  liturgy  which  was  prepared  for  the  use  of  the  new  political 
Protestant  Cliurch  in  lo-tS,  occurs  this  prayer : — 

"  From  the  tyrarmy  of  the  Bisliop  of  Pome  and  all  his  detestable 
enonnities,  good  Lord,  deliver  us!"     Yet, "after  centuries  of  intrigue, 


'50 


Illustratj:!)  History  of  Methodism. 


martyrdoin,  and  imirder,  England  liad  simply  freed  herself  from  the 
great  lioman  jiontiff  and  set  up  a  little  pope  of  her  own. 

But  Ileniy's  Church  was  born  to  trouble.  England  was  too  rich  a 
prize  to  be  easily  wrenched  from  the  grasp  of  Rome,  and  hence  it  was 
that  the  kingdom  swung  Ijack  and  forth  from  Anglicanism  to  Roman- 
ism and  from  Romanism  to  Anglicanism  again ;  making,  on  one  of 
these  journeys,  a  detour  off  into  Rresbyterianism  ;  but,  having  had  too 
much  of  Cromwell  and  his  roundheads,  who  must  needs  erect  their  re- 
ligious ojjinions  into  a  State  Church  like  all  the  rest,  the  nation,  after 
various  religious  contortions,  lapsed  into  a  condition  of  disgust  at  all 
religion  ;  at  least,  all  political  religion ;  and  there  was  mournfully  little 
religion  in  England  at  that  day  of  any  other  sort. 

The  path  of  the  Church  of  England  is  plentifully  stained  with 
martyrs'  blood  as  well  as  with  that  of  a  meaner  sort ;  yet  even  this  is 
void  of  power  or  praise  to  the  political  Church  of  the  kingdom,  since 
the  fagot  and  the  ax  have  served  at  different  times  in  the  name 
of  the  official  religion,  now"  to  punish  one  form  of  faith  and  now 
another.  The  people  of  England  have  been  marched  to  ])rison  in 
platoons,   like   coffles   of   slaves  to  the    auction   block,   and   some   of 

her  priests  and  bishops 
have  been  beheaded  or 
burned  "for  their  relig- 
ion ; "  but  with  every 
mai-tyr's  memorial  which 
(»ne  nuiy  meet,  set  u^j  in 
lionor  of  those  who  have 
sealed  their  faith  with 
their  blood,  it  is  needful 
to  inquire  on  account  of 
what  particular  form  of 
faith  this  particular  inar- 
tyr  died— for  so  many  different  reasons,  in  its  crooked  course  down  tlie 
centuries,  has  the  established  Church  of  England  murdei-ed  men  and 
women.  Under  the  Romish  system  the  State  was  held  to  be  the  creat- 
ure and  servant  of  the  Church ;  in  Protestant  England,  since  the  days 
of  Henry  and  Elizal)eth,  the  Church,  i  e.,  the  Establishment,  had  for 
the  most  part  Ijeen  the  servaiit  of  the  State.     The  old  kings  were  treated 


PROCESSION   OF  RELIGIOUS   CRIMINALS   ON 
THEIR   WAY  TO   PRISON. 


England  in   the  Eighteenth  Century.      51 

like  little  deities,  whose  food  and  wine  must  be  offered  on  bended  knee  ; 
now  tliey  were  prelates,  whose  opinions  in  religion,  inspired  by  schem- 
ing ecclesiastics,  constituted  the  orthodoxy  of  the  Church,  and  whose 
will  was,  presumably,  the  will  of  God. 

The  apostasies  and  martyrdoms  under  the  varying  forms  of  Church 
law,  which  followed  the  accession  of  Papist  or  Protestant  Idngs  and 
queens,  served  still  further  to  corrupt  the  morals  of  the  kingdom. 
There  was,  indeed,  an  "  Act  of  Toleration,"  which  permitted  Non- 
conformists to  maintain  their  own  forms  of  worship  on  condition  that 
they  should  also  support,  financially,  the  established  religion  of  the 
State ;  but  in  their  eyes  its  worship  was  no  worship,  its  ministry  was 
no  ministry,  its  sacraments  no  sacraments,  while,  on  the  other  hand, 
they  were  denounced  by  the  Church  party  as  rebels,  blasphemers, 
reprobates,  in  a  state  of  sin  and  misei-y,  and  in  danger  of  eternal 
damnation. 

One  deep  and  lasting  impression,  however,  was  made  upon  the  peo- 
ple of  England  by  these  pohtico-religious  oscillations,  namely :  hatred 
of  the  Pope.  The  reign  of  "bloody  Mary,"  from  1553  to  1558,  when 
Papacy  was  the  State  religion,  aroused  the  wrath  of  the  English  people 
to  such  a  degree  that  on  her  death  and  the  accession  of  Elizabeth  in  tlic 
last-named  year,  the  triumph  of  Protestantism  was  substantially  com- 
plete, and  to  this  day  the  party  cry  of  "  No  Popery  ! "  will  rouse  the 
blood  of  Enghsh  artisans  and  peasants,  and  call  forth  ringing  cheers 
from  almost  any  great  assembly  of  free-born  Britons.  But  the  value 
of  hatred  as  a  saving  grace,  even  though  it  be  the  hatred  of  the  Pope 
himself,  cannot  be  very  considerable :  Protestantism,  pure  and  simple, 
is  simply  no  rehgion  at  all :  nevertheless,  protesting  and  hating  is  so 
much  easier  than  praying  and  loving  that,  in  the  eighteenth  century, 
anti-popery  had  come  to  be  considered  a  form  of  religious  faith,  and 
Protestantism  was  made  to  cover  a  multitude  of  sins. 

The  spiritual  value  of  this  last  reformation,  or  revolution  of  the 
State  religion,  may  be  estimated  in  the  light  of  the  fact  that  when  the 
transition  took  place  from  the  extreme  Popery  of  the  reign  of  Mary  to 
the  extreme  Protestantism  of  Elizabeth,  nearly  all  the  clergy  of  tlie 
State  Church  succeeded  in  overleaping  the  gulf  without  the  loss  of 
their  places.  Out  of  the  nine  thousand  four  hundred  beneficed  clergy 
■©f  the  Church  of  England,  only  one  hundred  and  seventy-two  quitted 


52 


Illustrated  History  of  Methodisjvl 


their  offices  or  ''  livings"  rather  than  change  their  religion.*  JSTo  won- 
der that  such  a  convenient  "religion"  rapidly  sunk  into  contempt 
among  a  people  whose  love  of  what  is  genuine,  as  opposed  to  all  preten- 
sion, is  a  well-known  national  characteristic.  The  "Anglican  Church," 
says  one  of  its  most  eminent  bishops,  "-was  an  ecclesiastical  system 
under  which  the   people  of   England   had   lapsed   into   heathenism,, 


MARTYRS'   MEMORIAL. 


or  a  state  hardly  to  be  distinguished  from  it."  But  what  else  was  to 
be  expected  from  a  Church  whose  constitution  was  a  political  contriv- 
ance invented  to  meet  the  exigencies  of  the  State,  whose  offices  were 
often  given  as  bribes  and  presents  from  kings  and  nobles  in  recogni- 
tion of  partisan  zeal  or  family  claims,  and  whose  sacraments  even  were 
regarded  by  the  clergy  as  exclusive  official  prerogatives  more  than  as- 

*  Smith's  "History  of  Wesleyan  Methodism,"  vol.  i,  p.  3. 


England  in  the  Eighteenth  Century.      53 

ordinances  of  the  Lord !  To  seek  for  any  substantial  Christianity  as 
the  product  of  such  a  Church  is  only  an  attempt  to  gather  grapes  of 
thorns  or  figs  of  thistles. 

Throughout  this  wretched  era  the  Lord  had  here  and  there  some 
faithful  servants  to  declare  his  pleasure  and  defend  his  word.  These 
God-fearing  men,  although  in  a  hopeless  minority,  lifted  up  their 
voices  against  the  iniquities  of  the  time,  and  from  the  outpourings  of 
their  shame  and  sorrow  the  most  vivid  pictures  of  the  irrehgion  of  the 
age  may  be  drawn.  It  was  an  age  that  builded  the  tombs  of  the  mar- 
tyrs, but  which  avoided  the  remotest  approach  to  their  heroic  Hfe  and 
death. 

The  Bishop  of  Lichfield  says  : — 

"  The  Lord's  day  is  now  the  devil's  market  day :  more  lewdness, 
more  drunkenness,  more  murders,  more  sin  is  contrived  and  committed 
on  this  day  than  on  all  the  other  days  of  the  week  together,  .  .  .  Sin, 
in  general,  has  grown  so  hardened  and  rampant  as  that  immorahties 
are  defended ;  yea,  justified  on  principle.  Every  kind  of  sin  has  found 
a  writer  to  vindicate  and  teach  it,  and  a  bookseller  and  hawker  to  di- 
vulge and  spread  it." 

Bishop  Burnet,  in  1713,  speaking  of  the  candidates  for  ordination 
in  the  State  Church,  says  :  "  The  much  greater  part  of  those  who  come 
to  be  ordained  are  ignorant  to  a  degree  not  to  be  apprehended  by  those 
who  are  not  obliged  to  know  it.  The  easiest  part  of  knowledge  is  that 
to  which  they  are  the  greatest  strangers :  I  mean  the  plainest  parts  of 
the  Scriptures." 

Bishop  Butler,  in  the  preface  to  his  "  Analogy,"  which  is  itself 
a  piece  of  devout  rationahsm,  declares  that  "  it  has  come  to  be  taken 
for  granted  that  Christianity  is  not  so  much  a  subject  of  inquiry,  but 
that  it  is  now  at  length  discovered  to  be  fictitious." 

Sir  John  Barnard,  once  Lord  Mayor  of  London,  and  for  forty  years 
its  representative  in  Parliament,  complains  that  "  it  really  seems  to  be 
the  fashion  for  a  man  to  declare  himself  of  no  religion ; "  and  Mon- 
tesquieu, in  his  "  Notes  on  England,"  says,  that  "  not  more  than  four 
or  five  members  of  the  House  of  Commons  were  regular  attendants  at 
church." 

Lecky,  in  his  work  entitled  "  England  in  the  Eighteenth  Century," 
describes  the  theology  preached  in  the  churches  of  the  Establishment 


54 


Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 


as  little  more  than  anotlier  form  of  rationalism.  "  It  was,'"  says  lie, 
"  the  leading  object  of  the  skeptics  of  the  time  to  assert  the  sufficiency 
of  natural  relii^ion.     It  was  the  leading  object  of  a  large  proportion  of 


ENTRaXCE    to   TUK   hall   of   CHRIST   CHURCH   COLLEGE,    OXFORD. 


the  divines  to  prove  that  Christianit}^  was  little  more  than  natural  re- 
ligion accredited  by  historic  proofs  and  enforced  by  the  indisputable 
sanctions  of  rewards  and  punishments.  Beyond  a  brief  in  the  doc- 
trine of  the  Trinity  and  a  general  aekiiowledginent  of  the  venicity  of 


iilNaLAND    EST   THE    JDIGHTEENTH    CeNTUET.  55 

the  gospel  narratives,  they  taught  httle  that  might  not   have   been 
taught  by  the  disciples  of  Socrates  and  Confucius." 

The  Rev.  Augustus  M.  Toplady,  himseK  a  minister  of  the  Estab- 
lished Church,  who  died  in  1778,  said,  in  a  sermon  preached  not 
long  before  his  death  :  "I  beheve  no  denomination  of  professing  Chris- 
tians, the  Church  of  Rome  excepted,  was  so  generally  void  of  the  hght 
and  life  of  godhness,  so  generally  destitute  of  the  doctrine  and  of  the 
grace  of  the  Gospel,  as  was  the  Church  of  England,  considered  as  a 
body,  about  fifty  years  ago.  At  that  period  a  converted  minister  in 
the  Estabhshment  was  as  great  a  wonder  as  a  comet." 

Such  was  the  Estabhshed  Church,  the  political  as  distinguished 
from  the  spiritual  Church,  under  whose  auspices  in  the  eighteenth 
century  the  Idngdom  of  Great  Britain  almost  went  back  to  barbarism. 
"  If  I  had  not  been  Prime  Minister,"  said  Premier  Walpole,  "  I  would 
have  been  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,"  and  though  he  neither  feared 
God  nor  regarded  man,  this  place  in  the  Church  of  England  would, 
no  doubt,  have  been  within  his  reach  if  his  personal  ambition  had 
taken  that  particular  turn. 

Irrelig'ioiis  liearning'. — The  universities,  too,  with  all  their 
splendor  of  architecture  and  all  their  wealth  of  endowment,  had  fallen 
into  a  state  of  intellectual  and  moral  stagnation. 

In  1729  the  heads  of  Oxford  issued  a  notice  complaining  of  the 
spread  of  open  deism  among  the  students,  and  urging  that  they  be 
more  carefully  instracted  in  theology.  But  how  was  this  to  be  done  ? 
The  writings  of  the  Christian  Fathers  were  too  full  of  superstition  for 
the  classical  taste  of  the  times ;  they  were,  therefore,  displaced  by  the 
literature  of  ancient  Greece  and  Rome ;  and  as  for  the  Bible  in  Greek 
and  Hebrew,  few  university  men  thought  the  book  worthy  their  atten 
tioH  in  any  tongue  whatever. 

The  Bishop  of  Chichester,  in  a  letter  to  a  young  clergyman,  says : — 

"  IlTame  me  any  one  of  the  men  famed  for  learning  in  this  or  the 
last  age  who  have  seriously  turned  themselves  to  the  study  of  the 
Scriptures.  ...  A  happy  emendation  on  a  passage  in  a  pagan  writer, 
that  a  modest  man  would  blush  at,  will  do  you  more  credit  and  be  of 
more  service  to  you  than  the  most  useful  employment  of  your  time 
upon  the  Scriptures,  unless  you  resolve  to  conceal  your  sentiment  and 
npeak  always  with  the  vulgar." 


56 


Illustrated  Hi>tohy  of  Metiiodis3i. 


The  popular  literature  of  the  day,  as  to  its  moralitj'^,  was  quite  down 
to  the  classical  standard.  Iniquities  of  speech,  hidden  from  the  un- 
learned, were  dragged  forth  and  exhibited  in  broad  English ;  books 


and  pictures  held  place  on  drawing-room  tables  which  would  now  con- 
sign their  publishei's  to  pi'ison ;  and  even  the  mysteries  of  religion 


England  in  the  Eighteenth  Century. 


57 


-were  turned  into  ribald  jests.  One  of  the  most  j)opnlar  clergymen  of 
the  State  Church  so  far  prostituted  his  literary  genius  as  to  write  a 
poetic  burlesque  on  the  last  judgment,  and  none  of  the  Church  digni- 
taries called  the  clerical  clown  to  account  for  his  impiety,  because  the 
fashionable  world  was  laughing  at  his  wit. 

The  I>i!>»!«ieiiters — that  is  to  say,  the  Presbyterians,  Independ- 
ents, and  Baptists — though  less  conformed  to  this  world,  and  holding 
less  of  it  in  their  hands,  were  constrained  to  mourn  over  the  wastes  of 
Zion.  Many  of  their  ministers  were  immoral  and  negligent  of  their 
duty,  spending  their  time  and  strength  in  sports  and  revels,  or  in 
scrambling  for  the  best  paying  pastorates  in  their  respective  churches, 
with  much  of  the  same  spirit  as  that  which  they  so  bitterly  denounced 
in  the  clergy  of  the  Established  Church. 

Surely  such  an  England  as  this  needed  a  revival  of  religion ;  not  a 
"•reformation,"  Avhich  would  merely  replace  one  State  .Church  by 
another,  but  a  comiijg  to  the  front  of  the  divine  elements  which  priest- 
<3raft  and  politics  had  so  long  thrust  out  of  sight. 

State  of  Mellgi®!!  in  Scotland.— A  glance  at  Scotland, 

Avhcre  the  Eeformation, 
under  the  lead  of  grand 
old  John  Knox  had 
done  so  great  a  work, 
shows  that  portion  of 
the  kingdom  to  have 
been  burdened  w  i  t  h 
over-much  theology. 
Lecky  gives  this  char- 
acteristic picture  of  a 
Scotch  congregation 
wliich  was  quite  driven 
out  of  the  meeting- 
house by  a  sermon 
preached  by  the  son  of 
their  old  minister,  who 
JOHN  KKOx.  ]j.^j  j^^g^  come  home  with 

certain  latitudinarian  notions  in    his  head,  whereof  one  of  the  ffood 

elders  complained  to  the  father  thus  : — 
4 


58  Illusteated  History  of  Methodism. 

"  That  silly  lad  has  fashed  a'  the  congregation  wi'  his  idle  cacMe  j 
he's  been  babbling  the  oor  aboot  '  the  gude  and  benevolent  God ; '  and 
the  souls  o'  the  heathen  themsel'  will  gang  to  heaven  if  they  follow  the 
licht  o'  their  ain  consciences ;  but  not  ane  word  does  the  daft  young 
lad  ken  nor  speer  nor  say  aboot  the  gude,  comfortable  doctrines  of 
election,  reprobation,  original  sia,  and  faith.  Hoot,  mon ;  awa  wi'  sic 
a  feUow ! " 

If  this  be  a  fair  showing  of  Scotch  taste  in  religion,  it  would 
appear  that  the  spiritual  condition  of  Scotland  at  this  time  was  such  as 
to  indicate  the  need  of  another  Reformation. 

Ireland,  where,  a  few  years  later,  Methodism  won  some  of  its 
brightest  triumphs,  was,  in  the  first  haK  of  the  eighteenth  century, 
thought  to  be  hardly  worth  the  notice  of  polite  and  respectable  En- 
glishmen. Among  her  people  there  were,  indeed,  many  superior 
minds,  but  for  the  most  part  ignorance  and  superstition  reigned 
supreme. 

Methodism  a  Benediction. — The  Methodist  revival,  which 
must  have  been  a  gift  from  God  out  of  heaven  since  there  was  noth- 
hig  in  the  condition  of  this  world  out  of  which  to  produce  it,  was  like 
a  fresh  breeze  from  the  north  on  a  sultry  summer's  day.  Reeking 
odors  from  all  manner  of  social  and  spiritual  decay  filled  the  air,  and 
the  few  godly  men  in  England  were  panting  for  a  pure  breath  from 
the  upper  heavens.  At  length  it  came,  sweeping  along  like  the  winds 
which  God  lets  loose  from  his  fists,  swaying  devout  souls,  breaking 
down  stubborn  sinners,  spreading  confusion  where  vice  and  wealth  had 
wrought  together  to  build  themselves  a  tower  or  temple,  overturning 
hopes  built  on  false  foundations,  but  quenching  not  the  smoking  flax 
nor  breaking  the  braised  reed.  It  was  Heaven's  bountiful  answer  to 
the  silent  prayer  of  the  world's  great  sorrow  by  reason  of  its  great  sin 
In  the  midst  of  this  spiritual  darkness  God  raised  up  a  bishop,  a 
preacher,  and  a  poet ;  three  men  the  equals  of  whom  have,  probably, 
never  been  seen  in  the  world  at  once  since  the  apostolic  days :  the 
bishop  was  John  Wesley,  the  preacher  was  George  "Whitefield,  the 
poet  was  Charles  Wesley.  To  these  three  men,  and  those  whom  they 
gathered  to  their  standard,  did  the  Lord  commit  the  precious  work  of 
awakening  the  British  kingdom  to  a  sense  of  God  and  duty,  and  by 
them  he  wrought  a  reformation  which  stands  alone  in  British  history 


England  in  the  Eighteenth  Century. 


59 


as  a  s]3iritiial  revival  of  religion  -without  admixture  of  State-craft  or 
the  patronage  of  Parliament  or  King. 

It  has  been  lately  claimed  by  one  high  in  the  English  Church  that 
these  men  were  the  product  of  England's  ecclesiastical  system,  and  that, 
therefore,  the  common  judgment  of  history  against  the  State  Church 
of  their  day  has  been  unjust.^'"  As  well  might  it  be  said  that  the  car- 
cass of  Samson's  dead  lion  produced  the  honey  he  afterward  found  in 
it.  Nay,  rather  let  it  be  said  that  God  in  his  mercy  set  himself  to 
save  the  English  Church  from  its  death  and  corruption ;  and  that  the 
Wesleys  and  Whitetield  were  the  jDrojjhets  whom  he  sent  to  j^rophesy 
to  the  bones  of  that  valley,  and  to  raise  up  from  among  the  dead  an 
exceeding  great  army  to  the  praises  of  his  infinite  grace. 

*  Dean  Stanley,  at  his  Methodist  Reception  in  St.  Paul's  M.  E.  Church,  New  York,  18V9. 


.TOIIX    KXOX'S   CIIUKCH   I X   EDlMiUKGn. 


C^/^i/£i^ 


Susanna  "Weslev,  Mother  of  John  "Wesley. 


CHAPTER   II. 


THE    WESLEY    FAMILY 


AC  AEEFUL  student  of  human  nature  lias  said,  "  When  God  sets 
out  to  make  a  great  man  he  first  makes  a  great  woman ; "  a  state- 
ment eminently  true  in  the  case  of  John  "Wesley ;  but  only  one  side 
of  the  truth,  for  on  his  father's,  as  well  as  on  his  mother's  side,  he 
inherited  great  talents  and  high  moral  endowments. 

The  Wesley,  or  Westley,  family  was  one  of  high  respectability  in  the 


The  Wesley  Family.  61 

south  of  England,  Its  annals  can  be  traced  as  far  back  as  the  four- 
teentli  century,  and  it  is  interesting  to  find  in  almost  every  generation 
an  eminent  clergyman  and  scholar.  Thus  in  1403  George  Westley  was 
prebendary  of  Bedminster  and  Radeclyve;  in  1481  John  Westley, 
"bachelor  in  degrees,"  was  rector  of  Langton  Matravers;  in  1497 
John  "Wannesleigh  was  rector  of  Bettiscomb  ;  in  1508  John  Wennesley 
was  chaplain  of  Pillesdon,  all  of  which  parishes  were  in  the  county  of 
Dorsetshire,  in  which,  after  the  lapse  of  one  hundred  and  thirty  years, 
the  name  of  the  family,  which  had  undergone  such  changes  in  orthog- 
raphy, again  appears,  beginning  with  Bartholomew  Wesley,  the  great 
grandfather  of  John  and  Charles  Wesley,  rector  of  Charrmouth  and 
Catherston,  who  gained  the  title  of  "  the  fanatical  parson  "  on  account 
of  his  opposition  to  State  Church  pretensions  and  his  sacrifices  for  the 
sake  of  his  opinions.  On  the  accession  of  Charles  II.  to  the  Enghsh 
throne,  Bartholomew  Wesley,  as  well  as  hundreds  of  other  clergymen, 
was  ejected  from  his  "  livings,"  and  forbidden,  by  the  "  Five  Mile 
A.ct,"  to  approach  within  that  distance  of  his  former  parishes. 

John  Westley,  his  son,  was  educated  for  the  priesthood  at  the 
University  of  Oxford.  During  the  civil  war  the  splendid  halls  and 
chapels  on  which  Cardinal  Wolsey  had  lavished  untold  wealth  were 
turned  into  store-houses,  magazines  and  barracks ;  but  when  Crom- 
well became  master  of  England  under  the  title  of  "  Lord  Protector," 
the  Oxford  Colleges '  were  repaired,  the  schools  re-opened,  and  this 
John  Westley,  grandfather  of  John  and  Charles  Wesley,  was  one  of 
the  first  as  well  as  one  of  the  foremost  scholars  admitted  thereto. 
In  1658,  the  year  of  CromweU's  death,  he  became  the  minister  at 
Whitchurch,  a  small  market  town  in  Shropshire ;  but  with  the  disap- 
pearance of  the  Commonwealth,  and  the  re-establishment  of  the 
throne  and  the  episcopal  form  of  Church  Government,  he  was 
denounced  as  one  of  Cromwell's  Puritans,  seized  by  the  State 
Church  officers,  and  carried  to  prison  at  Blandford  ;  but  so  admirable 
was  his  conduct  at  the  examination  that  he  was  allowed  to  return  to 
his  parish,  his  gentleness  and  piety  having  quite  disarmed  his  envious 
and  spiteful  accusers. 

The  24th  of  August,  1662,  was  the  day  appointed  for  carrying  into 
effect  the  "  Act  of  Uniformity,"  by  which  the  episcopal  form  of  gov- 
ernment was  to  be  f  uUy  restored  in  the  Church,  and  by  which  aU  its 


62 


Illustrated  Histoey  of  Methodism. 


ministers  were  required,  not  only  to  use  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer, 
but  also  to  avow  their  "  unfeigned  assent  and  consent  to  all  and  every 
thing  contained  therein." 

Mr.  Wesley,  who  would  not  compromise  his  conscience  for  the 
sake  of  his  "  living,"  preached  his  farewell  sermon  on  the  preceding 
Sunday,  August  lYth,  and  thenceforth  became  an  outcast  and  a  wan- 
derer, hunted  from  town  to  town,  repeatedly  thrust  into  prison,  but 
ever  maintaining  his  faith  and  his  j)atience,  unmoved  alike  by  threats 
or  promises,  preaching  the  Gospel  as  he  could  find  opportunity,  and 


JOHN    WESLEY,    GRANDFATHER   OF  JOHN  AND   CHARLES  WESLEY, 


furnishing  an  admirable  illustration  of  that  tenet  of  his  faith  entitled 
"the  perseverance  of  the  saints,"  imtil  his  sufferings  broke  his  heart 
and  wore  out  his  life,  and  he  sunk  into  a  premature  grave  about  16Y0. 
Such  was  the  grandfather  and  namesake  of  John  Wesley,  the  Meth- 
odist :  gentle,  incorruptible,  devout,  with  a  conscience  quick  as  the 
apple  of  an  eye,  and  with  a  most  unconqjierable  will.  He  could  not 
be  jjermitted  to  hold  his  place  in  the  Church  of  England — but  that  he 
was  a  true  and  faithful  member  of  the  Church  in  England  there  is 
no  occasion  to  deny. 


The  Wesley  Family.  o3 

Samuel  Westley,  in  the  next  generation,  was  also  a  clergyman. 
He  was  left  an  orphan  in  his  infancy,  which  fact  may  account  for 
the  slight  impression  made  upon  him  by  the  heroic  sacrifices  and 
sufferings  endured  by  his  father  and  grandfather  in  defense  of  the 
rights  of  conscience. 

In  the  academy  at  l^ewington  Green,  a  private  school  of  the  l?is- 
senters,  in  which  he  was  placed  to  be  trained  for  a  jtTon-conformist 
minister,  he  had  for  his  school-fellows  the  famous  Daniel  De  Foe, 
and  a  lad  named  Crusoe,  after  whom  the  immortal  hero  of  the  loneiy 
island  was  named.  Here  young  Westley  soon  distinguished  himself 
as  a  writer,  and  when  only  seventeen  years  of  age  he  was  selected  to 
reply  to  certain  severe  articles  which  had  been  published  against  the 
Dissenters ;  but  the  course  of  reading  by  which  he  sought  to  prepare 
himseK  for  his  task  had  the  opposite  effect  upon  his  mind  from  what 
he  had  intended,  for  it  led  him  to  espouse  the  cause  of  the  Establish- 
ment, and  he  became  thenceforth  a  sturdy  defender  of  the  State 
Church,  and  an  ardent  Tory  in  politics,  which  sentiments  in  after 
years  cost  him  no  little  trouble.  Knowing  the  opposition  he  was  sure 
to  encounter  from  his  mother,  as  well  as  from  an  old  aunt,  who  ap- 
pears to  have  offered  an  asylum  to  the  widow  and  her  family,  and  to 
have  been  his  patron  at  school,  young  Westley  left  her  house  one 
morning  very  early,  with  only  the  sum  of  two  pounds  and  sixteen 
shillings  in  his  pocket,  and  started  for  Oxford,  where  he  entered  him- 
seK at  Exeter  College,  where  in  due  time  he  took  his  bachelor's  degree. 

In  1690  he  was  ordained  as  deacon  in  the  Established  Church,  and 
presented  to  the  small  "  living  "  of  South  Ormsby  by  the  Marquis  of 
]!^ormanby.  This  nobleman,  who  owned  the  parish,  thought  to  own  its 
minister  also,  but  the  Reverend  Samuel  was  not  the  man  to  be  kept  in 
subjection,  and,  having  turned  the  marquis'  mistress  out  (;f  doors,  who 
had  insisted  on  being  a  visitor  at  the  rectory,  he  himself  was  thrust  out 
of  his  "  living,"  but  soon  afterward  obtained  the  rectorship  of  the  parish 
of  Epworth,  in  Lincolnshire,  a  position  in  the  gift  of  the  Crown, 
where  he  passed  the  remainder  of  his  life,  and  where  his  two  famous 
sons,  John  and  Charles,  were  born ;  the  former  on  the  lYth  of  June, 
1703,  and  the  latter  on  the  18th  of  December,  1Y08.* 

•  Rev.  Samuel  Wesley  left  the  "  t "  out  of  the  family  name  about  the  time  of  his  removal 
'JO  Epworth. 


64 


Illusteated  History  of  Methodism. 


It  would  seem  that  the  Ruler  of  events  was  planning  these  two  men 
several  generations  beforehand,  and  was  carefully  developing  just 
those  elements  of  mind  and  body  which  were  to  be  required  in  the 
great  mission  on  which  he  had  determined  to  send  them.  In  the 
grandfather  of  the  Methodist  Wesley  he  seems  to  have  arrived  at  the 
proper  pattern  for  the  great  leader,  John  Wesley,  and  in  their  father, 
the  ideal  for  the  poet  of  this  great  revival,  Charles  Wesley ;  for  John 
is  almost  John  Wesley  over  again,  while  Charles  is  theyac  simile  of 
his  father  Samuel,  though  in  both  cases  there  is  a  very  considerable- 
ascent  as  well  as  descent. 


SUSANNA    ANNESLEY. 


The  Mother  of  the  Wesleys.— All  writers  of  Methodist 
history  dwell  with  rapture  on  the  talents  and  virtues  of  that  admirable 
English  matron,  Mrs.  Susanna  Wesley ;  while  to  the  devout  student 
thereof  the  gracious  purpose  of  God  is  manifest  in  preparing  and  unit- 


The  Wesley  Family.  65 

ing  two  such  noble  lines  of  power  and  genius  as  those  which  were 
joined  in  the  persons  of  Samuel  Westley  and  Susanna  Anneslej. 

This  lady  was  the  youngest  daughter  of  Rev.  Samuel  Annesley, 
LL.D.,  a  nephew  of  the  Earl  Anglesea  and  a  graduate  of  Oxford,  where 
his  studiousness  and  his  piety  were  as  admirable  as  they  were  rare. 
He  was  afterward  settled  in  the  parish  of  St.  James,  in  London,  and 
was  also  appointed  lecturer  at  St.  Paul's ;  but,  being  a  Non-conformist, 
as  those  ministers  of  the  Establishment  were  called  who  refused  to- 
submit  to  the  "  Act  of  Uniformity,"  he  was  ejected  from  his  prefer- 
ments, and,  being  a  gentleman  of  fortune,  he  became  a  leader  and  ben- 
efactor among  his  Non-conformist  brethren,  who,  like  him,  had  been 
driven  from  their  parishes,  but  who,  unlike  him,  were  poor. 

Singularly  enough,  his  daughter,  while  scarcely  more  than  a  child,, 
passed  through  the  same  change  of  sentiment  as  that  already  men- 
tioned in  the  case  of  her  future  husband.  She,  too,  had  studied  the 
controversy  between  the  Established  Church  and  the  Dissenters,  and 
had  thereby  become  an  ardent  friend  of  the  Establishment.  Thus  it 
would  appear  to  have  been  a  part  of  the  divine  purpose  that  the  great 
religious  leader,  John  "Wesley,  should  not  only  inherit  that  vigor  of 
personal  opinion  which  was  the  outcome  of  English  Nonconformity, 
but  that  he  should  be  born  and  reared  within  the  bosom  of  the  Estab- 
lished Church :  a  fact  not  to  be  forgotten  in  tracing  his  career  as  a 
Methodist  and  a  Churchman. 

In  the  year  1689  the  Rev.  Samuel  Wesley  and  Susanna  Annes- 
ley  were  married,  the  age  of  the  bride  being  about  twenty,  and  that  of 
the  bridegroom  about  twenty-seven.  For  about  forty  years  this  his- 
toric household  dwelt  in  the  parish  of  Epworth,  the  father  dividing 
his  time  between  the  care  of  his  parish  and  voluminous  literary  labors,, 
chiefly  in  the  form  of  poetry ;  while  the  mother  kept  at  home,  guided 
the  house,  bore  children — eighteen  or  nineteen  of  them  in  all,  though 
only  ten  survived  their  infancy — trained  them  in  a  school  of  her  own, 
and  also  attended  to  such  parish  duties  as  the  frequent  absence  of  her 
husband  left  upon  her  hands.  Of  this  great  family  three  sons  and 
seven  daughters  grew  up  to  maturity.  They  all  possessed  unusual  tal- 
ents, and  all  three  of  the  sons  became  ministers  of  the  Established 
Church. 

It  seems  almost  incredible  that  the  wife  of  a  parish  clergyman,. 


*66  Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 

upon  a  salary  whicli  was  too  small  even  to  allow  his  family  proper  food 
and  clothing,  a  lady  of  delicate  health  and  of  refined  tastes,  which  were 
continually  shocked  by  the  rude  people  among  whom  she  lived,  should 
have  been  able  to  endure  such  toils  and  privations  without  losing 
either  her  spirit  or  her  Kfe ;  but  iu  spite  of  all  these  depressing  cir- 
cumstances and  surroundings  she  actually  kept  herself  so  far  in  ad- 
vance of  her  college-bred  sons,  especially  in  things  pertaining  to  the 
word  and  kingdom  of  God,  that  for  years  she  was  their  acknowledged 
spiritual  counselor  and  guide.  Among  other  helpful  things  she  wrote 
for  them  some  most  admirable  expositions  of  Scripture,  and  of  por- 
tions of  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer.  She  grounded  her  children 
in  the  rudiments  of  learning ;  trained  them  up  to  be  ladies  and  gentle- 
men, and,  in  spite  of  the  continual  misfortune  which  came  upon  the 
family  because  her  husband  was  more  of  a  poet  and  a  politician  than 
was  good  for  him,  she  ever  remained  the  same  courteous,  self -poised, 
fai -seeing,  courageous  Christian  woman. 

Mrs.  Wesley's  Home  8ehool. — The  family  of  the  rector 
was  the  only  one  in  the  parish  that  could  boast  of  any  learning ;  there- 
fore if  the  children  were  not  to  grow  up  barbarians  they  must,  of  ne- 
cessity, for  a  long  time  be  schooled  at  home.  This  great  task  fell 
almost  wholly  to  the  mother,  and  her  success  therein  adds  no  little  em- 
phasis to  the  principles  on  which  she  conducted  it.  Her  theory  was 
that  even  in  babyhood  the  child  should  be  taught  that  one  lesson  which 
it  was  capable  of  learning,  namely,  submission ;  the  next  lesson  was 
obedience,  that  is  to  say,  intelligent  submission  to  parental  authority ; 
the  next  lesson  was  piety,  that  is,  intelligent  and  loving  submission  to 
God.  At  five  years  old  it  was  her  rule  to  begin  their  secular  educa- 
tion, and  from  this  time  they  studied  regularly  in  the  family  school,  of 
which  Mrs.  Wesley  was  both  the  teacher  and  mother. 

Dr.  Adam  Clarke,  whose  Irish  gallantry  no  doubt  gave  its  height- 
ened color  to  the  boundless  admiration  in  which  he  held  the  mother  of 
the  Wesleys,  tells  us  that  this  great  family  of  httle  children  were  won- 
derfully gentle  and  poKte,  not  only  to  their  parents  and  visitors,  but  to 
each  other  and  to  the  servants  as  well ;  and  that  "  they  had  the  common 
fame  of  being  the  most  loving  family  in  the  county  of  Lincolnshire." 

Mrs.  Wesley's  "Conventicle." — A  glimpse  of  the  illiterate 
4ind  ungovernable  rustics  among  whom  they  lived  and  labored  is  given 


The  Wesley  Family.  67 

in  two  of  Mrs.  Wesley's  letters  to  her  husband,  while  he  was  absent 
for  some  months  in  attendance  upon  the  meeting  of  Convocation  at 
London ;  but,  what  is  of  more  importance,  they  contain  an  account  of 
that  notable  effort  on  the  part  of  Mrs.  Wesley  to  promote  true  religion 
in  her  own  family  and  among  her  neighbors  by  an  irregular  but  won- 
derfully efficient  means  of  grace,  to  wit,  a  private  meeting  at  the 
rectory  on  Sunday  evenings,  conducted  by  Mrs.  Wesley  herself. 

The  curate  who  assisted  the  rector  with  the  duties  of  his  two  small 
parishes,  Epworth  and  Wroote,  was,  in  the  judgment  of  Mrs.  Wesley, 
unable  to  edify  her  husband's  people,  and,  seeing  the  attendance  at 
church  fall  off,  she  commenced  to  hold  private  meetings  for  her  own 
family,  and  such  others  as  chose  to  attend.  These  httle  services  were 
similar  to  those  conducted  at  the  parish  church,  consisting  of  portions 
of  the  service  from  the  Prayer  Book,  and  a  sermon  read  by  Mrs. 

Wesley. 

Not  wishing  to  trespass  upon  her  husband's  rights  by  holding  relig- 
ious service  it  his  parish  without  his  consent,  she  wrote  to  him  de- 
-scribing  their  little  meetings,  and  mentioned  that  they  were  evidently 
doing  the  people  much  good. 

Mr.  Wesley  objected  to  this  singular  proceeding,  and  suggested 
that,  to  avoid  the  scandal  of  having  a  sermon  read  in  public  by  a 
woman,  she  should  find  some  man  to  read  it. 

Mrs.  Wesley  replied  :  "  As  for  your  proposal  of  letting  some  other 
person  read.  Alas  !  you  do  not  consider  what  a  people  these  are.  I 
do  not  think  one  man  among  them  could  read  a  sermon  without  spell- 
ing a  good  part  of  it  out.     And  how  would  that  edify  the  rest  ? " 

In  relation  to  her  husband's  objection  on  the  ground  of  her  sex, 
she  rephes:  "As  I  am  a  womcm,  so  I  am  also  mistress  of  a  large 
family.  And  though  the  superior  charge  of  the  souls  contained  in  it 
lies  upon  you,  as  head  of  the  family  and  as  their  minister,  yet  in  your 
absence  I  cannot  but  look  upon  every  soiU  you  leave  under  my  care  as 
-a  talent  committed  to  me  under  trust  by  the  great  Lord  of  all  the 
families  of  heaven  and  earth." 

When  the  attendance  at  the  little  meetings  at  the  parsonage  had 
increased  to  between  two  and  three  hundred,  the  stupid  curate,  jealous 
of  the  woman  for  having  a  larger  congregation  in  her  house  than  he 
<;ould  draw  at  the  parish  chui-ch,  wrote  to  his  rector,  complaining  of 


68  Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 

this  disorderly  assembly — this  conventicle,*  as  irregular  religious  serv- 
ices were  spitefully  called — and  Mr.  "Wesley,  whose  High-church  notions 
always  lay  near  the  surface,  at  once  wrote  to  his  wife  desiring  her  to 
suspend  her  meetings. 

In  reply  Mrs.  Wesley  gives  the  following  account  of  how  she  came 
to  hold  the  meetings : — 

"  Soon  after  you  went  to  London,  Emily  [one  of  her  daughters] 
found  in  your  study  an  account  of  the  Danish  missionaries,  which, 
having  never  seen,  I  ordered  her  to  read  to  me.  I  was  never,  I  think^ 
more  affected  with  any  thing  than  with  the  relation  of  their  travels,^ 
and  was  exceedingly  pleased  with  the  noble  design  they  were  engaged 
in.  Their  labors  refreshed  my  soul  beyond  measure,  and  I  could  not 
forbear  spending  good  part  of  that  evening  in  praising  and  adoring 
the  divine  goodness  for  inspiring  those  men  with  such  ardent  zeal  for 
His  glory,  that  they  were  willing  to  hazard  their  lives  and  all  that  is 
esteemed  dear  to  men  in  this  world  to  advance  the  honor  of  their 
Master,  Jesus. 

"  For  several  days  I  could  think  or  speak  of  httle  else.  At  last  it 
came  into  my  mind :  Though  I  am  not  a  mem  nor  a  Tninist&r  of  the 
Gospel,  and  so  cannot  be  employed  in  such  a  worthy  employment  as 
they  were,  yet  if  my  heart  were  sincerely  devoted  to  God,  and  if  I 
were  inspired  \vith  a  true  zeal  for  his  glory  and  did  really  desire  the 
salvation  of  souls,  I  might  do  somewhat  more  than  I  do.  I  thought  I 
might  live  in  a  more  exemplary  manner  in  some  things.  I  might  pray 
more  for  the  people  and  speak  with  more  warmth  to  those  with  whom 
I  have  an  opportunity  of  conversing. 

"  However,  I  resolved  to  begin  with  my  own  children  ;  and  accord- 
ingly I  proposed  and  observed  the  following  method :  I  take  such  u 
proportion  of  time  as  I  can  best  spare  every  night  to  discourse  with 
each  child,  by  itseK,.on  something  that  relates  to  its  principal  concerns. 
On  Monday  I  talk  with  Molly ;  on  Tuesday  with  Hetty ;  Wednesday 
with  Nancy ;  Thursday  with  '  Jackey  ; '  ["  Jackey  "  Wesley !  who^ 
since  that  day,  ever  conceived  of  John  Wesley  as  a  boy?]  Friday 

*  The  famous  "  Conventicle  Act"  was  passed  by  the  British  Parliament  in  1664.  It  for- 
bade the  assembly  of  more  than  five  persons  besides  the  resident  members  of  a  family  for 
any  religious  purpose  not  according  to  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer.  Mrs.  Wesley's  conven- 
ticle was,  however,  strictly  according  to  that  book,  for  she  used  no  other  service  than  that 
laid  down  in  it. 


The  Wesley  Family.  69 

-witli  Patty;   Saturday  with   Charles;    and  with  Emily  and  Sukey 
together  on  Sunday. 

"  With  those  few  neighbors  who  then  came  to  me  I  then  discoursed 
more  fully  and  afiectionately  than  before.  I  chose  the  best  and  most 
awakening  sermons  we  had,  and  I  spent  time  with  them  in  such  exer- 
cises. Since  this  our  company  has  increased  every  night ;  for  I  dare 
deny  none  that  asks  admittance.  Last  Sunday  I  believe  we  had  above 
two  hundred,  and  yet  many  went  away  for  want  of  room. 

"  But  I  never  durst  positively  presume  to  hope  that  God  would 
make  use  of  m«  as  an  instrument  in  doing  good ;  the  furthest  I  durst 
go  was — It  may  be  :  who  can  tell  ? " 

After  mentioning  the  good  which  had  been  done — among  other 
things,  that  the  meeting  had  wonderfully  conciliated  the  minds  of  the 
people  toward  their  pastor  and  his  family,  so  that  tliey  could  now 
live  in  peace  among  them— Mrs.  Wesley  closes  with  these  wifely  and 
Christian  sentences : — 

"  If  you  do,  after  aU,  think  fit  to  dissolve  this  assembly,  do  not  tell 
me  that  you  desire  me  to  do  it,  for  that  will  not  satisfy  my  conscience. 
But  send  me  jomv  positwe  comma/nd  in  such/wZ^  and  express  terms  as 
may  absolve  me  from  all  guilt  and  punishment  for  neglecting  this 
-opportunity  of  doing  good,  when  you  and  I  shall  appear  before  the 
great  and  awful  tribunal  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ." 

Such  dutiful  words  from  his  wife  and  parishioner,  which  at  the 
same  time  brought  the  rector  face  to  face  with  God,  and  challenged 
him  to  exercise  his  right  and  power  with  the  same  obedient  heart 
toward  his  superior  as  that  she  held  toward  hers,  seems  to  have  given 
a  new  turn  to  the  argument,  and  to  have  left  the  victory  with  the 
woman;  for  we  hear  nothing  more  of  the  rector's  objections,  and 
"The  Society,"  as  Mrs.  Wesley  named  her  assembly,  continued  its 
meetings  until  the  rector's  return. 

Epivorth  Politics. — The  sharpness  and  power  of  this  lady's 
mind  is  suggested  by  her  reference  to  the  fact  that  her  "  conventicles  " 
had  been  the  means  of  establishing  peaceful  relations  between  the 
family  of  the  rector  and  the  people  of  the  parish.  This  was  touching 
her  husband  in  a  vital  spot ;  for  his  political  partisanship  had  kept  the 
parish  in  a  ferment  of  sullen  ugliness  which  sometimes  broke  out  into 
■    open  violence  against  the  rector  and  his  family. 


70 


Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 


The  bitterness  of  the  quarrels  between  the  two  factions  into  which 
the  parish  and  the  kingdom  were  divided  can  hardly  be  appreciated 
at  the  present  day.  The  reigning  King  was  William  III.,  Prince  of 
Orange,  who,  with  his  wife,  Mary,  the  eldest  daughter  of  King 
James  II.,  had  come  over  from  the  Dutch  l^etherlands  at  the  invita- 
tion of  the  leaders  of  the  Protestant  party  in  England,  and  possessed 
himself  of  the  throne  which  James,  on  account  of  his  tyranny  in  the 
interests  of  the  Papists,  had  been  compelled  to  abdicate. 


THE  YOUXG    PRETENDER. 

James  II.  was  now  dead,  and  the  Papist  party  in  England,  called 
Jacobites,  claimed  to  hold  allegiance  to  his  son,  knoAvn  in  history  as 
the  "  Young  Pretender,"  in  whose  interest  the  Jacobites  were  contin- 
ually plotting  and  planning  for  another  revolution,  with  a  view  to 
set  up  the  Romish  Church  again  as  the  Church  of  England.  Tlie 
Epworth  rector  was  a  firm  supporter  of  William  and  Mary,  but  his 
wife,  although  as  good  a  Protestant  as  himself,  did  not  believe  in  the 


The  Wesley  Family.  71 

legitimacy  of  their  title,  thougli  slie  prudently  kept  her  opinion  to 
herseK. 

One  day  at  family  worship  the  rector  noticed  that  his  wife  did  not 
say  "Amen"  in  the  proper  place  after  the  form  of  prayer  for  the 
king  and  royal  family,  and  when  the  service  was  over  he  straightway 
inquired  the  reason. 

"  I  do  not  believe  in  the  title  of  the  Prince  of  Orange,"  said  Mrs. 
Wesley.  This  raised  the  patriotic  wrath  of  her  husband,  who  instantly 
replied : — 

"  If  we  have  two  kings  we  must  have  two  beds."  And  he  actually 
left  his  family  and  his  parish  and  remained  away  from  them  for  more 
than  half  a  year,  till  Queen  Anne,  another  daughter  of  the  exiled 
James  II.,  came  to  the  throne,  in  whose  title  both  the  husband  and  the 
wife  believed ;  whereupon  the  family  was  once  more  united. 

If  the  learned  and  pious  rector  of  the  parish  could  make  such  an 
exhibition  of  bad  temper  over  a  difference  of  political  opinion  in  his 
own  household,  what  might  not  be  expected  of  the  rabble  in  the  wild 
excitements  of  festivals  and  elections  ? 

A  Brand  Plucked  from  the  Burning.— The  parish  of 
Epworth  was  divided  against  itself,  and  so  wild  was  the  zeal  of  the 
Jacobites  on  the  one  hand  and  the  Orangemen  on  the  other  that  it 
often  broke  out  into  deeds  of  violence.    ' 

The  election  for  the  county  of  Lincohi  in  May,  1705,  was  very 
bitter  and  exciting.  Mr.  Samuel  Wesley,  with  more  valor  than  discre- 
tion, entered  warmly  into  the  contest  in  support  of  the  candidate  of 
the  Orangemen,  who  was,  nevertheless,  defeated ;  and,  on  his  return 
from  the  polling-place  at  the  county-seat,  the  Epworth  Jacobites  cele- 
brated their  victory  by  raising  a  mob,  which  surrounded  the  rectory 
and  kept  up  a  din  of  drums,  shouts,  noise  of  fire-arms,  and  such  hke, 
till  after  midnight. 

The  next  evening  one  of  the  mob,  passing  the  yard  where  the 
rector's  children  were  playing,  cried  out,  "  O  ye  devils!  we  wiU  come 
and  turn  ye  aU  out  of  doors  a-begging,  shortly  ;"  a  threat  which  must 
have  had  a  strange  significance  to  the  Wesleys,  whose  fathers  had 
suffered  that  identical  outrage  at  the  hands  of  the  Church  to  which 
the  rector  was  now  devoting  his  tongue  and  his  pen.  It  would  have 
been  "an  eye  for  an  eye"  if  the  Jacobites  had  been  able  to  execute 


V2 


Illusteated  Histoey  of   Methodism. 


tlieii*  threat  by  means  of  another  revohition  ;  but  as  they  were  not  they 
kejDt  np  an  infamous  style  of  persecution,  stabbing  the  rector's  cows, 
■cutting  off  a  leg  of  his  dog,  withholding  his  tithes,  arresting  and 
thrusting  him  into  jail  for  small  debts,  and  finally,  after  one  or  two 
unsuccessful  attempts,  burning  the  rectory  to  the  ground,  and  fuliill- 
ing  their  threat  of  turning  him  and  his  family  out  of  doors. 


A    BRAXD    PLUCKED    FROM    THE    BURNING. 


This  last  event  occurred  when  his  son  John  ^^'as  al)out  six  years 
old.  In  the  dead  of  a  winter's  night  the  father  was  awakened  by  the 
fire  coming  into  his  chamber  through  the  thatched  roof,  and,  hastily 
arousing  his  family,  they  fled  down  stairs,  and  with  great  difficulty 
escaped  with  their  lives.  By  some  mischance  little  John  was  left 
behind,  fast  asleep;  bat  being  awakened,  he  sprang  to  the  window  and 


The  Wesley  Family.  7b 

-i)egan  to  cry  for  help.  It  was  too  late;  the  house  was  filled  with 
smoke  and  flame ;  there  was  not  time  to  fetch  a  ladder,  and  the  frantic 
father  tried  in  vain  to  ascend  the  stairs,  but  they  were  already  too  far 
gone  to  support  his  weight ;  and,  half  dead  with  suffocation  and  frantic 
with  distress,  he  fell  on  his  knees  and  commended  his  poor  lost  boy  to 
God.  But  meanwhile  a  stout  man  had  placed  himself  against  the  wall 
of  the  house,  and  another  had  climbed  upon  his  shoulders,  and  little 
Jackj  leaping  into  his  arms,  was  rescued  out  of  the  very  jaws  of  the 
flame.     The  next  instant  the  whole  blazing  mass  of  the  roof  fell  in. 

This  fire  occurred  in  the  year  1709.  The  letters  of  Mrs.  Wesley 
to  her  husband,  above  quoted,  bear  the  dates  of  February  6th  and 
12th,  1712,  whereby  it  would  appear  that  the  wrath  of  their  enemies 
had  followed  them  year  after  year  until,  in  the  absence  of  the  rector, 
his  wife,  under  the  blessing  of  God,  so  established  her  influence  with 
the  people  as  to  bring  them  in  crowds  to  the  rectory  for  prayer  and 
instruction,  thus  becoming  the  real  preacher  of  the  Gospel  of  peace ; 
after  which  time  there  is  no  further  record  of  ill-will  on  the  part  of 
the  Epworth  people  toward  their  pastor  or  his  family. 

John  "Wesley,  in  after  years,  was  always  deeply  affected  by  thif 
narrow  escape  from  so  terrible  a  death,  and  on  the  margin  of  a  picture 
which  was  painted  to  commemorate  the  event  he  wrote  the  significanc 
words : — 

"  Js  not  this  a  hrcmd  plucked  Jrom  the  hv/rning  ?  " 

The  notable  success  of  Mrs,  Wesley's  "  Society,"  as  appears  frorr 
her  letter  to  her  husband,  above  quoted,  in  harmonizing  her  hus- 
band's parish,  after  years  of  such  confusion  and  violence,  was  an  argu- 
ment in  favor  of  her  course  which  could  not  be  overthrown.  It  was 
evident  that  the  Head  of  the  Church  was  her  patron  and  defender ; 
and,  what  is  especially  noticable,  she  understood  how  to  use  the  fact  of 
her  wonderful  success  without  descending  to  spiteful  personalities  in 
^er  discussions  with  her  husband,  or  even  abating  one  jot  of  the  wifely 
duty  and  respect  which  she  owed  to  him.  John  Wesley  was  afterward 
distinguished  for  his  almost  inimitable  skill  as  a  logician,  who  could 
win  a  victory  in  a  debate  with  fewer  words  and  in  better  temper  than 
any  other  man  of  his  time.  Is  it  not  plain  that  this  amiable  sharpness 
and  this  logical  power  were  among  his  birth  inheritances  from  hie 
■admirable  mother? 
.5 


u 


Illustkated  Histoky  of  Methodism. 


Samuel  Wesley  as  an  Author. — The  father  of  the  Wes- 
leys  was  a  poet,  and,  according  to  his  theory,  jDoetry  and  poverty  natu- 
rally went  hand  in  hand.  His  first  curacy  in  London  yielded  liim  only 
thirty  pounds  a  year,  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  dollars;  but  to  this 
he  added  thirty  pounds  more  by  his  literary  work,  and  on  this  slender 
income  he  married  Susan  Annesley — one  of  the  most  sensible  things 
recorded  of  him — and  lived  in  lodgings  until  he  received  the  "living" 
of  South  Ormsby,  worth  about  fifty  pounds  a  year. 

In  1693  he  published  the  first  of  his  large  poetic  works  entitled, 
"  The  Life  of  Our  Blessed  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ ;  A  Heroic 


THE  NEW  RECTORY  AT  EPWORTH. 

Poem  in  Ten  Books ;  Dedicated  to  Her  Most  Sacred  Majesty  [Queen 
Mary]  ;  Attempted  by  Samuel  Wesley,  Eector  of  South  Ormsby,  in 
the  County  of  Lincoln."  This  poem,  however  valueless  in  itself, 
earned  for  him  the  favor  of  his  queen,  who  the  next  year  returned  his 
compliment  by  conferring  on  him  the  "living"  of  Ep worth,  and 
afterward  that  of  Wroote,  a  poor  little  village  a  few  miles  distant,  both 
together  worth  about  two  hundred  and  fifty  pounds  a  year.  These 
livings  he  held  until  his  death ;  which  event  occurred  on  the  25th  of 
April,  1Y35,  in  the  seventy-second  year  of  his  age  and  in  the  thirty- 
ninth  year  of  his  service  as  rector  of  the  parish  of  Epworth. 


The  Wesley  Family.  75 

His  other  works  are  more  remarkable  for  length  than  depth,  and 
of  the  vast  mass  of  rhyming  rubbish  which  he  threw  off  only  a  few 
stanzas  have  found  place  even  in  the  Hymn  books  published  by  his 
own  sons. 

He  possessed  to  a  notable  degree  the  power  of  persistent  mental 
application,  and  what  may  be  called  the  mechanical  skill  of  versifi-* 
cation,  but  without  that  divine  enlightenment  and  that  creative  power 
in  which  consists  the  measureless  difference  between  a  sacred  poet  and 
a  beater  of  rhymes. 

The  Rev.  Samuel  Wesley  is  entitled  to  no  small  honor  for  being 
one  of  the  first  men  in  England  to  perceive  the  opportunity  and  duty 
of  carrying  the  Gospel  into  foreign  parts.  He  even  wrote  out  a  plan 
for  a  great  system  of  British  missionary  colonies  or  settlements  in 
India,  China,  Abyssinia,  and  in  the  islands  of  St.  Helena,  St.  Thomas, 
etc.,  which  plan  was  approved  by  the  Bishop  of  York ;  but  for  want  of 
missionary  spirit  among  the  English  clergy  this  scheme,  which  Adam 
Clarke  declares  was  such  as  might  easily  have  been  carried  into  execu- 
tion, was  suffered  to  fall  to  the  ground — but  not  to  perish,  for  his  sons, 
John  and  Charles,  inherited  his  missionary  zeal,  and  their  labors,  with 
God's  blessing,  have  resulted  in  a  scheme  of  evangelization  which  has 
belted  the  earth  with  Methodist  circuits  and  stations,  and  which  will 
never  be  suspended  till  aU  the  ends  of  the  earth  have  seen  the 
salvation  of  our  God. 

With  the  other  members  of  the  Wesley  family  this  volume  has 
Kttle  concern.  Samuel,  the  eldest  son,  became  a  learned  and  respect- 
able minister  in  the  Established  Church,  in  which  capacity  he  thought 
himself  called  upon  to  protest  against  the  extravagancies  of  his 
younger  brothers ;  of  the  daughters,  the  most  of  whom  grew  up  to  be 
brilliant  and  talented  women,  those  who  care  to  know  more  can  find 
what  little  there  is  on  record  in  Dr.  Adam  Clarke's  "  Wesley  Family." 

The  Charter  House  School. — At  the  age  of  eleven 
"  Jackey  "  Wesley,  after  five  years'  tuition  in  the  home  school  taught 
by  his  mother,  which  was  by  far  the  best  institution  of  learning  he 
ever  attended,  was  placed  at  the  Charter  House  School  in  London.* 

*The  name  of  this  school  is  derived  as  follows:  In  the  days  when  the  monasteries 
of  England  were  numerous,  rich,  and  powerful,  the  order  of  Carthusian  monks  estab- 
lished a  monastery  on  this  site  which  they  called  a  Chartreuse,  the  name  given  to  their 
religious  houses  in  the  various  parts  of  Europe ;  but  in  the  time  of  Henry  VIII.  this  mouas- 


76 


Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 


In  tills  scliool  the  law  of  the  strongest  prevailed.  All  sorts  of  i:»etty 
tyrannies  were  practiced  by  the  big  boys  npon  the  little  ones,  and 
"  Jackey  "  Wesley  was  no  exception  to  their  rule.  ■  The  regular  rations 
issued  to  the  boys  included  meat  as  well  as  bread,  but  the  big  boys, 
like  so  many  big  dogs,  would  pounce  upon  the  little  chaps  as  they 
came  from  the  cook's  house  with  their  rations  in  their  hands,  and 
rob  them  of  their  meat,  thus  forcing  them  to  become  vegetarians  in 
spite  of  themselves,  until  they  became  strong  enough  to  fight  for  their 
meat,  and  later  on  for  that  of  their  juniors  also. 


,c---~  -'^=^- 


THE   CHARTER   HOUSE   SCHOOL. 


Such  outrages  have  been  defended  on  the  ground  that  the  hardship 
which  this  injustice  inflicts  is  useful  in  teaching  the  small  boy  to  be 
patient  under  difficulties,  and  to  make  the  best  of  misfortunes ;  but 
there  is  little  said  concerning  the  savagery  which  is  produced  among 
the  larger  ones  by  this  abuse  of  those  whom  circumstances  have  placed 

tery  shared  the  fate  of  many  others,  and  the  ruins  of  it  were  at  length  purcliased  by  Thomas 
Sutton,  who  repaired  the  edifice  and  built  a  hospital,  and  established  a  school  therein,  on 
whose  double  foundation  or  endowment  eighty  pensioners  of  not  less  than  fifty  years  of  age, 
and  forty-two  boys  as  charity  scholars,  were  to  be  maintained.  The  allowance  from  the 
endowment  to  each  scholar  was  forty  pounds  a  year,  and.it  was  no  small  piece  of  good  for- 
tune to  the  Epworth  rector  to  secui-e  one  of  these  scholarships  for  his  son  John. 


The  "Wesley  Family. 


77 


in  their  power.  If  the  theory  of  these  great  schools  were  to  train 
the  youth  of  England  to  submit  uncomplainingly  to  the  impositions 
of  unjust  laws  or  the  tyranny  of  usurped  authority,  nothing  could 
be  better  adapted  to  that  end  than  the  system  above  mentioned. 
But  "  Jackey  "  managed  to  thrive  in  spite  of  his  tormentors  :  taking  a 
nm  every  morning  three  times  around  the  ample  play-grounds,  accord- 
ing to  his  father's  direction,  and  eating  his  ration  of  bread  with  a  good 
appetite,  sharpened  by  the  sight  of  some  tall  young  gentleman  (?)  de- 
vouring two  cold  cuts  of  boiled  beef  or  roast  mutton,  the  one  being  his 


DINING  HALL  OF  CHARTEB  HOUSE. 


by  right,  the  other  "  by  conquest " — a  phrase  which  the  British  nation 
has  done  so  much  to  translate  from  robbery  into  heroism. 

Two  years  later  his  younger  brother,  Charles,  was  sent  to  school  at 
Westminster,  where  his  brother  Samuel  was  one  of  the  ushers,  as  cer- 
tain of  the  younger  assistant  teachers  were  called,  and  who  paid  the 
cost  of  his  younger  brother's  course  of  study.  Little  Charles  was  a 
spirited  lad,  well  knit,  active,  and  afraid  of  nothing,  which  qualities 
not  only  made  him  a  favorite — for  boys  are  always  hero-worshipers — 
but  gained  him  the  title  of  "  captain  of  the  school."     His  leadership, 


78  Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 

however,  was  of  a  different  sort  from  that  which  would  have  led  him 
to  rob  his  inferiors,  cringe  to  his  superiors,  and  fight  his  equals ;  he 
had  a  heroic  spirit,  and  was  as  generous  as  he  was  brave. 

Dr.  Smith,  in  his  admirable  "  History  of  Wesleyan  Methodism," 
mentions  a  case  in  point: — "There  was  a  Scotch  laddie  at  school, 
whose  ancestors  had  taken  sides  with  the  Pretender,  as  the  papist 
claimant  to  the  throne  was  called,  and  who,  in  consequence,  was  greatly 
persecuted  by  the  other  boys ;  but  the  "  captain  "  took  him  under  his 
own  special  charge ;  defended  him,  fought  for  him,  and  saved  him 
from  what  would  otherwise  have  been  a  Kfe  of  intolerable  misery. 
This  lad  was  James  Murray,  afterward  the  great  Baron  Mansfield, 
Lord  Chief  Justice  of  England," 

While  Charles  "Wesley  was  a  pupil  at  Westminster  a  wealthy  Irish 
gentleman,  Garret  Wesley,  Esq.,  wrote  to  the  Rev.  Samuel  Wesley  in- 
quiring if  he  had  a  son  named  Charles ;  giving  out  that  he  wished  to 
adopt  a  boy  of  that  name.  The  result  was  that  for  some  years  the 
school  bills  of  the  lad  were  paid  on  the  stranger's  account  by  his  sup- 
posed agent  at  London ;  but  when  the  question  was  submitted  to  the 
young  man  himself  whether  to  go  to  Ireland,  as  the  adopted  son  of 
Garret  Wesley,  or  stay  in  England  and  take  his  chances  as  the  son  of  a 
poor  clergyman,  he  made  choice  of  the  latter,  a  decision  which  his 
brother  John  called  a  "  fair  escape ; "  and  another  boy  became  the  heir 
of  the  Irish  Wesley's  name  and  fortune.  This  was  Richard  Colley 
Wesley,  afterward  Lord  Mornington,  and  grandfather  of  the  Duke  of 
Wellington,  whose  name  stands  in  the  army  list  of  1800  as  "  The  Hon. 
Arthur  Wesley,  Lieutenant-Colonel  of  the  Thirty-third  Regiment;" 
more  commonly  written  "  WeUesley,"  which  is  only  a  modern  corrup- 
tion of  the  name,  perhaps  for  the  purpose  of  escaping  the  suspicion  of 
relationship  between  the  Irish  duke  and  the  Methodist  reformers. 


WEST  FRONT  OF  CHRIST  CHURCH  COLLEGE,  OXFORD. 


CHAPTER  HI. 


THE  HOLY  CLUB. 

TK  the  year  1720  John  Wesley,  then  a  yonth  of  seventeen,  was  ad- 
mitted to  Christ  Church  College,  Oxford,  to  which  college  his 
(jrother  Charles  followed  him  six  years  after. 

The  excellent  use  he  had  made  of  his  time  at  the  Charter  House 
gained  for  him  a  high  position  as  a  student  at  Oxford,  and  he  soon  be- 
came quite  famous  for  his  learning  in  the  classics,  and  especially  for 
his  skill  in  logic.  But  Christ  Church  was,  and  still  is,  the  most  aristo- 
cratic, fashionable,  and  luxurious  of  all  the  Oxford  colleges,  whose  ordi- 


80  Illustrated  Histoey  of  Methodism. 

nary  function  is  to  give  a  mild  scholastic  flavor  to  the  manners  of  the- 
prospective  noblemen  of  the  realm,  and  was,  therefore,  ill  adapted  to- 
train  a  religious  leader  for  his  work. 

On  his  arrival  he  was  surprised  at  the  extent  to  which  all  manner 
of  dissipations,  among  which  drinking  and  gambling  were  only  the 
least  disgraceful,  prevailed  at  this  central  seat  of  British  learning. 
For  a  time  young  Wesley  was  carried  by  the  current  out  of  his 
moral  latitude;  but  not  for  long.  Ever  since  his  rescue  from  the 
flames  his  mother  had  felt  impressed  to  devote  herseK  with  special 
care  to  the  training  of  this  son,  toward  whom  there  is  in  the  family 
records  a  shght  tinge  of  favoritism,  and  the  suggestion  of  a  presenti- 
ment in  the  mind  of  that  good  woman  of  certain  great  things  which- 
lay  before  him.  In  her  private  journal  these  words  occur  with  refer- 
ence to  him,  written  not  very  long  after  the  fire  at  the  rectory  : — "And 
I  do  intend  to  be  more  particularly  careful  of  the  soul  of  this  child 
that  Thou  hast  so  mercifully  provided  for,  than  ever  I  have  been ;. 
that  I  may  do  my  endeavor  to  instill  into  his  mind  the  principles  of 
thy  true  religion  and  virtue.  Lord,  give  me  grace  to  do  it  sincerely 
and  prudently,  and  bless  my  attempts  with  good  success." 

Although  John  was  saved  through  his  mother's  teachings  and  in 
answer  to  her  prayers  from  falling  into  outward  sins,  the  religious 
nature  which  he  possessed  did  not  very  strongly  manifest  itself  until 
sometime  in  his  twenty-second  year.  Six  years  at  the  Charter  House, 
with  its  classics  and  its  ruffianism,  and  five  years  at  Christ  Church 
College,  with  its  aristocratic  iniquity,  were  not  calculated  to  keep  alive 
the  memory  of  the  godly  training  which  he  received  at  home.  He 
confesses  himself  to  have  lost  his  childish  religion  and  to  have  become- 
"  a  sinner,"  but  not  to  any  desperate  degree ;  for  the  heavy  sinning  at 
Oxford  implied  heavy  expense,  and  young  Wesley  was  a  poor  man's 
son,  who  could  not  afford  to  be  fashionably  wicked,  even  if  lie  had 
possessed  that  desire.  We  hear  now  and  then  of  his  debts,  a  frequent 
topic  in  the  correspondence  of  the  Wesley  family ;  but,  on  the  whole, 
his  poverty  proved  his  protection,  and  helped  to  develop  the  grace  of 
frugality  for  which  he  afterward  became  conspicuous. 

Wesley  Ordained. — In  January,  1T25,  being  then  twenty- 
two  years  of  age,  he  writes  to  his  father  for  advice  as  to  whether  ho 
should  apply  for  ordination  in  the  Established  Church ;  he,  like  aU  the 


The  Holt  Club.  SH 

rest  of  the  male  Wesleys,  taking  to  the  priesthood  with  a  hereditary 
instinct ;  and  in  the  correspondence  there  is  a  hint  that  he  had  been 
the  subject  of  some  spiritual  awakening,  and  was  looking  toward  a 
clerical  life  not  only  as  a  means  of  living,  but  as  a  safeguard  against 
habits  of  sin  in  which  he  was  fearful  of  becoming  confirmed. 

His  father  rephes  that  there  is  no  harm  in  trying  to  obtain  holy 
orders  with  a  view  to  a  respectable  Kvelihood,  "  but  that  the  principal 
spring  and  motive  must  certainly  be  the  glory  of  God  and  the  service 
of  the  Church  in  the  edification  of  our  neighbor.  And  woe  to  him 
who,  with  any  meaner  leading  view,  attempts  so  sacred  a  work." 

His  mother  writes  him  as  follows  : — 

Epworth,  February  23,  1725. 

Dear  Jackey: — The  alteration  in  your  temper  has  occasioned  me  much 
speculation.  I,  who  am  apt  to  be  sanguine,  hope  it  may  proceed  from  the 
operation  of  God's  Holy  Spirit;  that  by  taking  away  your  relish  of  sensual 
enjoyments  he  may  prepare  and  dispose  your  mind  for  a  more  serious  and  close 
application  to  things  of  a  more  sublime  and  spiritual  nature.  ...  I  heartily 
wish  you  would  now  enter  upon  a  serious  examination  of  yourself,  that  you  may 
know  whether  you  have  a  reasonable  hope  of  salvation.  If  you  have,  the 
satisfaction  of  knowing  it  would  abundantly  reward  your  pains;  if  not,  you  will 
find  a  more  reasonable  occasion  for  tears  than  can  be  met  with  in  a  tragedy. 

Now  I  mention  this,  it  calls  to  mind  your  letter  to  your  father  about  taking 
orders.  I  was  much  pleased  with  it,  and  liked  the  proposal  well,  but  it  is  an 
unhappiness  almost  peculiar  to  our  family  that  your  father  and  I  seldom  think 
alike.  I  approve  the  disposition  of  your  mind,  and  think  the  sooner  you  are  a 
deacon  the  better,  because  it  may  be  an  inducement  to  greater  application  in  the 
study  of  practical  divinity,  which,  I  humbly  conceive,  is  tlie  best  study  for 
candidates  for  orders.  Mr.  Wesley  differs  from  me,  and  would  engage  you,  I 
believe,  in  critical  learning,  which,  though  incidentally  of  use,  is  in  no  wise 
preferable  to  the  other.  I  earnestly  pray  God  to  avert  that  great  evil  from  you 
of  engaging  in  trifling  studies  to  the  neglect  of  such  as  are  absolutely  necessary. 
I  dare  advise  nothing.  God  Almighty  direct  and  bless  you,  I  wish  all  to  be 
well.     Adieu,  '  Susanna  Wesley. 

One  of  the  most  successful  educators  in  America  has  said  that 
"  one  great  want  of  our  times  is  a  society  for  the  suppression  of  useless 
knowledge."  Mrs.  Wesley  in  her  day  was  evidently  of  the  same  opin- 
ion. With  the  constant  example  before  her  of  a  man  of  learning  and 
genius  wasting  his  lifetime  in  "  beating  rhymes,"  delving  in  Oriental; 


:82 


Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 


literature  to  the  neglect  of  the  souls  in  his  parish,  turning  the  Gospel 
into  a  "heroic  poem,"  and  grinding  out  pious  or  classic  platitudes 
in  verse  on  every  sort  of  occasion,  appears  to  have  been  a  powerful 
motive  with  her  in  her  efforts  to  prevent  her  sons  from  "  engaging  in 
trifling  studies."  Fortunately  for  John,  he  eschewed  the  counsel  of 
his  father  and  followed  the  advice  of  his  mother,  plunging  into  the 
study  of  "  practical  divinity,"  including  such  books  as  Thomas  a  Kem- 
pis  on  "  The  Imitation  of  Christ,"  Taylor's  "  Holy  Living  and  Dying," 
etc.  •  and  in  the  following  September  he  was  ordained  a  deacon  in  the 
Established  Church. 

John  We»iley^  '^  Soiuetiiiie  Fello^v  of  liiiieolii  €ol- 

le§"e." — In  1726  he  succeeded  in 
obtaining  one  of  the  twelve  Fel- 
lowships of  Lincoln  College,  one 
of  the  smallest,  poorest,  and  most 
scholarly  of  the  nineteen  colleges 
which  are  comprised  in  the  Uni- 
versity of  Oxford,  and  thither  he 
at  once  removed,  glad  to  escape 
from  his  surroundings  at  Christ 
Church,  and  happy  now  in  hav- 
ing a  permanent  means  of  sup- 
port which  would  permit  him  to 
I  devote  his  life  to  the  duties  of  a 
Christian  minister  and  scholar. 

Some  of  the  Fellowships  in  the 
rich    colleges    at    Oxford  yielded 

EEV.  JOHN  WESLEY,  AT  THE  AGE  OF  23.    ^^   ^^^^^^^^    -^^^^^^^   ^f  ^-^   ^^  ^^^.^^ 

hundred  pounds;  those  at  Lincoln  College,  however,  were  far  less 
valuable,  but  ample  for  the  supply  of  his  wants. 

The  position  of  Fellow  was  both  honorable  and  easy.  Its  duties 
consisted  in  residing  in  the  college,  taking  such  part  as  might  be 
agreeable  in  the  general  management  of  its  affairs,  and  helping  to 
maintain  the  college  dignity  by  a  life  of  learned  leisure ;  it  was,  in  a 
word,  a  scholastic  sinecure,  requiring  some  distinguished  merit  to 
■obtain  it,  continuing  until  death,  marriage,  or  the  presentation  of  some 
iat  "living,"  requiring  little  other  college  labor,  except  drawing  the 


The  Holy  Club. 


8S 


endowment  money  from  the  college  bursar,  and  spending  it  in  a 
manner  becoming  a  gentleman.  For  a  man  of  Wesley's  turn  of  mind 
this  was,  indeed,  a  paradise.  No  more  debts  to  haunt  him ;  no  more 
burdens  to  lay  upon  his  poor  father;  an  assured  position  among 
EngKsh  scholars,  and  a  comfortable  home  for  hfe  in  the  midst  of 
the  best  helps  to  learning  then  to  be  found  in  the  world.  His  ordi- 
nation gave  him  additional  respectability  and  influence;  it  would, 
also,  secure  for  him  a  chance  of  succeeding  to  some  of  the  small 
"  livings  "  in  the  gift  of  the  college,  provided  he  wished  to  remain  a 
"  Fellow,"  or  perhaps  open  up  his  way  to  an  ample  benefice  in  case 
he  wished  to  become  rector  of  a  parish  and  make  a  start  in  the  race  for 
episcopal  honors. 

There  was  great  rejoicing  at  the  Epworth  rectory  over  the  news 
that  " Jackey  "  had  gained  a  Fellowship  at  Oxford.  The  event  served  to 
perpetuate  the  clerical  and  scholarly  honors  of  the  family,  and  would 
add  to  their  income,  if 
in  no  other  way,  by  re- 
lieving them  of  the  sup- 
port of  this  member  of 
the  family.  JSTow  per-  ^^i) 
haps  mother  and  daugh 
ter  might  clothe  them-  t 
selves  decently  as  be- 
came their  station, 
which  they  hitherto 
had  been  prevented 
from  doing,  not  so 
much  by  the  smallness 
■of  their  income  as  by 
its  unfortunate  manage- 
ment in  the  hands  of  the  poet  parson ;  and  the  father  might  now  occa- 
sionally call  on  his  clerical  son  to  assist  him  in  the  duties  of  his  parish, 
which,  by  reason  of  his  hterary  schemes,  had  sometimes  been  sadly 
neglected. 

Wesley's  ^eliolastie  Honors. — In  1727  the  Rev.  John 
Wesley  took  his  degree  of  Master  of  Arts,  having  already  been  honored 
(by  an  election  to  the  ofiice  of  "  Lecturer  in  Greek,"  and  "  Moderator 


CHAPEL  OF  LINCOLN   COLLEGE. 


84 


Illustkated  History  of  Methodism. 


of  the  Classes."  In  1Y28  lie  was  ordained  priest  or  presbyter  by  Dr, 
Potter,  the  Bishop  of  Oxford,  though  there  is  no  evidence  of  his  inten- 
tion to  devote  himself  to  the  pastorate. 

His  position  as  Greek  lecturer  attracted  to  him  certain  persons,^ 
who,  like  himself,  read  the  Greek  Testament  for  devotion;  as  well 
as  a  number  of  private  pupils  who  sought  his  assistance  in  that  depart- 
ment of  learning.  In  Hebrew,  too,  Wesley  was  one  of  the  best  scholars 
of  his  time,  he  having  commenced  the  study  of  it  when  little  more 
than  a  child.  Concerning  his  office  of  "  Moderator  of  the  Classes,"  he 
says :  "  For  several  years  I  was  moderator  in  the  disputations  which 
were  held  six  times  a  week  at  Lincoln  College  in  Oxford.     I  could 

not  avoid  acquiring 
hereby  some  degree 
of  expertness  in  ar- 
guing, and  especially 
in  pointing  out  well- 
covered  and  plausi- 
ble fallacies.  I  have 
since  found  abun- 
dant reason  to  praise 
God  for  giving  me 
this  honest  art.  By 
this,  when  men  have 
hedged  me  in  by 
what  they  called 
demonstrations,  I  have  been  many  times  able  to  dash  them  in  pieces ; 
in  spite  of  all  its  covers,  to  touch  the  very  j^oint  where  the  fallacy  lay, 
and  it  flew  open  in  a  moment."  It  is  evident  that  Wesley  was  a 
distinguished  scholar  at  Oxford,  and  even  that  he  had  achieved  all 
these  scholastic  honors  before  he  was  twenty-five  years  of  age. 

In  the  next  two  years,  1727-29,  John  Wesley  divided  his  time  be- 
tween Oxford  and  Epworth,  at  which  latter  place  he  served  as  curate 
to  his  father,  and  pursued  his  studies  in  "  practical  divinity  "  with  his 
mother.  There  were,  indeed,  magnificent  and  famous  halls  of  the- 
ology at  the  University,  but  Wesley  seems  to  have  been  of  the  opinion 
that  in  none  of  them  was  there  a  doctor  or  professor  who  was  equal 
to  his  mother.     But  at  length  the  college  authorities  desired  his  retumi 


QUADRANGLE  OF    LINCOLN  COLLEGE. 


The  Holy  Club. 


85 


to  Oxford  for  permanent  residence  on  account  of  his  duties  as  Moder- 
ator of  the  Classes,  and  he  bade  his  old  home  farewell. 

Charles  Wesley  the  first  "Methodist." — His  brother 
Charles  had  now  been  a  student  at  Christ  Church  for  more  than  two 
years,  the  first  of  which  he  spent  in  any  thing  else  except  study.  "When 
reproved  by  his  elder  brother  for  his  f oUy  he  would  reply : — 

"  What !  would  you  have  me  to  be  a  saint  all  at  once  ? "     But  soon 


RADCLIFFE    LIBRARY,    OXFORD. 

after  John  had  gone  down  to  Epworth  to  assist  his  father  Charles  be- 
came deeply  serious.  In  a  letter  to  his  brother  asking  such  advice  as 
he  had  so  lately  scouted,  he  says : — 

"  It  is  owing  in  a  great  measure  to  somebody's  prayers  (my  moth- 
er's, most  likely)  that  I  am  come  to  think  as  I  do,  for  I  cannot  tell  how 
or  where  I  awoke  out  of  my  lethargy,  only  it  was  not  long  after  you 
■went  away." 

Charles'  piety  first  showed  itseK  in  honest,  hard  work  with  his 


.86  Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 

books,  then  in  attendance  upon  the  sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper 
every  week  ;  and,  being  now  desirous  of  doing  something  more  by  way 
of  working  out  his  salvation,  he  persuaded  two  or  tliree  of  his  young 
friends  to  join  him  in  a  systematic  effort  to  attain  a  state  of  absolute 
holiness.  They  adopted  a  system  of  rules  for  holy  living,  apportioned 
their  time  exactly  among  their  various  scholarly  And  religious  duties, 
allowing  as  Httle  as  possible  for  sleeping  and  eating,  and  as  much  as 
possible  for  devotion.  It  was  this  regularity  of  life  that  earned  them 
the  name  of  "Methodists,"  a  term  derived  from  the  Greek  word 
uedodiKog,  which  signifies  "  One  who  follows  an  exact  method ; "  but 
John  Wesley  subsequently  turned  the  tables  upon  his  adversaries 
in  a  dictionary  which  he  published  for  the  "  People  called  Methodists," 
in  which  he  defined  the  word  "  Methodist "  as  "  One  who  hves  accord- 
ing to  the  method  laid  down  in  the  holy  Scriptures." 

It  thus  appears  that  the  Holy  Club  was  organized  by  Charles  Wes- 
ley while  his  elder  brother  was  absent  at  Epworth ;  but  when  John 
returned  to  Oxford,  Charles  and  his  two  friends,  Kirkham  and  Morgan, 
received  him  with  great  dehght,  and,  by  reason  of  his  superior  age  and 
acquirements,  he  at  once  became  the  head  of  their  little  fraternity. 

His  reputation  as  a  scholar  brought  him  certain  young  gentlemen 
who  desired  his  personal  instruction,  and  thus  he  became  a  private  tutor 
as  well  as  a  college  lecturer.  Some  of  these  pupils  became  interested 
in  the  plan  of  holy  living  which  the  members  of  the  Club  were  so  en- 
thusiastically pursuing,  and  were  permitted  to  attend  the  meeting  of 
the  Club  as  visitors,  in  the  hope  that  they  would  at  length  become 
members. 

John  Wesley's  views  of  his  duty  to  his  pupils  appear  in  one  of  his 
addresses  to  the  tutors  of  the  University,  who  were,  no  doubt,  amazed 
that  this  man,  so  much  their  junior  in  years  and  so  much  inferior  to 
many  of  them  in  personal  rank  and  clerical  dignity,  should  venture  to 
challenge  their  methods  of  ministry  and  offer  such  stinging  advice : — 

"  Ye  venerable  men,"  he  exclaims,  "  who  are  more  especially 
called  to  form  the  tender  minds  of  youth,  to  dispel  thence  the  shades 
of  ignorance  and  error  and  train  them  up  to  be  wise  unto  salvation : 
Are  you  filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost?  Do  you  continually  remind 
those  under  your  care  that  the  one  rational  end  of  all  our  studies  is  to 
know,  love,  and  serve  the  only  true  God,  and  Jesus  Christ  whom  he 


The  Holy  Club. 


ST 


has  sent?  Do  you  inculcate  upon  them,  day  by  day,  that  love  that 
alone  never  faileth,  (whereas  whether  there  be  tongues,  they  shall  fail, 
or  philosophical  knowledge,  it  shall  vanish  away,)  and  that  without 
love  all  learning  is  but  splendid  ignorance,  pompous  folly,  and  vexation 
of  spirit?  .  .  .  Let  it  not  be  said  that  I  speak  here  as  if  all  under 
your  care  were  intended  to  be  clergymen,  Not  so  :  I  only  speak  as  i:6 
they  were  all  intended  to  become  Christians."  * 


BOCAEDO. 


Pions  Labors  of  the  Holy  Club.— Besides  their  frequent 
meetings  for  the  study  of  the  Greek  Testament  and  devotional  exer- 
cises, the  Wesleys  and  their  two  friends  began  a  systematic  visitation 
of  the  poor  and  the  sick,  and  presently  extended  their  charity  to  the 
poor  debtors  in  Bocardo.  This  "  Bocardo  "  was  a  room  over  the  north 
gate  of  the  ancient  city  wall,  and  at  that  time  in  use  as  the  debtors^ 
•"Wesley's  Works,"  vol.  i,  page  42. 


«8 


Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 


prison  at  Oxford.  [It  was  from  this  place  that  Archbishop  Cramner 
was  led  forth  to  martyrdom,  after  having  been  led  up  to  the  top  of  the 
tower  of  St.  Michael's  Church  adjoining  the  prison,  to  witness  the  burn- 
mg  of  Ridley  and  Latimer,  in  order  that  the  sight  of  their  sufferings 
might  move  him  to  recant.  This  tower  is  seen  in  the  center  of  the  cut.] 
To  this  work  they  devoted,  two  or  three  hours  every  week ;  though 
before  entering  upon  such  a  novel  enterprise  they  thought  it  best  to 
■consult  Mr.  Samuel  "Wesley  about  it,  who  gave  his  approbation,  pro- 
vided the  jailer  was  satisfied  with  it,  and  the  bishop  of  the  diocese  had 
<flo  objections. 

ill;llJJ,y,ii,|JJiJ|;|n,.^;,,  It    was,    doubtless,    a 

;^,  .--N,^.  ':iJ-.!jihj)f,i j'j/i I'll ,  new  experience  for  the 
')'y(illlil!:'  Bishop  of  Oxford  to  have 
a  Fellow  of  Lincoln  Col- 
lege and  two  or  three 
students  of  Christ's 
Church  asking  his  per- 
mission to  do  any  such 
undignified  thing  as  to 
visit  the  poor,  and  preach 
the  Gospel  to  the  miser- 
able wretches  in  the  debt- 
ors' prison ;  but,  finding  they  were  really  intent  upon  this  holy  work, 
he  graciously  gave  his  consent,  and  thus  the  Holy  Club  entered  upon 
its  first  apostolic  ministry. 

Like  the  man  in  the  Gospel  who  was  so  well  satisfied  with  himself, 
the  members  of  the  Holy  Club  fasted  twice  in  the  week ;  they  denied 
themselves  all  luxuries  and  many  comforts  that  they  might  have  more 
money  to  give  to  the  poor ;  they  kept  the  forty  days  of  Lent  so 
strictly  as  to  be  half -starved  when  the  great  annual  fast  was  over ; 
they  practiced  all  the  rules  for  the  attainment  of  hohness  that  they 
could  find  in  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer,  " De  Imitationes  ChrisUy^ 
Law's  "  Sermons,"  Taylor's  "  Holy  Living  and  Dying,"  "  The  Whole 
Duty  of  Man,"  etc.,  they  sought  for  separation  from  the  world,  and 
managed  to  live,  in  the  midst  of  the  teeming  folly  and  dissipation  of 
Oxford,  a  life  of  almost  monastic  severity. 

There  is  always  something  attractive  in  the  life  of  a  devotee,  not 


SOME    OF   THE    PRISONERS. 


The  Holy  Club. 


89 


always  in  spite  of,  but  sometimes  because  of,  the  i^rivations  and  suffer- 
ings which  he  endures.  Oxford  laughed  at  the  members  of  the  Holy 
Club;  but  among  the  young  men,  and  young  women,  also,  who  lived 
in  the  town  and  observed  the  sanctity  of  the  live§  of  these  four  men, 
there  were  those  who  were  attracted  rather  than  repelled.  In  1732 
the  membership  of  the  Club  was  strength- 
ened by  the  addition  of  Messrs.  Ingham, 
Broughton,  Clayton,  Gambold,  and  Ilervey ; 
the  last  name  being  familiar  as  that  of  the 
author  of  the  well-known  "Meditations." 
At  one  time  the  list  of  membership  in- 
creased to  twenty-seven,  most  of  whom 
were  members  of  the  different  colleges,  or 
private  pupils  of  John  Wesley;  and  Mr. 
Clayton,  in  a  letter  to  ; 
Wesley,  gives  us  a 
glimpse  of  one  of  the 
lady  members,  whom 
he  mentions  as  "poor 
Miss  Potter"— Could 
it  have  been  tli< 
daughter  of  the  bish- 
op ? —  and  of  whom 
he  says:    ''•I  wondei     ^    |^,_  ,,. 

not  that  she  has  fall    ±-^^T'.'?;i 
..       _  HI    r  ?'     "t,, fulfil 


en 


that 


IS, 


fallei 


from  the  high  ritual 
istic      pi'actices     an( 
painful    devotions  of 
the  Holy  Club. 

And    no    wonder 
that    some    of    the  «t.  mary's  oh ukch,  oxford. 

members  should  backslide  when  the  self-mortifications  enjoined  b}- 
their  rules  were  such  as  to  earn  the  censure  of  good  men  as  well  as 
the  ridicule  of  bad  men  ;  when  tlie  newspapers  joined  in  the  popular 
cry  against  them ;  when  a  mob  would  collect  at  the  door  of  St.  Mary's 

Church,  where  the    Methodists  were    in  the  habit  of   receiving  the 

0  ^ 


90  Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 

Lord's  Slipper  every  week,  and  shamefully  entreat  them  as  they 
passed  in ;  when  certain  Church  authorities  ridiculed  and  denounced 
them  as  "enthusiasts,"  "fanatics,"  "papists,"  "supererogation  men," 
etc.,  the  latter  name  being  flung  at  them  because  they  insisted  on 
keeping  all  the  fasts  prescribed  in  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer, 
sometimes  with  such  vigor  as  to  leave  them  scarce  strength  enough 
to  walk. 

As  the  spiritual  head  of  the  Club,  the  youthful  Eev.  John  "Wes- 
ley published  a  book  of  prayers  of  his  own  composition  for  their 
private  use ;  and  that  he  held  to  auricular  confession  is  proved  by  the 
following  quotation  from  a  sharp  letter  written  him  by  his  sister 
Emily,  in  reply  to  one  of  his  own : — 

"  To  lay  open  the  state  of  my  soul  to  you  or  any  of  our  clergy  is 
what  I  have  no  inclination  to  at  present,  and  I  beheve  I  never  shall. 
I  shall  not  put  my  conscience  under  the  direction  of  mortal  man  frail 
as  myself.  To  my  own  Master  I  stand  or  fall.  N^ay,  I  scruple  not  to 
say  that  all  such  desire  in  yoU'  or  any  other  ecclesiastic  seems  to  me 
Kke  Church  tyranny  and  assuming  to  yourselves  a  dominion  over  your 
fellow-creatures  which  God  never  designed  you  to  hold." 

He  also  proposed  the  formation  of  a  fraternity,  a  kind  of  monkish 
order,  to  which  their  habits  were  directly  tending;  but  Clayton, 
who  was  at  that  time  serving  a  parish  in  Manchester,  and  there- 
fore caught  an  occasional  glimpse  of  the  great  world  which  these 
'Word  devotees  temporarily  shut  out  from  their  reckoning,  opposed 
*tie  idea  as  a  possible  "  snare  for  the  consciences  of  weak  brethren ; " 
and  thus  England  was  spared  the  infliction  of  a  Protestant  Loyola  in 
the  person  of  Wesley,  who,  if  he  had  been  allowed  to  carry  out  his 
designs,  was  brave  enough,  learned  enough,  and  heroic  enough  to  have 
oecome  the  general  of  an  order  no  whit  less  enterprising  and  ambitious 
than  that  of  the  Jesuits  themselves. 

The  extent  to  which  the  success  of  the  Holy  Club  depended  on 
the  personal  magnetism  of  John  Wesley  is  shown  by  the  fact  that 
while  he  was  absent  on  a  visit  to  his  old  home  at  Epworth,  sometime 
in  the  year  1733,  its  membership  dwindled  from  twenty-seven  to  only 
five ;  a  reduction  scarcely  to  be  lamented,  for  a  more  perfect  speci- 
men of  Pharisaism  the  Christian  world  has  rarely  seen ;  and  its  own 
members  in  after  years  confessed  it  to  have  been  a  futile  effort  to  save 


The  Holy  Club. 


91 


themselves,  instead  of  coming  to  the  Savionr  set  forth  in  the  word 
of  God. 

George  Whitefield. — It  was  during  the  decline  and  fall  of 
the  Holy  Cluh  that  George  Whitefield  was  added  to  its  number ; 
indeed,  he  appears  to  have  been  its  last  as  well  as  its  most  notable 
accession. 

This  greatest  preacher  of  modern  times,  if  not  of  all  times,  by 
whose  marvelous  eloquence  and  spiritual  power  the  Methodist  revival 


WHITEFIELD   AT    THE   AGE   OF  TWENTY-FOUR. 


was  at  first  chiefly  promoted,  and  who  afterward  divided  with  Wesley 
for  awhile  the  honors  of  Methodist  leadership,  was  born  in  the  city  of 
Gloucester,  England,  December  16,  1714.  His  father  and  mother 
kept  the  Bell  Inn,  but  his  father  died  when  he  was  only  two  years  old, 
and  his  mother,  having  but  a  mean  opinion  of  her  business,  carefully 
kept  her  son  from  all  connection  with  it,  until  the  failing  fortunes  of 
the  family,  caused  by  his  mother's  second  and  unhappy  marriage, 
made  it  needful  for  him  to  leave  his  school  and  take  the  place  of  pot- 
boy of  the  Bell.     This  was  in  his  fifteoith  year. 


92  Illustrated  Histoey  of  Methodism. 

In  a  very  frank  account  of  himseK,  which  Mr.  Whitefield  published 
when  he  was  about  twenty-six  years  old,  he  says : — 

"  I  can  truly  say  I  was  f roward  from  my  mother's  womb.  How- 
ever the  young  man  in  the  gospel  might  boast  that  he  had  kept  all  the 
commandments  from  his  youth,  with  shame  and  confusion  of  face  I 
confess  that  I  have  broken  them  all  from  my  youth.  Whatever  fore- 
seen fitness  for  salvation  others  may  talk  of  or  glory  in,  I  disclaim  any 
such  thing.  If  I  trace  myself  from  my  cradle  to  my  manhood,  I  can 
see  nothing  in  me  but  a  fitness  to  be  damned."  *  Yet  he  says  he  had 
some  early  convictions  of  sin ;  that  he  was  fond  of  being  a  clergyman, 
and  used  frequently  to  "  imitate  ministers  reading  prayers ;"  and  that 
of  the  money  which  he  used  to  steal  from  his  mother  for  cakes  and 
fruits  and  play-house  tickets,  he  was  accustomed  to  give  a  portion 
to  the  poor ! 

His  talent  for  dramatic  performances  was  noticed  by  the  master  of 
the  school,  who  composed  some  small  plays  for  him  to  act,  sometimes 
even  in  a  female  character  and  dressed  accordingly,  of  which  he  de- 
clares himself  to  be  particularly  ashamed,  and  of  which  he  sets  down 
his  opinion  thus : — 

"  And  here  I  cannot  observe  with  too  much  concern  of  mind  how 
this  way  of  training  up  youth  has  a  natural  tendency  to  debauch  the 
mind,  to  raise  ill  passions,  and  to  stuff  the  memory  with  things  as  con- 
trary to  the  Gospel  of  Jesus  Christ  as  hght  to  darkness,  as  heaven  to 
hell ! " 

While  he  was  serving  as  tapster  at  the  Bell,  he  was  still  dreaming 
of  the  life  of  a  parson,  and  even  composed  two  or  three  sermons, 
though  he  had  no  one  to  preach  them  to ;  and,  indeed,  he  was  far 
enough  from  being  fit  to  preach  in  any  other  respect  except  in  his  tal- 
ent as  a  speaker.  He  was  often  anxious  about  his  soul,  and  would  sit 
up  far  into  the  night  reading  his  Bible,  thinking  over  his  sins,  and 
wishing  he  could  go  to  Oxford  and  study  for  the  holy  ministry,  a  wish 
which,  however  wild  it  seemed  at  the  time,  was  not  long  after  grati- 
fied.    Of  this  change  from  tapster  to  theologue  he  writes  as  follows : — • 

"  After  I  had  continued  about  a  year  in  this  servile  employment, 
my  mother  was  obliged  to  leave  the  inn.  My  brother,  who  was 
brought  up  for  the  business,  married,  whereupon  all  was  made  over  to 
•  Ttirman's  "  Life  of  George  Whitefield." 


The  Holy  Club.  93 

"him,  and  I  being  accustomed  to  the  house,  it  was  agreed  that  I  should 
remain  as  an  assistant.  But  God's  thoughts  were  not  as  our  thoughts. 
It  happened  that  my  sister-in-law  and  I  could  by  no  means  agree.  I 
was  much  to  blame,  yet  I  used  to  retire  and  weep  before  the  Lord, 
little  thinking  that  God  by  this  means  was  forcing  me  out  from  the 
pubhc  business,  and  calling  me  from  drawing  wine  for  dninkards  to 
draw  water  out  of  the  wells  of  salvation  for  the  refreshment  of  his 
spiritual  Israel." 

It  appears  that  during  a  visit  to  his  brother  at  Bristol  he  had  been 
powerfully  wrought  upon  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  of  which  experience  he 


"  Here  God  was  pleased  to  give  me  great  foretastes  of  his  love,  and 
fill  me  with  such  unspeakable  raptures,  particularly  once  in  St.  John's 
Church,  that  I  was  carried  out  beyond  myself.  I  felt  great  hunger- 
ings  and  thirstings  after  the  blessed  sacrament,  and  wrote  many  letters 
to  my  mother,  telling  her  I  would  never  go  into  the  public  employ- 
ment again;"  but  from  this  state  of  grace  he  fell  on  returning  to 
Gloucester,  and  being  without  employment,  having  forsworn  the  dram- 
selling,  he  fell  in  with  idle  companions,  by  whom  he  was  led  into 
secret  vice,  and  almost  into  open  apostasy  from  God,  though  it  was 
impossible  for  him  to  be  an  infidel,  toward  which  abyss  he  was  led  by 
the  ideas  and  influence  of  some  of  liis  Gloucester  companions. 

One  day  an  old  school-fellow  paid  liim  a  visit,  and  explained  to 
him  how  it  was  possible  for  a  poor  lad  to  pay  his  way  at  college  as  a 
servitor,  and  George,  who  had  been  deeply  impressed  that  God  had 
some  special  work  laid  out  for  him,  saw  in  this  an  open  door  through 
which,  in  spite  of  his  poverty,  he  might  pass  to  learning  and  the 
pulpit.  With  this  view  he  at  once  resumed  his  studies  at  the  Glou- 
cester Grammar  School,  took  up  his  religious  duties,  and  presently 
became  quite  a  noted  leader  in  religion  among  the  boys  of  his  school. 

"  For  a  twelvemonth,"  he  says,  "  I  went  on  in  a  round  of  duties, 
receiving  the  sacrament  monthly,  fasting  frequently,  attending  con- 
stantly on  public  worship,  and  praying  often  more  than  twice  a  day  in 
private.  One  of  my  brothers  used  to  tell  me  he  feared  this  would  not 
hold  long,  and  that  I  should  forget  all  when  I  came  to  Oxford.  This 
caution  did  me  much  service,  for  it  set  me  upon  praying  for  perse- 
verance ;  and,  under  God,  the  preparation  I  made  in  the  country  waa 


94 


Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 


a  preventive  against  the  manifold  temptation  wliicli  beset  me  at  my 
first  coming  to  tliat  seat  of  learning." 

Wliitefielcl  at  Oxford. — At  eighteen  years  of  age  Whitefield 

was  admitted  to  Pembroke  College, 
Oxford,  and,  being  a  polite  and  ready 
servitor,  which  trade  he  had  learned 
at  the  Bell  Inn,  he  at  once  became  a 
favorite  with  the  gentlemen  of  his 
college,  who  gave  him  all  the  patron- 
age he  conld  attend  to,  and  thns  placed 
him  in  a  position  of  comijarative  inde- 
pendence. 

As  might  be  supposed,  this  yonng 
jjietist  suffered  no  little  persecution 
for  refusing  to  join  in  the  ''  excess  of 
riot "  of  some  of  his  college  acquaint- 
ances ;  but  nothing  could  shake  him. 
He  had  also  heard  of  the  Methodists 
and  their  Holy  Club,  and  greatly  de- 
sired to  be  among  them,  but  his  pov- 
erty, his  modesty,  and  his  youth,  pi'e- 
vented  him  from  presuming  to  seek  acquaintance  among  persons  so  far 
al)ove  him.  It  happened,  however,  that  he  fell  in  with  Mr.  Charles 
Wesley,  who  was  pleased  with  him,  invited  him  to  breakfast,  intro- 
duced him  to  his  brother  John,  who  also  took  a  kind  interest  in  the 
lad,  gave  him  private  instructions  in  things  of  religion,  and,  greatly 
to  his  delight,  introduced  him  to  their  little  fraternity. 

He  was  a  young  man  of  pleasing  appearance,  courteous  manners, 
heroic  courage ;  a  soul  capable  of  ecstasies,  revelations,  and  all  the 
heights  and  depths  of  religious  emotions ;  a  natural  orator,  of  such  dra- 
matic j)ower  that  in  after  years  the  prince  of  actors  envied  him ;  and 
so  wonderfully  endowed  with  faith  and  fervor,  and  so  completely  in 
harmony  with  the  supernatural  world,  that  he  could  make  his  vast 
audiences  feel,  if  they  did  not  see,  the  invisible  and  eternal  realities 
of  death  and  judgment,  heaven  and  hell. 

If  Whitefield  was  a  devotee  before  he  became  a  member  of  the 
Holy  Club,  he  was  afterward  a  very  fanatic.     He  was  so  bent  upon 


^^^ 


PEMBitoKE    COLLEGE    TOWEK. 


The  Holy  Club. 


95 


'Conquering  tlie  flesh  and  attaining  to  tlie  high  spirituality  of  which  he 
read  in  his  books  of  devotion,  that  he  would  lie  for  whole  hours  to- 
.gether  prostrate  on  the  ground,  or  on  the  floor  of  his  study,  with  his 
arms  extended  in  the  form  of  a  cross,  pouring  out  his  soul  in  silent  or 


INTERIOR   OF  ST.    MART's   CHURCH, 


vocal  prayer,  lighting  desperate  battles  with  the  devil,  whose  presence 
he  realized  with  the  most  vivid  horror;  he  would  sometimes  expose 
iimself  in  the  cold  until  his  flesh  became  almost  black ;  he  used  the 


•96  Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 

worst  food — coarse  bread,  and  sage  tea  without  sugar — though  his  places 
as  servitor  gave  him  a  chance  at  the  best,  for  the  remainder  of  the  ele- 
gant repasts  which  he  served  to  his  wealthy  patrons  were  regarded  a& 
the  servitor's  perquisites ;  he  wore  shabby  clothes,  put  no  powder  on 
his  hair,  fasted  till  he  was  half  starved,  lived  in  alternate  ecstasy  and 
misery,  attended  the  weekly  communion  at  St.  Mary's  Church  along; 
with  the  other  Methodists,  visited  the  poor  and  the  sick,  and  strove, 
through  self -mortification,  prayer,  alms-giving,  and  frequent  use  of  the- 
sacraments,  to  become  a  saint  of  the  holiest  sort. 

Whitefield's  Experience  of  CouTersioii. — That  work 
of  the  Holy  Spirit  upon  the  soul  of  the  believer  in  Christ  which  is' 
now  so  well  understood  among  Methodists,  was  at  this  time  almost 
imheard  of,  even  in  the  orthodox  communion  of  the  English  Church. 
To  be  converted  signified,  in  the  doctrinal  teachings  of  English  pul- 
pits, a  gradual  process  by  which,  often  through  very  slow  degrees,  a 
baptized  member  of  the  Church  might,  somehow  or  other,  come  into  a 
salvable  condition,  at  which,  however,  there  was  no  expectation  of  his 
arriving  until  the  hour  and  article  of  death.  Even  to  this  day  a  mi- 
nority only  of  the  English  clergy  believe,  experience  and  preach 
instantaneous  conversion ;  and  during  the  progress  of  the  recent 
revivals  in  that  kingdom  under  the  leadership  of  the  American  evan- 
gelists certain  of  the  clergy  made  bitter  attacks  upon  the  movement^, 
denouncing  it,  among  other  reasons,  because  it  gave  so  much  promi- 
nence to  the  idea  of  "  instantaneous  conversion." 

Whitefield,  the  dreamer,  the  enthusiast,  the  would-be  martyr,  was 
the  first  member  of  the  Holy  Club  to  come  into  this  divine  experience 
of  regeneration.  ISTo  member  of  the  Holy  Club,  not  even  John 
Wesley  himseK,  understood  this  heavenly  mystery.  Their  ideas  of 
holiness  were  of  a  condition  of  soul  which  could  be  worked  up  by 
prayers,  fasts,  alms,  and  sacraments.  Of  that  state  of  grace  which  is 
wrought  in  the  soul  by  the  power  of  the  Spirit  of  God  through  faith 
in  the  atonement  of  Jesus  Christ,  they  had  no  knowledge,  partly  be- 
cause they  had  no  one  to  point  out  the  force  of  the  Scriptures  which 
treat  upon  this  point,  and  partly  because  they  were  so  intent  on  mak- 
ing themselves  holy  that  they  overlooked  the  fact  that  salvation  was 
by  faith  instead  of  by  works. 

In  tlie  awful  struggles  of  soul  through  which  Whitefield  passed,. 


The  Holy  Club. 


n 


his  mind  was  so  tormented  that  he  could  not  perform  his  college 
duties,  and  for  a  time  such  was  his  behavior  that  he  was  actually 
believed  to  have  become  insane  : — 

"Near  live  or  six  weeks,"  he  writes,  "I  was  lighting  with  my  cor- 
ruptions, and  did  little  else  besides  kneeling  down  by  my  bedside,  feel- 
ing, as  it  were,  a  pressure  upon  my  body  as  well  as  an  unspeakable 
oppression  of  mind,  yet  oifering  up  my  soul  to  God  to  do  with  me  as. 


GATEWAY    OF  ST.    MARY'S   CHURCH,    OXFORD. 

it  pleased  him.  It  was  now  suggested  to  me  that  Jesus  Christ  was 
among  the  wild  beasts  when  he  was  tempted,  and  that  I  ought  to  fol- 
low his  example ;  and  being  willing,  as  I  thought,  to  imitate  Jesus 
Christ,  after  supper  I  went  out  into  Christ  Church  Walk,  near  our 
college,  and  continued  in  silent  prayer  under  one  of  the  trees  for 
near  two  hours.  The  night  being  stormy,  it  gave  me  awful  thoughts 
of  the  day  of  judgment.     The  next  night  I  repeated  the  same  exer- 


^8 


Illustkated  Histoey  of  Methodism. 


cise  at  the  same  place.  .  .  ,  Soon  after  this  the  holy  season  of  Lent 
came  on,  which  our  friends  kept  very  strictly,  eating  no  flesh  during 
the  six  weeks  except  on  Saturdays  and  Sundays.  I  abstained  fre- 
quently on  Saturdays  also,  and  ate  nothing  on  the  other  days,  except 
Sundays,  but  sage  tea  without  sugar  and  coarse  bread.  I  constantly 
walked  out  in  the  cold  mornings  till  part  of  one  of  my  hands  was 
quite  black.  This,  with  my  continued  abstinence  and  inward  conflicts, 
at  length  so  emaciated  my  body  that  at  Passion-week,  finding  I  could 
scarce  creep  up  stairs,  I  was  obliged  to  inform  my  Idnd  tutor  of  my 
situation,  who  immedi- 
ately sent  a  physician  '^c'/JA^S^tro.  )u/^^  5^?^^ 
to  me.  This  caused  no 
small  triumph  among 
the  collegians,  who  be- 
gan to  cry  out,  '  What 
is  his  fasting  come  to 
now?' 

"  This  fit  of  sickness 
continued  upon  me  for 
seven  weeks,  and  a  glo- 
rious visitation  it  was. 
The  blessed  Spirit  was 
all  this  time  purifying 
my  soul.  All  my  form- 
er gross  and  notorious, 
and  even  my  heart  sins, 
also,  were  now  set  home 
upon  me,  of  which  I 
wrote  down  some  remembrance  immediately,  and  confessed  them  be- 
fore God  morning  and  evening.  ... 

"  About  the  end  of  the  seven  weeks,  and  after  I  had  been  groaning 
imder  an  unspeakable  pressure  of  body  and  mind  for  above  a  twelve- 
month, God  was  pleased  to  set  me  free.  .  .  I  found  and  felt  in  myself 
that  I  was  dehvered  from  the  burden  that  had  so  heavily  oppressed  me. 
The  spirit  of  mourning  was  taken  from  me,  and  I  knew  what  it  was 
truly  to  rejoice  in  God  my  Saviour,  and  for  some  time  could  not  avoid 
•singing  psalms  wherever  I  was ;  but  my  joy  gradnall}  became  more 


THE    BROAD    WALK,   OXFORD. 


The  Holy  Club.  99 

settled,  and,  blessed  be  God !  has  abode  and  increased  in  my  sc  ul,  save 
a  few  casual  intermissions,  ever  since.  Now  did  the  Spirit  of  God 
take  possession  of  my  soul,  and,  as  I  humbly  hope,  seal  me  unto  the 
days  of  redemption." 

It  was  during  this  time  that  John  Wesley  had  helped  him  out  of 
his  despondency  and  advised  him  to  continue  his  performance  of  the 
external  duties  of  religion.  At  a  time  when  he  was  tempted  to  abandon 
them  and  give  over  the  struggle  in  despair,  Charles  "Wesley  lent  him  a 
book  to  read,  entitled,  the  "  Life  of  God  in  the  Soul  of  Man,"  from 
which  he  learned  that  "  a  man  may  go  to  church,  say  his  prayers,  re- 
ceive the  sacrament,  and  yet  not  be  a  Christian ; "  and  this  book, 
through  the  blessing  of  the  divine  Spirit,  was  the  means  of  bringing 
him  into  the  experience  of  saving  grace.  "  Holding  the  book  in  my 
hand,"  he  says,  "  I  thus  addressed  the  God  of  heaven  and  earth : — 

"  '  Lord,  if  I  am  not  a  Christian,  for  Jesus  Christ's  sake  show  me 
what  Christianity  is,  that  I  may  not  be  damned  at  last.'  I  read  a 
little  further,  and  discovered  that  they  who  Imow  any  thing  of  religion 
know  it  is  a  vital  union  with  the  Son  of  God — Christ  found  in  the 
heart.     O,  what  a  ray  of  divine  light  did  then  break  in  upon  my  soul ! 

"  I  know  the  place :  it  may,  perhaps,  be  superstitious,  but  whenever 
I  go  to  Oxford  I  cannot  help  running  to  the  spot  where  Jesus  Christ 
^rst  revealed  himseK  to  me,  and  gave  me  a  new  birth."  This  was  in 
the  year  1Y35,  when  Whitefield  was  in  his  twenty-first  year. 

Cool-headed,  cool-hearted  rationalists  will  certainly  scoff  at  such  a 
radical,  terrible,  glorious  conversion  as  that  of  George  Whitefield. 
naif-way-covenant  believers,  whose  sluggish  souls  were  never  stirred 
to  the  depths,  perhaps  because  their  souls  have  no  depths  to  be 
stirred,  will  say  that  this  man  was  the  victim  of  a  pious  delusion; 
materialists  will  call  his  supernatural  experience  a  case  of  fanatical  en- 
thusiasm ;  but  they  who  through  faith  have  been  nlade  "  partakers  of 
the  Divine  nature  "  will  understand  the  mystery  and  pray  for  the  mul- 
tiplication of  such  experiences  among  both  ministry  and  people. 

The  decided  character  of  Whitefield's  testimony  concerning  his 
jonversion  is  worthy  of  special  attention,  occurring,  as  it  does,  at  a  time 
when  the  doctrine  of  Assurance  of  Faith  was  very  rarely  heard. 
Whitefield  was  saved  so  gloriously  that  he  had  no  difficulty  in  recog- 
mizing  the  fact.     Is  it  true,  then,  that  the  reason  why  so  many  profess- 


100  Illusteated  History  of  Methodism. 

ing  Christians  are  in  doubt  about  their  experience-  of  saving  grace  is 
to  be  found  in  the  fact  that  their  experience  of  grace  really  amounts 
to  so  httle  ?  Tea  or  nay,  this  certainly  is  true,  that  all  the  great  souls 
whom  God  has  set  to  be  leaders  in  his  Church  have  passed  through  the 
same  deep  convictions,  and  fought  the  same  desperate  battles  with  the 
powers  of  darkness,  as  those  recorded  of  this  Apollos  of  the  eighteenth 
century.  They  have  not  only  been  baptized  with  water,  but  also  with 
the  Holy  Ghost  and  with  fire. 

It  was  three  years  after  this  that  the  "Wesleys  came  into  the  experi- 
ence of  the  new  birth.  Th6y  approached  it  with  scholarly  research^ 
Whitefield  with  absolute  desperation ;  they  were  gentlemen,  he  was 
only  a  poor,  despised  servitor  who  felt  himself  unworthy  of  their 
notice  ;  they  were  teachers  and  in  holy  orders,  he  was  a. poor,  broken- 
hearted devotee,  lost  in  the  abyss  of  his  own  depravity,  and  only  crying 
out  for  God ;  they  were  Pharisees,  he  was  a  publican — and  of  course- 
he  came  into  the  kingdom  long  before  them. 

The  doctrines  of  the  Holy  Cluto  were  orthodox.  They 
were  the  doctrines  of  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer,  flavored  with 
mysticism  and  somewhat  tainted  with  popery.  John  "Wesley,  as  has 
been  seen,  was  instructed  by  his  mother  in  the  theology  of  his  dissent- 
ing grandfather  Dr.  Annesley,  as  well  as  in  that  of  the  Established 
Church,  of  which  his  father  was  a  champion.  Besides  these,  Mrs. 
Wesley  held  certain  views  of  her  own ;  as,  for  instance,  she  rejected 
the  doctrine  of  unconditional  election  of  a  part  of  the  human  race  to- 
eternal  glory,  and  reprobation  of  the  remainder  to  eternal  woe ;  and 
taught  her  son  to  believe  that  this  inference  of  the  Westminster  doctors 
was  a  slander  against  the  justice  of  God.  The  whole  Wesley  family 
accepted  the  Apostles'  Creed  as  the  best  statement  of  theoretical 
religion ;  so  also  did  the  Holy  Club,  and  they  strove  after  inward  hoh- 
ness  by  the  practice  of  outward  morahty  and  by  the  help  of  all  the- 
means  of  grace  of  which  they  had  any  knowledge. 

What  was  the  fault  of  all  this  ? 

Kone  at  all ;  it  was  good  as  far  as  it  went ;  but  it  was  only  one  side- 
of  the  subject — the  human  side ;  it  was  an  attempt  to  train  and  de- 
velop the  old  nature  into  a  state  of  holiness,  instead  of  seeking  for 
the  new  nature  which  is  born  of  God;  it  was  trying  to  turn  th& 
<jamal  mind  from   its   enmity  toward   God,  instead  of  displacing  it 


The  Holy  Club.  101 

with  tlie  mind  that  was  in  Christ ;  it  was  cultivating  the  corrupt  tree 
so  as  to  make  it  bring  forth  good  fruit ;  it  was  going  about  to  establish 
their  own  righteousness,  whereby  they  overlooked  the  righteousness 
that  is  by  faith. 

In  those  days,  while,  as  Bunyan  has  it,  Mr.  "Wesley  was  in  charge 
of  Mr.  Legahty,  he  thus  speaks  of  his  work : — 

"  I  preached  much,  but  saw  no  fruit  of  my  labor.  Indeed,  it  could 
not  be  that  I  should,  for  I  neither  laid  the  foundation  of  repentance 
nor  of  behoving  in  the  Gospel ;  taking  it  for  granted  that  all  to  whom 
I  preached  were  behevers,  and  that  many  of  them  needed  no  repentance." 
Nevertheless,  while  those  who  could  not  comprehend  him  called  him 
*'  a  crack-brained  enthusiast,"  his  outward  piety  was  the  admiration  of 
the  pious,  as  well  as  the  despair  of  the  profane.  As  a  High-Church- 
man of  the  most  ultra  sort,  "Wesley  believed  that  one  who  had  been 
baptized  by  a  regularly  ordained  clergyman  of  the  Cliurch  of  England 
or  of  the  Church  of  Rome  was  thereby  made  a  Christian,  and  the  chief 
difference  he  saw  in  such  persons  was  in  the  degree  of  their  faithful- 
ness to  the  vows  taken  by  godfathers  and  godmothers  ou  their  behalf. 
Repentance  with  him  was  synonymous  with  reformation,  that  is, 
repentance  toward  one's  self  and  his  own  past  life  instead  of  repent- 
ance toward  God ;  faith  with  him  signified  holding  correct  rehgious 
opinions,  and  being  in  fellowship  with  the  Estabhshed  Church ;  but  of 
that  faith  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  which  claims  him  as  a  personal 
and  present  Saviour  the  Holy  Club  had  a  very  faint  conception. 

The  "Witness  of  the  Spirit  they  understood  to  be  no  more  than  a 
kind,  of  spiritual  glow  which  might  be  supposed  to  indicate  the  divine 
approbation,  instead  of  the  inter-communion  between  the  soul  of  the 
regenerated  behever  and  the  Holy  Spirit  of  God,  whereby  he  assures 
them  of  their  having  passed  from  death  unto  hf e. 

"The  Spirit  itself  beareth  witness  with  our  spirit,"  saith  the 
apostle,  "  that  we  are  the  children  of  God ; "  and  again,  "  For  by  one 
offering  he  hath  perfected  forever  them  that  are  sanctified,  whereof 
the  Holy  Spirit  is  witness  to  us."  But  the  Holy  Club  looked  for  a 
perfecting  themselves  by  themselves,  with  the  help  of  God,  to  be  sure, 
and  they  sought  for  a  sense  of  God's  smile  upon  the  success  of  their 
■efforts  to  please  him.  They  made  a  splendid  effort  to  attain  salvation 
by  law,  and  they  came  as  near  to  it,  no  doubt,  as  any  class  of  men  since 


102  Illustkated  Histoey  of  Methodism. 

tlie  world  began ;  tliey  were  admirable  specimens  of  theological  and 
ecclesiastical  piety ;  but  he  that  is  least  in  the  kingdom  of  God  is 
greater  than  they.  The  whole  land  was  blatant  with  heresy  and 
reeking  with  vice,  and  they  determined  to  oppose  the  tide. 

With  what  ? 

"With  exhortations ;  with  condemnations  of  sin ;  with  sacraments  and 
hturgies ;  and,  above  all,  with  the  power  of  pious  example. 

No  wonder  they  failed.  It  is  hard  work  for  a  man  to  lift  himself. 
Even  their  miserable  parish  in  Bocardo,  on  which  they  spent  so  much 
time  and  money,  was  httle  credit  to  them,  for  the  poor  debtors  took 
their  alms,  hstened  to  their  prayers  and  preaching,  and  relapsed  into 
brawhng  and  fighting  again  as  soon  as  they  were  gone.  The  preacher 
was  not  yet  converted  himseK ;  how,  then,  could  he  be  expected  to- 
strengthen  his  brethren?  Only  Whitefield,  out  of  this  whole  com- 
pany of  Oxford  devotees,  had  escaped  from  the  bondage  of  self-riglit- 
eousness,  and  found  his  way  into  the  liberty  of  the  childi-en  of  God. 

Why  was  he  thus  favored  above  the  rest  ? 

Evidently  because  he  was  the  first  to  reach  the  point  of  absolute 
despair  of  being  able  to  save  liimself . 

The  Holy  Clwb  Broken  Up. — Not  long  after  his  conver- 
sion Wliitefield,  prostrated  in  body  by  his  terrible  struggles  of  soul, 
left  Oxford  for  a  visit  to  his  home  in  Gloucester  ;  Gambold  was 
ordained  and  settled  as  a  curate  in  the  little  village  of  Stanton-Har 
court;  Broughton  went  up  to  London  as  curate  at  The  Tower; 
Ingham  took  a  curacy  in  Essex;  the  two  Wesleys  went  up  ta 
Westminster,  where  their  brother  Samuel  resided ;  Hervey  went  hjDme 
to  Hardingstone,  and  for  a  season  Oxford  was  clear  of  its  Methodists. 

Had  the  fire  burned  out  ? 

Not  at  aU.  God  was  only  scattering  the  brands  that  he  might  set 
the  whole  kingdom  in  a  blaze. 

The  subsequent  careers  of  the  different  members  of  the  Holy 
Club  are  various ;  some  of  them  painful.  William  Morgan  was  the 
first  to  represent  the  Club  above,  he  having,  shortly  after  its  dissolu- 
tion, fallen  into  a  melancholy  or  mania  which  presently  resulted  in  hi& 
death.  Charles  Kinchin,  a  lovely  character,  soon  followed  him. 
James  Hervey  will  be  loved  and  honored  as  one  of  the  brightest 
examples  of  Christian  living,  and  the  author  of  "  The  Meditations,"  one 


The  Holy  Club. 


103 


of  the  sweetest  devotional  compositions  in  the  English  language.  On 
the  other  hand,  the  Iligh-Churchism  of  Clayton  was  a  serious  blot  on 
his  clerical  career.  Broughton's  usefulness  was  crij^pled  and  cut  short  by 
his  imperfect,  stunted,  stereotyped  views  of  Christian  truth.  AVestley 
Hall,  who  married  one  of  the  Wesley  sisters,  was  a  disgrace  both  to 
his  family  and  the  Church ;  though  it  may  be  charitably  hoped  he 
died  a  jDenitent.  John  Whitelamb,  another  of  Wesley's  brothers-in- 
law,  sank  down  into  an  ecclesiastical  village  drone.  Gambold  was  a 
good  man,  though  injured  by  the  visionary  and  fanciful  notions  of  the 
Moravians.  Ingham  was  for  many  years  one  of  the  most  successful 
e/angelists,  whose  work  was  blessed  to  the  conversion  of  multitudes  of 
souls  throughout  England  and  Ireland ;  but  by  reason  of  certain  ill- 
judge:l  connections  which  he  formed,  his  last  days  were  not  his  best. 
From  year  to  year  this  band  of  brothers,  the  Oxford  Methodists, 
drifted  further  and  further  aj)art  in  their  views  of  doctrine  and 
Church  government,  and  at  length  were  even  brought  into  painful  col- 
lision with  each  other ;  but,  with  the  exception  of  Hall,  they  were  all 
sincere,  earnest,  laborious  ministers  of  Christ,  while  the  Wesleys  and 
Whitefield  have  attained  a  place  in  the  history  of  the  Church  which 
will  render  their  fame  immortal. 


CHRIST    CHURCH    MEADOW, 


CHAPTER    IV. 


THE  MISSION  TO  AMERICA. 


A  Soul  to  be  Saved. — ^It 

was  John  "Wesley's  intention  after 
he  had  obtained  his  Fellowship  at 
Lincoln  College  to  spend  his  life  at 
Oxford  in  efforts  to  save  his  sonl. 
This  was  all  the  time  uppermost  in 
his  mind.  He  studied  the  Greek 
and  Hebrew  Scriptures  to  save  his 
soul ;  he  fasted  and  prayed  to  save 
his  soul ;  he  preached  in  churches 
and  taught  in  prisons  to  save  his 
soul ;  he  fed  the  hungry  and 
clothed  the  naked  to  save  his  soul ; 
he  led  a  life  of  severity  and  self- 
mortification  and  made  himself  the 
object  of  ridicule  and  abuse  to  save 
his  soul.  Poor  man!  He  had  a 
troublesome  soul  on  his  hands,  and 
did  not  know  what  to  do  with  it. 
His  old  father,  now  about  to  die, 
greatly  desired  John  to  succeed  him  in  the  Epworth  rectorship,  but 
the  son  resisted  aU  his  fatherly  entreaties  on  the  plea  that  he  could 
save  his  soul  better  at  Oxford  than  at  Epworth.  His  father  then 
urged  that  his  ordination  vows  made  it  his  duty  to  take  a  parish  as 
soon  as  one  could  be  had ;  whereupon  he  yielded  the  point,  for  duty 
was,  with  him,  the  end  of  all  argument,  and  apphed  for  the  Epworth 
"  hving ; "  but  his  overmuch  severity  in  religion  had  reached  the  ears 
of  certain  men  who  had  the  power  of  influencing  the  appointment, 
and  his  apphcation  was  refused.  Now  his  way  was  clear ;  he  could 
etay  in  Oxford,  give  himself  up  to  pious  studies   and  labors,  be  a 


A. MAP  OF  TUE  SAVANNAH  COUNTRY 

IN  1T40. 


The  Mission  to  America.  105 

Methodist  of  the  saintliest  sort,  and,  somehow  or  other,  manage  to  sav« 
his  soul. 

The  Colony  of  Oeorgia.— On  the  25th  of  April,  1735, 
-Samuel  Wesley  died,  and  after  the  burial  his  son  d  ohn  went  up  to 
London,  where  a  strange  experience  awaited  him. 

Just  at  this  time  the  project  of  James  Edward  Oglethorpe  (after- 
ward General)  for  colonizing  a  crowd  of  poor  debtors,  who  by  his 
influence  had  been  released  from  the  prisons  of  England,  was  receiving 
much  attention.  Those  were  the  days  of  harsh  government.  The 
gallows  was  the  penalty  for  petty  thefts ;  thousands  of  men  in  Great 
Britain  rotted  in  prison  for  the  misfortune  of  being  poor;  a  small 
debt  was  quite  enough  to  expose  a  struggling  debtor  to  the  penalty  of 
imprisonment,  and  an  indiscreet  bargain  doomed  many  a  well-meaning 
dupe  to  hfelong  confinement;  for,  once  within  the  walls  of  a  debtors' 
prison,  a  poor  wretch  was  often  as  completely  lost  to  the  world  as  if  he 
had  been  in  his  grave. 

Oglethorpe,  whose  attention  had  been  attracted  by  this  great  abuse, 
obtained  a  Parhamentary  Commission  to  inquire  into  the  state  of  the 
Enghsh  prisons,  the  result  of  which  was,  that  a  large  number  of  debt- 
ors were  released  from  confinement  and  restored  to  hght  and  Hberty. 

But  what  was  to  be  done  with  these  people,  to  whom,  indeed,  the 
DrisDn  had  opened  its  doors,  but  against  whom  all  other  doors  were 
now  shut  ? 

There  was  still  a  small  strip  of  sea-coast  in  America  which  had  not 
been  "  granted  "  to  any  body,  bounded  by  the  Savannah  Kiver  on  the 
north  and  the  Altamaha  on  the  south ;  and  here,  by  royal  charter,  was 
located  the  Colony  of  Georgia ;  the  country  being  vested  in  a  board  of 
twenty-one  trustees  for  a  period  of  twenty-one  years,  "  in  trust  for  the 
poor."  The  sum  of  thirty-six  thousand  pounds  was  raised  by  public 
subscription  to  aid  this  popular  charity,  ten  thousand  of  it  being  a 
donation  from  the  Bank  of  England,  and  in  the  month  of  November, 
1733,  the  first  ship-load  of  superfluous  English  poverty,  comprising 
one  hundred  and  twenty  persons,  with  Oglethorpe  at  their  head, 
landed  at  the  spot  where  now  stands  the  beautiful  city  of  Savannah. 

The  next  year  their  numbers  were  increased  by  a  company  of 
persecuted  Protestants  from  Saltzburg,  in  Germany,  whose  afflictions 

■coming  to  the  knowledge  of  the  Enghsh  Society  for  the  Propagation 

7 


106 


Illustrated  Histoey  oi'  Methodism. 


of  the  Gospel  in  Foreign  Parts,  led  to  the  proposal  to  settle  them  also- 
in  Georgia ;  which  kind  offer  they  joyfully  accepted,  and  soon  became 
a  thriving  community,  fearing  God  and  loving  one  another.  Three 
other  ship-loads  of  emigrants  subsequently  reached  the  colony  ;  one  of 
Scotch  Highlanders,  one  of  Moravians,  while  the  third  was  a  mixed 
multitude,  which  had  been  attracted  by  the  accounts  of  this  open 
door  into  a  new  world,  and  with  whom  Oglethorpe  returned  a  second 
time  to  America,  taking  with  him  the  pious  young  "  Fellow  of  Lincoln 
College  "  as  their  spiritual  adviser. 

John  "Wesley  was  sent  out  to  Georgia  by  the  Society  above-men- 
tioned as  a  kind  of  missionary  chaplain,  at  a  salary  of  £50  a  year.  He 
was  accompanied  by  his  brother,  Charles  "Wesley ;  by  Ingham,  one  of 
the  Holy  Club  from  Oxford  ;  and  by  a  young  man  named  Delamotte, 
who  had  become  a  great  admirer  of  Mr.  Wesley,  and  who,  against  the 
wishes  of  his  family,  turned  his  back  on  a  good  business  opening  at 
home  to  become  the  servant  of  this  missionary  in  the  wilds  of  North 
America. 

But  what  has  changed  the  purpose  of  this  Oxford  devotee  ? 
Nothing.     The  purpose  is  not  changed;    only  the  means  of  ita 
accomphshment. 

Here  are  his  own  words  relative  to  this  momentous  step  out  from 
his  beloved  Oxford  into  the  "Western  wilderness  : — 

"  My  chief  motive  is  the  hope  of 
saving  my  own  soul.  I  hope  to  learn 
the  true  sense  of  the  Gospel  by 
preaching  it  to  the  heathen.  They 
have  no  comments  to  construe  away 
the  text,  no  vain  philosophy  to  cor- 
rupt it,  no  luxurious,  sensual,  covet- 
ous, ambitious  expounders  to  soften 
its  unpleasing  truths.  They  have  no 
party,  no  interest  to  serve,  and  are, 
therefore,  fit  to  receive  the  Gospel  in 
its  simplicity.  They  are  as  little  children,  humble,  mUing  to  learn, 
and  eager  to  do  the  will  of  God." 

Fine  people,  those  savages !  A  greater  amount  of  pious  ignorance 
and  absurdity  it  would  be  hard  to  express  in  the  same  number  of  words. 


The  Mission  to  America.  107 

After  setting  fortli  how  mucli  easier  lie  expects  it  will  be  for  him 
to  lead  a  life  of  sanctity  in  the  wilderness,  where  most  of  his  tempta- 
tions will  be  removed,  he  continues  in  the  following  strain  : — 

"  I  have  been  a  grievous  sinner  from  my  youth  up,  and  am  yet 
laden  with  foolish  and  hurtful  desires ;  but  I  am  assured,  if  I  be  once 
converted  myseK,  God  will  then  employ  me  both  to  strengthen  my 
brethren  and  to  preach  his  name  to  the  Gentiles. 

"  I  cannot  hope  to  attain  the  same  degree  of  holiness  here  which  I 
may  there.  I  shall  lose  nothing  I  desire  to  keep.  ...  It  will  be  no 
small  thing  to  be  able,  without  fear  of  giving  offense,  to  live  on  water 
and  the  fruits  of  the  earth  .  .  .  The  pomp  and  show  of  this  world 
have  no  place  in  the  wilds  of  America." 

In  all  this  ridiculous  letter  there  is  not  one  word  about  a  sense  of 
duty.  So  far  as  it  is  possible  to  gather  from  "Wesley's  own  writings, 
he  never  felt  that  God  was  sending  him  across  the  sea,  or  that  the 
American  heathen  had  any  claim  upon  him ;  it  was  only  one  of  his 
many  schemes  of  seK-mortification  to  help  him  in  saving  his  soul. 

"Was  it,  then,  a  delusion  of  the  devil  ? 

Judging  by  his  ridiculous  failure,  one  might  answer.  Yes.  Judg- 
ing, also,  by  his  distinguished  unfitness  for  such  a  mission  at  thi? 
period  of  his  life,  it  would  be  easy  to  reach  the  same  conclusion. 

But  there  is  another  side  to  the  question.  The  Reverend  John 
"Wesley  is  now  thirty-two  years  old;  a  man  as  notable  for  sanctity 
as  he  is  eminent  for  learning.  He  is  a  great  honor  to  his  college,  and 
a  valuable  assistant  in  its  scholastic  work.  He  knows  more  of  books 
and  less  of  human  nature  than  any  other  man  in  Oxford  whose  record 
has  come  down  to  our  times;  he  is  a  presbyter  of  the  Church  of 
England,  on  which  account  he  claims  that  he  belongs  to  a  superior 
order  of  mortals,  though  as  yet  he  does  not  think  himself  in  a  state 
of  saving  grace,  and  has  only  an  official  ministry  to  offer;  and 
so  completely  is  his  common  sense  blindfolded  by  the  rituals  of  his 
Church  and  his  own  clerical  pretensions,  that  if  he  is  ever  to  amount 
to  any  thing  as  a  minister  of  the  Gospel  those  traditional  bandages 
must  be  torn  from  his  eyes. 

A  more  remarkable  mixture  of  learning  and  ignorance,  of  piety 
and  pretension,  of  dogmatism  and  devotion,  than  that  which  made  up 
the  character  of  John  "Wesley  at  this  transitional  period  of  his  life,  it 


108  Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 

is  difficult  to  imagine.  He  is  turning  his  back  upon  those  surround- 
ings and  duties  which  are  most  congenial  to  his  scholarly  tastes  and 
habits,  and  actually  anticipating  with  pleasure  a  Kfe  among  a  crowd  of 
savages.  Civilization  has  its  vices,  which  interfere  with  his  great 
desire  for  holiness ;  he  therefore  eagerly  exchanges  it  for  barbarism, 
and  dreams  of  saving  his  soul  with  the  help  of  an  Indian  hut.  He  is 
taking  his  life  in  his  hand,  half  expecting,  and  wholly  willing,  to  .ose 
it.  He  will  preach  for  awhile  among  the  colonists  of  Savannah,  till 
he  finds  how  to  begin  his  mission  among  the  Indians,  of  whom  he 
thinks  as  so  many  "little  children,"  destitute  both  of  opinions  and 
character,  "  willing  to  learn,  and  eager  to  do,  the  will  of  God ;"  and 
when  this  path  opens  before  him  he  will  bid  adieu  to  the  temptations 
of  this  vain  and  wicked  world,  and  bury  himseK  in  the  woods. 

All  this  he  deliberately  chooses  to  do  without  any  call  of  God  to  a 
missionary  life,  without  any  fitness  for  it  except  heroism,  without  any 
love  for  it  except  what  results  from  his  misapprehension  of  it,  without 
any  especial  love  for  the  souls  to  whom  he  proposes  to  minister,  and 
without  any  clear  sense  of  love  for  God,  in  whose  name  he  is  going  to 
do  it :  he  is  simply  about  to  make  a  grand  experiment,  to  see  if  some- 
thing will  not  come  of  it  that  will  help  him  to  save  his  soul. 

But  if  his  self-anpointed  mission  be  only  a  piece  of  devout  self- 
righteousness,  he  fulfills  it  in  a  manner  worthy  of  admiration.  He  is 
traveling  the  wrong  road,  but  it  is  a  splendid  sight  to  see  how  he 
pushes  on ;  his  zeal  is  not  according  to  knowledge,  but  his  Father  in 
heaven  understands  this  singular  child,  and  is  giving  him  a  chance  to 
toss  upon  the  stormy  besom  of  the  ocean,  to  dash  his  head  against  the 
trees  of  the  wilderness,  to  wade  through  swamps,  to  freeze  and  starve, 
to  be  duped  and  abused,  and  be  made  the  scapegoat  of  a  scandalous 
quarrel,  all  with  the  evident  purpose  of  widening  the  scope  of  his 
vision,  driving  some  of  the  pious  conceit  out  of  him,  showing  him  how 
weak  and  contemptible  a  thing  is  merely  official  rehgion,  and,  witha^, 
of  opening  his  understanding,  through  the  teachings  of  some  of  the 
simple-minded  Moravians,  to  that  pivotal  doctrine  of  the  Wesleyan 
revival — the  regeneration  of  the  penitent  sinner  by  the  power  of  the 
Holy  Ghost  through  faith  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

It  was  arranged  that  Charles  Wesley  should  go  out  to  Georgia  as 
the  Governor's  secretary,  and  he  now  took  orders  as  a  clergyman,  that 


The  Mission  to  America.  109 

he  might  assist  his  brother  in  his  ministry.  The  two  Wesleys,  Ing- 
ham, and  Delamotte,  made  a  solemn  agreement  in  writing  to  the  effect 
that  in  order  to  maintain  unity  among  themselves,  no  one  of  the  four 
should  undertake  any  thing  of  importance  without  consulting  with 
the  other  three ;  that  all  questions  should  be  decided  by  vote ;  and 
that  in  case  of  an  even  division  of  opinion  the  matter,  after  being  laid 
before  the  Lord,  should  be  decided  by  lot. 

During  the  voyage  they  were  as  methodical  and  industrious  as 
ever ;  dividing  their  time,  from  four  o'clock  in  the  morning  until  eight 
o'clock  in  the  evening,  with  brief  allowance  for  meals,  between 
prayers,  reading  the  Scriptures,  writing  sermons,  preaching,  catechis- 
ing the  children  on  board,  giving  personal  instruction  to  chosen  indi- 
viduals among  the  crew  and  passengers,  and  attendance  upon  the 
daily  religious  services  of  the  Moravians,  who,  with  their  bishop,  Da- 
vid Nitschmann,  were  going  out  to  join  their  brethren  in  Georgia. 

On  one  occasion  the  ship  encountered  a  terrible  storm,  and  the  sea 
broke  over  the  deck  while  the  Moravians  were  singing  their  evening 
hymn.    The  other  passengers  screamed  with  terror,  but  the  Moravians 
calmly  sang  on,  as  if  nothing  had  happened.     After  the  service  was 
over,  Wesley  said  to  one  of  them : — 
"  Were  you  not  afraid  ? " 
"  I  thank  God,  no,"  was  his  reply. 
"  But  were  not  your  women  and  cliildren  afraid  ? " 
"  No.     Our  women  and  children  are  not  afraid  to  die." 
This  incident  made  a  profound  impression  upon  Wesley's  mind, 
for  he  records  it  in  his  Journal  with  the  remark,  "  This  is  the  most 
glorious  day  which  I  have  ever  seen." 

These  Moravians  were  "regular"  Christians,  having  the  three 
orders  of  the  ministry.  Bishops,  Priests,  and  Deacons,  according  to  the 
Enghsh  and  the  Komish  ritual ;  therefore  John  Wesley  with  a  clear 
conscience  joined  in  their  worship  of  God,  which  he  would  by  no 
means  have  done  had  they  been  Presbyterians,  Baptists,  or  Quakers. 
They  wer3  far  in  advance  of  him  in  the  experience  of  salvation,  and 
^c  had  the  sense  to  see  it,  and  the  humility  to  confess  it,  and  also  to 
ask  advice  of  their  chief  men  in  respect  to  the  work  he  had  laid  out 
for  himself  in  America. 

The  voyage  from  Cowes  to  the  Savannah  Eiver  was  made  in  fifty- 


110 


Illustrated  Histoky  of  Methodism. 


seven  days,  during  wliicli  Oglethorpe  treated  the  missionaries  with, 
great  kindness.  On  one  occasion,  when  some  of  the  officers  and  gen- 
tlemen on  board  took  liberties  with  Wesley  and  his  friends,  Ogle- 
thorpe indignantly  exclaimed,  "  AVliat  mean  yon,  sirs  '.  Do  yon  take 
these  gentlemen  for  tithe-j^ig  parsons  ?  They  are  gentlemen  of  learn- 
ing and  respectability.  They  are  my  friends,  and  Avhoever  offers  an 
affront  to  them  insults  me."  This  was  quite  enough,  and  thereafter 
the  Methodists  were  treated  with  respect. 


A  WORD  IN   SEASON. 


A  Word  in  Heasoil. — Oglethorpe  was  irritable,  but  noble- 
hearted  and  generous.  One  day  Wesley,  hearing  an  unusual  noise  in 
the  General's  cabin,  entered  to  inquire  the  cause ;  on  which  the  angry 
soldier  cried : 

"  Excuse  me,  Mr.  Wesley ;  I  have  met  with  a  provocation  too 
great  to  bear.     This  villain,  Grimaldi,  [an  Italian  servant,]  has  drunk 


The  Mission  to  America.  Ill 

nearly  tlie  whole  of  my  Cyprus  wine,  the  only  wine  that  agrees  with 
me,  and  several  dozens  of  which  I  had  provided  for  myseK.  But  I 
am  determined  to  be  revenged.  The  rascal  shall  be  tied  hand  and 
foot,  and  be  carried  to  the  man-of-war ;  for  I  never  forgive." 

"Then,"  said  Wesley,  with  great  cahnness  and  gentleness,  "I 
hope,  sir,  you  never  sin." 

Oglethorpe  was  confounded.  His  vengeance  was  gone.  He  put 
his  hand  into  his  pocket,  pulled  out  a  bunch  of  keys  and  threw  them 
At  Grimaldi,  saying,  "  There,  villain !  take  my  keys,  and  behave  better 

for  the  future." 

TVesley's  Scholarship.— The  remarkable  powers  of  mind 
possessed  by  John  Wesley  are  indicated  by  these  facts :  There  was  a 
large  number  of  German-speaking  people  among  the  ship's  company, 
his  Moravian  friends  and  others,  and  he  at  once  commenced  the  study 
of  the  German  language,  that  he  might  converse  with,  and  preach  to, 
them.  When  he  reached  Savannah  he  discovered  some  Frenchmen 
and  Itahans  also,  and  toward  the  close  of  his  polyglot  mission  we  find 
him  publicly  as  well  as  privately  instructing  them  all  in  their  own 

tongues. 

The  following  is  a  list  of  his  Sunday  appointments  at  Savannah  :— 

"  1.  English  prayers  from  five  o'clock  till  haK-past  six. 

"  2.  Italian  prayers  at  nine. 

"  3.  A  sermon  and  the  Holy  Communion  for  the  English,  from 
haK-past  ten  to  about  half -past  twelve. 

"  4.  The  service  for  the  French  at  one ;  including  prayers,  psahns, 
and  Scripture  exposition. 

"  5.  The  catechising  of  the  children  at  two. 

"  6.  The  third  English  service  at  three. 

"  7.  After  this  a  meeting  in  his  own  house  for  reading,  prayer, 

-and  praise. 

"8.  At  six  o'clock  the  Moravian  service  began,  which  he  was 
glad  to  attend,  not  to  teach,  but  to  learn."  * 

Besides  this  he  held  two  services  for  the  Germans  during  the  week, 
one  at  the  village  of  Hampstead  and  one  in  the  town  of  Savannah,  and 
two  services  for  the  French,  at  the  village  of  Highgate  and  m  town.  He 
afterward  studied  Spanish  in  order  to  converse  with  some  Spanish  Jews. 

•  Tyerman's  "  Life  and  Times  of  Wesley." 


112  Illusteated  Histoet  of  Methodism. 

Wesley's  mission  opened  prosperonslj.  His  census  of  his  new- 
parish  in  1Y37,  gives  the  number  at  five  hundred  and  eighteen  souls. 
The  only  other  settlements  in  Georgia  were  the  French  and  German 
villages  above  named,  which  lay  four  or  five  miles  to  the  south-west ; 
the  little  hamlet  called  Thunderbolt,  six  miles  to  the  south-east;  the 
Moravian  town  of  New  Ebenezer,  nineteen  miles  distant ;  Darien,  the 
settlement  of  the  Scotch  Highlanders,  eighty  miles,  and  Frederica,  on 
St.  Simond's  Island,  a  hundred  miles  to  the  south  of  Savannah. 

Besides  these  there  were  some  thousands  of  Choctaw,  Chickasaw, 
Cherokee,  Creek,  and  Uchee  Indians  within  the  limits  of  the  colony  ; 
a  lazy,  drunken,  gluttonous,  murderous  crew,  absolute  pagans,  sunk  in 
all  the  depths  of  savagery,  some  of  whom  would  occasionally  make 
their  appearance  at  the  white  settlements  to  trade, to  beg,  and  to  steal;, 
but  from  first  to  last  Wesley  never  f oimd  among  them  any  of  those 
docile  Httle  childi*en  of  nature  who  were  "  ready  to  hear,  and  eager  to 
do,  the  wiU  of  God ;"  and  never  during  the  nearly  two  years  which 
he  spent  in  America  did  he  find  how  to  make  even  a  beginning  of 
preaching  the  Gospel  among  them,  they  being  determined  "not  to 
hear  the  great  word  which  the  white  man  had  to  teach."  It  was, 
therefore,  necessary  that  he  should  devote  himseK  wholly  to  the 
Europeans.  His  brother  Charles  and  Mr.  Ingham  presently  went 
with  a  few  colonists  to  lay  out  the  village  of  Frederica,  above  men- 
tioned, and  John  Wesley  and  his  devoted  follower,  Delamotte,  began 
their  pastoral  work  at  Savannah. 

Troubles  Thicken. — But  the  people  who  smiled  on  him 
because  of  his  friend,  the  Governor,  soon  began  to  frown  on  him 
because  of  himself.  The  doctrines  and  practices  whose  rigidness  and 
severity  had  incensed  a  learned  and  church-going  community  like- 
Oxford,  were  not  likely  to  find  favor  among  such  a  motley  crowd  as 
that  in  Oglethorpe's  httle  domain  of  Georgia.  He  read  morning 
and  evening  prayers  pubhcly  every  day,  preached  very  plain  and 
searcliing  sermons  on  Sunday,  which  cut  to  the  bone,  and  caused  a 
good  many  sinners  to  be  "  exceeding  mad  "  against  him  for  what  they 
called  his  "  satires  upon  particular  persons."  He  organized  another 
Holy  Club,  which  met  three  times  a  week  for  Scripture  reading, 
psalm-singing,  and  prayer,  and  he  and  young  Delamotte  each  set  up  a> 
little  school. 


The  Mission  to  America.  113 

Mr.  Tyerman,  in  his  admirable  "  Life  and  Times  of  Jolm  "Wesley," 
relates  this  characteristic  incident : — 

Some  of  the  boys  in  Mr.  Delamotte's  school  were  too  poor  to  wear 
shoes  and  stockings,  on  which  account  those  who  could  boast  of  being 
shod  used  to  tease  them  for  going  barefoot.  The  teacher  tried  to 
correct  this  small  cruelty,  but  failed,  and  reported  his  want  of  success 
to  his  master. 

"  I  think  I  can  cure  it,"  said  "Wesley,  "  and  if  you  will  exchange 
schools  with  me  I  wiU  try."  Accordingly,  the  next  Monday  morning 
the  teachers  exchanged  schools,  and  what  was  the  surprise  of  Wesley's 
new  scholars  to  see  their  teacher  and  minister  coming  to  school 
barefoot !  Before  the  week  was  ended  it  began  to  be  fashionable  in 
that  school  to  dispense  with  shoes  and  stockings,  and  nothing  further 
was  heard  of  persecution  on  that  account. 

In  writing  home  to  his  mother  Mr.  Wesley  describes  his  new  home 
as  "pleasant  beyond  imagination,  and  exceedingly  healthy,"  though 
he  says  that  some  of  his  parishioners  are  already  very  angry  at  him. 

"While  the  revolt  against  his  spiritual  authority  was  gathering 
strength  his  brother  and  his  friend  Ingham  were  meeting  with  similar 
trials  at  Frederica.  The  Reverend  Charles  began  by  magnifying  his 
office  and  carrying  out  his  ritualistic  notions  with  a  high  hand.  He 
also  attempted  the  practical  but  impracticable  office  of  settling  the 
quarrels  of  certain  scolding  women ;  and  in  one  way  and  another 
brought  himself  into  such  bad  odor  with  these  semi-barbarians  that 
they  actually  denied  him  a  place  to  sleep,  and  he  was  forced  to  make 
his  bed  on  the  ground. 

They  filled  the  ears  of  the  Governor  with  stories  against  him,  and 
in  a  short  time  the  secretary  was  out  of  favor  with  his  master,  where- 
upon, having  no  visible  protection,  his  few  friends  forsook  him,  he 
was  charged  with  mutiny,  and  his  life  became  so  intolerable  that 
within  three  weeks  after  his  arrival  at  Frederica  he  dispatched 
Ingham  to  Savannah  for  advice.  The  elder  brother  made  aU  haste  to 
visit  the  scene  of  hostilities,  but  his  office  as  peace-maker  was  a  sad 
failure;  for  he  had  only  just  returned  to  Savannah  when  Charles 
made  his  appearance  there,  having  been  actually  put  to  flight  by  the 
outrageous  treatment  of  his  parishioners.  The  brothers  then  ex- 
changed their  fields  of  labor,  but  in  a  month  and  a  day  John  Wesley,. 


114  Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 

also,  was  forced  to  abandon  his  cure  of  souls  at  Frederica  and  to 
return  to  Savannah,  having  been,  as  he  says,  "  betrayed,  scorned,  and 
insulted  by  those  I  had  most  labored  to  serve." 

After  five  months  Charles  Wesley  returned  to  England  to  beg  f oi 
re-enforcements,  and  at  the  end  of  the  first  year  Ingham  followed 
him,  having  accomplished  literally  nothing  of  aU  the  pious  purposes 
with  which  they  set  out.  John  Wesley  and  his  faithful  Delamotte 
remained  for  another  year,  when  they,  too,  were  glad  to  escape  under 
circumstances  which  his  enemies  for  a  hundred  years  have  used  to 
traduce  Wesley's  character  and  belittle  his  fame. 

During  the  second  year,  in  spite  of  the  sad  experience  he  had  suf- 
fered, John  Wesley  kept  on  in  his  course  of  High-church  dogmatism. 
With  him  a  direction  set  down  in  the  Prayer  Book  was  in  those  days 
almost  as  binding  as  a  text  of  Scripture ;  and  by  both  these  books,  not 
by  either  without  the  other,  he  determined  to  stand  or  fall.  He  in- 
sisted on  baptizing  infants  by  immersion  unless  it  was  declared  by  the 
parents  that  they  were  too  feeble  to  bear  it ;  he  would  not  allow  per- 
sons to  stand  as  godfathers  and  godmothers  who  did  not  certify  that 
they  had  received  the  Holy  Communion;  he  refused  the  Lord's 
Supper  to  those  who  did  not  give  previous  notice  of  their  intention  to 
present  themselves ;  his  visitation  from  house  to  house  was  looked 
upon  as  a  systematic  espionage ;  and  it  was  charged  that  he  attempted 
to  establish  a  system  of  confessions,  fasts,  and  other  religious  mortifi- 
cations, which,  though  well  enough  in  accordance  with  the  Bible  and 
the  Book  of  Common  Prayer,  were  not  at  aU  agreeable  to  these  Savan- 
nah colonists,  whom  their  zealous  minister  was  trying  either  to  lead  or 
drive  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  He  rigidly  excluded  all  Dissenters 
from  the  Holy  Communion  until  they  gave  up  their  principles  and  sub- 
mitted to  be  rebaptized  by  him ;  nevertheless  he  received  Koman 
Catholics  as  good  and  regular  Christians,  on  which  account  his  ene- 
mies denounced  him  as  a  Romanist  in  disguise. 

In  Georgia,  says  Tyerman,  "  Wesley  was  treating  Dissenters  with 
the  supercihous  tyranny  of  a  High-church  bigot."  He  watched  his 
flock  too  closely  to  suit  their  notions  of  hberty ;  he  used  his  influence 
with  the  Governor  to  have  strict  laws  enacted  for  the  promotion  of  out- 
ward morahty ;  and  to  such  a  degree  did  he  cross  the  tastes  and  temper 
of  the  motley  crowd,  that  certain  of  the  baser  sort  were  actually  ready 


The  Mission  to  America. 


115 


to  kill  him.  One  stout  virago  invited  him  into  her  house,  and  having 
overpowered  him — for  Wesley  was  a  small,  weak  man — she  cut  off  all 
the  long  auburn  locks  from  one  side  of  his  head,  leaving  the  other 
side  untouched ;  and  the  persecuted  man,  by  way  of  making  the  most 
of  his  sufferings  for  the  truth's  sake,  actually  appeared  in  the  pulpit 
with  his  hair  in  this  one-sided  condition. 

In  January,  1T3T,  Wesley  and  Delamotte  paid  another  visit  to  Fred- 
erica,  where  they  arrived  after  having  lost  their  way  in  the  woods, 
waded  breast  deep  in  swamps,  and  slept  on  the  ground  in  their  wet 
-clothes,  which  were  frozen  stiif  in  the  morning,     l^ut  the  j^eople  of 


A   SOUTHERN   SWAMP. 


that  wretched  settlement  were  as  untractable  as  ever,  and,  after  spend- 
ing some  twenty  days  among  them,  during  which  his  life  was  re- 
peatedly threatened,  Wesley  left  the  place  forever,  and  returned  to 
face  his  enemies  at  Savannah,  who  M-ere  preparing  a  long  indictment 
against  him. 

"An  E^^eape  from  ]?IatriBiioiiy." — To  make  matters  worse, 
Wesley  fell  in  love  with  a  beautiful  and  accomplished  young  lady, 
who  had  first  sought  his  help  in  learning  the  French  language,  and, 
later,  his  instruction  in  religion.     She  w^as  the  niece  of  the  wife  of 


116  Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 

one  Thomas  Causton,  an  unscrupulous  adventurer  wlio  had  so  far  won 
the  good  opinion  of  Governor  Oglethorpe  as  to  be  made  chief  magis- 
trate of  the  colony,  which  office  he  administered  with  the  most  ridic- 
ulous state  and  dignity. 

For  a  time  the  affairs  of  the  two  young  people  went  on  smoothly 
enough.  Causton,  who  acted  as  the  young  lady's  guardian,  was  pleased 
with  the  match,  the  Governor  did  all  he  could  to  help  it  on,  the  lady 
herseK  was  an  apt  scholar,  if  not  in  her  French,  at  least  in  her  piety^ 
and  when  her  clerical  lover  fell  sick  she  nursed  him  as  faithfully  as  if 
she  had  been  his  wife  already.  Thus  the  poor  missionary  had  one  ray 
of  sunshine  in  his  dark  and  stormy  sky.  But,  alas  for  him !  This 
learned  gentleman,  who  in  after  years  developed  so  great  a  knowledge 
of  men,  never  could  understand  a  woman.  He  was  quite  impressible 
to  female  charms ;  used  while  at  Oxford  to  write  pious  letters  to  high- 
born ladies  signing  himself  "  Cyrus,"  and  addressing  them  by  like 
fanciful  titles : — chief  of  whom  was  "  Aspasia,"  whose  real  name 
was  Mary  Granville,  a  niece  of  Lord  Lansdowne,  a  beautiful,  wealthy, 
and  accomplished  woman,  who  was  half  captivated  by  the  extraordinary 
learning,  piety,  and  courtesy  of  the  chief  of  the  Oxford  Methodists. 
But  "  something  happened  "—nobody  knows  what — and  John  Wesley 
was  still  a  bachelor ;  a  Httle  lonely,  perhaps,  and  well  he  might  be  in 
such  a  wretched  lodge  in  the  wilderness. 

Miss  Sophia  Christiana  Hopkey  was  a  proper  young  person,  of  a 
thoughtful  and  studious  turn  of  mind,  as  anxious  to  learn  as  Wesley 
was  to  teach — the  most  promising  lamb  in  all  his  troublesome  flock ;, 
and  this  young  missionary  did  just  what  almost  any  other  man  might 
have  done  in  a  similar  case,  that  is  to  say,  he  bestowed'  a  larger  amount 
of  pastoral  care  on  this  sweet  parishioner  than  was  strictly  necessary, 
and  suffered  her  to  capture  what  there  was  left  of  his  heart. 

But  his  pupil,  Delamotte,  for  some  reason  or  other  was  displeased 
with  the  drift  of  affairs,  and  ventured  to  ask  his  master  if  he  really 
meant  to  marry  the  girl ;  whereupon  Wesley,  who  in  such  matters 
was  ever  of  a  doubtful  mind,  laid  the  subject  before  his  friends,  the 
Moravian  elders.  Delamotte  was  too  active  in  the  business,  as  appears 
from  the  fact  that  when  Mr.  Wesley  appeared  to  submit  his  case  be- 
fore the  synod  of  Moravians  he  found  his  pupil  already  there  among: 
them. 


The  Mission  to  America.  117 

"  Will  you  abide  by  our  decision  ? "  asked  Bisbop  Nitscbmann. 

"  I  will,"  replied  Mr.  "Wesley,  after  some  besitatiou, 

"  Tben  we  advise  you,"  said  Mtscbmann,  "  to  proceed  no  furtber 
in  tbe  matter." 

"  Tbe  will  of  tbe  Lord  be  done,"  responded  Wesley ;  and  from  tbat 
time,  says  Moore,  one  of  bis  biograpbers,  "  be  avoided  every  tbing 
tbat  tended  to  continue  tbe  intimacy  witb  Miss  Hopkey,  and  bebaved 
witb  tbe  greatest  caution  toward  ber ;"  a  course  of  conduct  wbicli 
migbt  bave  been  more  to  bis  credit  if  be  bad  entered  upon  it  earber. 

In  Mr.  Wesley's  counsels  to  young  Metbodist  preacbers  be  lays 
down  tbis  rule  :  "  Take  no  step  toward  marriage  witbout  consulting 
witb  your  bretbren ;"  a  piece  of  extra  scriptural  advice  wbicb  certainly 
was  not  supported  by  bis  experience  in  tbis  case,  unless,  indeed,  be 
was  of  tbe  opinion  tbat  if  he  bad  consulted  witb  tbe  bretbren  at  an 
earber  stage  of  tbe  proceedings  be  might  have  saved  liimself  a  great 
deal  of  trouble ;  however  that  may  be,  it  is  certain  that  by  pubbcly 
submitting  this  debcate  question  to  the  decision  of  tbe  Moravian  elders, 
and  bbndly  binding  himself  to  obey  their  will,  he  committed  tbe 
supreme  blunder  in  tbat  bst  of  absurdities  which  make  up  the  record 
of  bis  mission  to  America. 

Of  course  the  lady  was  indignant  that  her  priestly  lover,  having 
won  her,  should  ask  the  Moravian  bretbren  whether  or  no  he  might 
take  ber,  and  she  showed  her  resentment  by  immediately  marrying 
another  man,  one  Williamson,  of  whom  Mr.  Wesley,  in  bis  Journal, 
expresses  this  somewhat  spiteful  opinion  : — 

"  March  8.  Miss  Sophy  engaged  herself  to  Mr.  Wilbamson,  a  per- 
son not  remarkable  for  handsomeness,  neither  for  greatness,  neither 
for  wit,  or  knowledge,  or  sense,  and,  least  of  all,  for  religion." 

Four  days  afterward  they  were  married,  and  of  tbis  event  the 
afflicted  lover  writes :  "  What  thou  doest,  O  Lord,  I  know  not  now,  but 
I  shall  know  hereafter."  That  he  was  deeply  wounded  there  can  be  no 
doubt,  for  after  a  lapse  of  nearly  fifty  years,  in  looking  back  upon  tbat 
sad  experience  he  says  :  "  I  was  pierced  through  as  with  a  sword.  But 
our  comfort  is.  He  tbat  made  tbe  heart  can  heal  tbe  heart."  It 
never  for  one  moment  appears  to  enter  his  mind  what  grief  he  may 
bave  caused  tbe  young  lady  whom  be  sacrificed  to  tbe  opinions  of  men 
tbat  bad  no  right  to  judge  tbe  case  at  all,  and  bis  pious  resignation  is 


118  Illusteated  History  of  Methodism, 

a  poor  atonement  for  his  manifest  unfaithfulness  to  tlie  woman  he 
loved,  whose  affections  he  had  sought,  and  who,  according  to  all  ac- 
counts, was  every  way  worthy  to  be  his  wife. 

If  this  had  been  the  only  unfortunate  experience  of  this  kind  in 
the  career  of  the  great  Methodist  it  might  be  possible  to  accept  the 
above  pious  expressions  as  evidence  of  an  exquisite  agony,  of  hfe-long 
martyrdom,  in  consequence  of  his  half-formed  judgment  that  a  priest 
ought  not  to  marry,  at  least,  not  without  the  approval  of  his  brethren ; 
but  this  was  his  third  love  affair,*  and  he  afterward  had  two  more 
rather  notable  ones,  as  we  shall  see,  the  last  of  which  resulted  in  a 
hasty  and  ill-assorted  marriage ;  therefore,  it  is  difficult  to  be  very 
much  moved  by  these  sorrowful  words,  or  even  to  charge  over  to  the 
Lord  what  was  the  plain  result  of  his  own  misdoing.  A  heart  once 
broken  may  be  an  object  of  tender  sympathy,  but  a  heart  broken 
several  times  over,  even  though  it  be  the  heart  of  John  Wesley,  is 
somehow  suggestive  of  frailty,  as  well  as  of  affection. 

Miss  Sophy  declares  that  when  Wesley  learned  of  her  engagement 
to  Williamson  he  renewed  his  addresses  in  the  most  vehement  man- 
ner, and  even  offered  to  give  up  some  of  his  severe.  High-church  prac- 
tices, on  account  of  which  he  had  become  so  obnoxious  to  the  colonists, 
and  to  settle  down  with  her  at  Savannah !  f — the  personal  character 
of  this  lady  is  highly  praised  by  Mr.  Wesley's  chief  biographer,  who 
accepts  her  statement  without  contradiction — but  after  such  behavior 
there  was  no  pardon  possible.  Besides,  she  was  now  pledged  to  another, 
and,  if  Wesley  was  willing  to  break  his  vow  to  the  Moravians,  Miss 
Sophy  would  not  break  hers  to  her  affianced  husband. 

It  is  not  a  little  amusing  .to  read  in  the  solemn  pages  of  some  of 
Wesley's  biographers  the  grave  surmises  of  what  calamities  would  have 
be'f alien  if  he  had  not  "  escaped"  from  this,  and  that,  and  the  other  love 
affair ;  hoW  he  would  in  one  case  have  settled  into  a  mere  country  par- 
son, in  another  have  come  to  be  a  life-long  missionary  to  the  Georgia 
Indians,  etc.  As  if  the  Lord  could  not  make  use  of  John  Wesley 
married  as  well  as  John  Wesley  single  1  Is  not  matrimony  a  means 
of  grace  ?  And  has  not  God  been  able  to  make  great  use  of  other 
married  men  ? 

If  there  is  any  blessedness  in  "  escaping "  from  impending  matri- 

*  "  The  Living  Wesley,"  by  Dr.  Rigg.         f  Tterman's  "  Life  and  Times  of  Wesley,"  p.  149, 


The  Mission  to  Ameeioa.  119^ 

mony  to  which  he  by  his  own  conduct  was  repeatedly  "exposed," 
then  John  Wesley  is  entitled  to  be  congratulated  on  his  good  for- 
tune; but  sensible  men,  and  all  women  whatever,  are  more  likely  to 
look  on  such  halting  between  two  opinions  as  an  evidence  of  pitiful 
weakness  instead  of  providential  protection.  And  why,  on  the  latter 
supposition,  was  he  suffered  at  last  to  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  widow 
YazeiUe,  who  used  actually  to  tear  his  hair  ? 

Mrs.  Williamson  was  still  one  of  his  parishioners,  and  when,  some 
months  after  her  marriage,  he  gave  her  some  pastoral  reproof,  and  at 
another  time  publicly  repelled  her  from  the  Lord's  Supper,  her  hus- 
band and  her  former  guardian  took  up  the  quarrel,  framed  the  indict- 
ment above  mentioned,  and  cited  the  missionary  to  appear  before  his 
high  mightiness,  Mr.  Chief  Magistrate  Causton  for  trial,  on  the  charge 
of  various  priestly  tyrannies,  and  especially  for  the  affront  to  Mrs. 
Williamson,  whose  husband  sued  for  damages  for  defamation  to  the 
amount  of  one  thousand  pounds. 

The  whole  colony  was  in  an  uproar.  It  was  said,  of  course,  that 
Mr.  Wesley  had  refused  the  Lord's  Supper  to  the  lady  because  she  had. 
refused  to  marry  him  ;  to  which  he  replied  that  he  had  given  her  the- 
Eucharist  several  times  since  her  marriage,  and  that  the  reason  of  his- 
refusal  on  this  occasion  was,  that  she  did  not  give  notice  to  him,  accord- 
ing to  the  rubric  in  the  Prayer  Book,  of  her  intention  to  present  herself 
at  the  Lord's  table,  and,  therefore,  his  act  could  not  be  understood  in 
the  light  of  a  public  defamation  of  her  Christian  character  and  stand- 
ing ;  the  more  because  he  had  treated  several  other  persons  in  the 
same  way.  To  the  other  charges  he  replied  that  the  acts  complained 
of  were  ecclesiastical  in  their  character,  and  over  such  cases  Mr.  Jus- 
tice Causton's  court  had  no  jurisdiction,  notwithstanding  that  the 
grand  jury  of  Savannah  had  found  a  true  bill  against  him. 

In  the  action  for  damages  he  prepared  to  defend  himseK,  and 
demanded  an  early  trial,  but  it  was  put  over  from  time  to  time  on 
various  pretexts ;  and  after  the  seventh  postponement,  the  plaintiff, 
finding  he  could  neither  obtain  justice  nor  be  of  any  use  as  a  minister 
under  such  conditions,  gave  up  in  despair,  and  announced  his  purpose 
of  returning  to  England. 

Upon  this  the  magistrates  demanded  that  he  should  give  bail  for 
his  appearance  when  wanted,  but  Wesley  stiU  defied  their  authority. 


120  Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 

and  in  return  they  gave  orders  tliat  he  should  not  be  permitted  to 
leave  the  colony,  and  forbidding  any  person  to  assist  him  in  so  doing. 
They  also  brought  another  minister  to  perform  service  in  the  parish, 
a  Mr.  Dixon,  who  was  chaplain  to  some  soldiers  at  Frederica ;  and 
thus  practically  supplanted  Mr.  Wesley  in  his  office. 

Wesley's  Fareirell  to  €reor^ia. — That  same  evening 
Wesley,  with  four  other  fugitives,  who  had  reasons  of  their  own  for 
getting  away,  started  in  an  open  boat  for  Port  Royal,  in  South 
Carolina ;  which  place  they  reached  after  hard  toiling  and  rowing  by 
sea,  and  great  hardships  by  land,  on  the  6th  of  December,  1Y3Y.  On 
the  8th  Mr.  Delamotte  rejoined  his  master,  at  Port  Royal,  when  they 
took  a  small  craft  and  started  for  the  port  of  Charleston,  which  they 
reached  on  the  13th.  On  the  22d  John  Wesley  bade  a  long  good-bye 
to  the  inhospitable  shores  of  North  America,  and  on  the  1st  of 
February  reached  England,  only  one  day  after  George  Whitefield  had 
set  sail  for  the  very  colony  that  he  had  been  compelled  to  leave. 

It  appears  that  when  their  much-abused  minister  had  actually  gone 
and  left  them,  some  of  his  old  parishioners  began  to  feel  more  kindly 
toward  him,  and  managed  to  find  a  good  word  to  say  of  him  to  his 
friend  Whitefield,  when  he  arrived ;  for  Mr.  Whitefield,  in  a  letter 
from  Georgia,  says:  "The  good  Mr.  John  Wesley  has  done  in 
America  is  inexpressible.  His  name  is  very  precious  among  the 
people,  and  he  has  laid  a  foundation  that  I  hope  neither  men  nor 
devils  will  ever  be  able  to  shake." 

Foundation  of  what  ?  Neither  Mr.  Whitefield  nor  any  one  else  has 
ever  been  able  to  tell. 

Mr.  Wesley  himseK  writes  in  a  different  strain. 

"  Many  reasons  I  have  to  bless  God  for  my  having  been  carried  to 
America,  contrary  to  all  my  preceding  resolutions.  Hereby  I  trust 
he  hath  in  some  measure  humbled  me  and  proved  me,  and  shown 
me  what  was  in  my  heart.  I  went  to  America  to  convert  the 
Indians  ;  but  O,  who  shall  convert  me  ?  .  .  . 

"  This,  then,  I  have  learned  in  the  ends  of  the  earth — that  I  am 
fallen  short  of  the  glory  of  God ;  that  my  whole  heart  is  altogether 
corrupt  and  abominable ;  .  .  .  that  my  own  works,  my  own  sufferings, 
my  own  righteousness,  are  so  far  from  reconciHng  me  to  an  offended 
God,  so  far  from  making  an  atonement  for  the  least  of  those  sins 


The  Mission  to  America.  121 

Isrhicli  are  more  in  number  than  the  hairs  of  my  head,  that  the  most 
epecious  of  them  need  an  atonement  themselves  or  ■  they  cannot  abide 
his  righteous  judgment.  ...  I  have  no  hope  but  that  if  I  seek  I  shall 
j&nd  Christ,  and  be  found  in  him,  not  having  my  own  righteousness, 
but  that  which  is  through  the  faith  of  Christ,  the  righteousness  which 
is  of  God  by  faith."  This  strong  statement  he  afterward  modified 
by  remarking  that  even  then  he  had  "  the  faith  of  a  servant,  but  not 
of  a  son." 

Blessed  is  the  man  who  can  learn  wisdom  from  his  own  mistakes ; 
and  such  a  man  was  John  "Wesley.  When  he  set  out  for  Georgia  he 
was  brave  enough  to  face  all  manner  of  death  if  thereby  he  could 
-save  his  soul ;  when  he  returned  he  had  the  added  courage  to  confess 
himself  to  have  been  in  the  wrong.  Then  he  was  compassing  sea  and 
land  to  save  his  own  soul ;  now  he  is  crying  out  to  the  Lord  to  save  it 
for  him. 

He  was  also  in  a  way  to  be  cured  of  his  dogmatism,  though  the 
progress  was  slow  on  account  of  the  severity  of  the  disease.  In 
referring  to  his  refusing  the  Holy  Communion  to  a  godly  man  at  Sa- 
vannah because  he  had  not  been  baptized  by  a  minister  of  his  own 
order,  Wesley,  some  ten  years  after,  writes  thus :  "  Can  any  one  carry 
High-church  zeal  higher  than  this  ?  And  how  well  have  I  since  been 
beaten  with  mine  own  staff." 

From  this  time  he  dwelt  continually  upon  salvation  as  the  gift  of 
God  through  faith  in  Jesus  Christ.  His  first  sermon  on  his  return  to 
London  was  at  the  Church  of  St.  John  the  Evangelist,  from  the  text, 
"  If  any  man  be  in  Christ,  he  is  a  new  creature."  His  second  was  at 
St.  Andrew's  Church,  Holborn,  on  "  Though  I  give  aU  my  goods  to 
feed  the  poor,  and  though  I  give  my  body  to  be  burned,  and  have  not 
charity,  it  profiteth  me  nothing."  On  both  of  which  occasions  he 
gave  such  offense  that  the  doors  of  those  churches  were  henceforth 
shut  against  him. 

Truly  those  English  Christians  were  hard  to  please.  When  at  first 
he  preached  human  virtue  and  sacramental  holiness,  they  denounced 
him  as  a  fanatic ;  and  now,  when  he  preaches  the  failure  of  human 
righteousness  and  the  all-sufiiciency  of  saving  grace,  they  shut  their 
pulpits  against  him.  In  the  one  case  he  cut  into  their  worldliness,  in 
the  otlier  he  wounded  their  pride.     He  has  not  yet  attained  unto  that 


122 


Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 


sense  of  personal  salvation  of  which  his  Moravian  friends  have  told  hirn^ 

but  he  has  pretty  effectually  gotten  rid 
of  himseK.  He  has  tried  his  great 
experiment,  and  it  is  a  failure:  the 
self-contained  piety  of  the  Holy  Club, 
which  he  has  preached  and  practiced 
on  both  sides  of  the  ocean,  now  ap- 
pears but  little  better  than  sounding- 
brass  or  a  tinkhng  cymbal.  If  there 
is  to  be  any  real  salvation  it  must  come 
from  Jesus  Christ,  for  "  by  the  deeds 
of  the  law  shall  no  flesh  be  justified." 
Thus  the  orthodox  ritualist  has  come 
to  be  in  doctrine,  and  soon  will  be  in 
experience,  the  evangelical  Christian. 
He  has  been  of  small  account  as  a 
missionary  to  Georgia,  but  Georgia 
has  been  of  great  account  as  a  train- 
ing-school for  him. 


CHAPTER  V. 

WHITEFIELD  ORDAINED,  AND  THE  WESLEYS  CONVERTED. 

IVTO  sooner  were  the  "Wesleys  gone  on  their  mission  to  Georgia 
-L 1  than  their  chief  pupil  came  to  the  front  to  begin  that  won- 
derful career  on  account  of  which  it  may  be  said  of  him,  as  was  said 
of  John  the  Baptist,  "  There  was  a  man  sent  from  God  whose  name 
was  "  George  Whitefield. 

On  the  20th  of  June,  1T36,  Bishop  Benson  ordained  him  deacon, 
and  he  went  forth  to  preach,  with  almost  apostolic  power,  the  gospel 
doctrine  of  regeneration.  The  "  boy  parson,"  as  he  was  called,  was 
but  Kttle  past  twenty-one  years  old  when  he  took  the  holy  vows  of 
ordination  in  the  old  cathedral  of  his  native  town  of  Gloucester, 
concerning  which  event  he  writes  to  a  friend,  as  follows : — 

"  I  can  call  heaven  and  earth  to  witness  that  when  the  Bishop  laid 
his  hands  upon  me  I  gave  myseK  up  to  be  a  martyr  for  Him  who 
hung  upon  the  cross  for  me.  Known  unto  him  are  all  future  events 
and  contingencies.  I  have  thrown  myself  blindfold,  and,  I  trust, 
without  reserve,  into  his  almighty  hands." 

Of  his  outfit  of  sermons,  he  says :  "  Never  a  poor  creature  set  up 
with  so  small  a  stock.  I  thought  I  should  have  time  to  make  at  least 
a  hundred  sermons  with  which  to  begin  my  ministry.  But  so  far 
from  this  being  the  case,  I  have  not  a  single  one  except  that  which  I 
made  for  a  small  society,  and  which  I  sent  to  a  neighboring  clergyman 
to  convince  him  how  unfit  I  was  to  take  upon  me  the  important  work  of 
preaching."  This  discourse,  of  which  he  had  so  poor  an  opinion,  was 
on  "The  Necessity  and  Benefit  of  ReHgious  Society,"  and  three  dajs 
afterward  he  preached  it  to  a  great  congregation  in  the  church  where, 
in  his  infancy,  he  had  been  baptized. 

The  tapster  of  the  Bell  Inn  was  now  come  to  be  a  parson !  from 
standing  behind  the  bar  he  was  come  to  stand  in  the  pulpit !  and  all 
Gloucester  must  needs  come  to  hear  the  youthful  prodigy,  who  was 
doing  such  great  credit  to  their  town.  Here  is  his  account  of  this 
maiden  effort : — 


124  Illusteated  Histoey  op  Methodism. 

"  Glotjcestee,  June  30,  1736. 

"  My  Deah  Fkiend  :  Glory !  glory !  glory  1  be  ascribed  to  the 
Triune  God!  Last  Sunday,  in  the  afternoon,  I  preached  my  first 
sermon  in  the  Church  of  St.  Mary  de  Crypt,  where  I  was  baptized, 
and  also  received  the  sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper.  Curiosity,  as 
you  may  easily  guess,  drew  a  large  congregation  together.  The  sight 
at  first  a  little  awed  me,  but  I  was  comforted  with  a  heart-felt  sense  of 
the  divine  Presence,  and  soon  found  the  unspeakable  advantage  of 
having  been  accustomed  to  public  speaking  when  a  boy  at  school,  and 
of  exhorting  and  teaching  the  prisoners  and  poor  people  at  their 
housee  while  at  the  University.  By  these  means  I  was  kept  from 
being  daunted  overmuch.  As  I  proceeded  I  could  see  that  the  fire 
kindled,  till  at  last,  though  so  young,  and  amid  a  crowd  who  knew  me 
in  my  childish  days,  I  was  enabled  to  speak  with  some  degree  of 
gospel  authority.  A  few  mocked,  but  most  for  the  present  seemed 
struck  ;  and  I  have  since  heard  that  a  complaint  has  been  made  to  the 
Bishop  that  I  drove  fifteen  mad.  The  worthy  prelate,  as  I  am 
informed,  wished  that  the  madness  might  not  be  forgotten  before  next 
Sunday." 

"  He  preached  like  a  Hon,"  was  the  comment  of  one  of  his  simple- 
minded  hearers  on  the  "  boy  parson's  "  first  sermon. 

The  Gloucester  people  greatly  desired  to  have  Mr.  Whitefield 
settle  permanently  among  them,  but  he  declined  all  their  kind  plana 
and  offers,  and  on  the  30th  of  June  returned  to  Oxford,  where,  a  few 
days  after,  he  took  his  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Arts.  It  was  his  intention 
to  spend  a  few  years  at  this  seat  of  learning,  but  there  was  larger  and 
better  work  laid  out  for  him.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Broughton,  one  of  the 
early  members  of  the  Holy  Club,  and  now  chaplain  of  The  Tower,  in 
London,  wrote  to  him  to  come  up  and  fill  his  place  for  a  time,  as  he 
desired  to  be  absent  in  the  country,  and  young  Whitefield,  with  great 
'.rembling,  consented. 

He  had  been  but  a  month  in  London,  preaching  with  great  success, 
when  letters  came  from  the  Wesleys  in  Georgia  desiring  that  more 
ministers  be  sent  out  to  their  assistance,  and  at  once  the  heart  of  Mr. 
Whitefield  was  fired  with  missionary  zeal ;  but  many  friends  who  had 
Tioticed  his  wonderful  power  and  genius  advised  him  to  remain  in 
England.     After  his  return  to  Oxford  he  received  the  offer  of  a  very 


Whitefield  Oedaested.  125 

profitable  curacy  in  London,  whicli  he  declined,  though  he  was 
almost  penniless  and  somewhat  in  debt,  for  no  other  apparent 
reason  than  that  he  did  not  hear  the  voice  of  God  calling  him  in  that 
direction. 

The  return  of  Mr,  Charles  Wesley  from  Georgia  in  December  of 
that  year  was  the  signal  for  Whitefield  to  offer  himself  as  a  missionary 
to  America.  In  his  letter  to  that  gentleman  he  ventures  to  ask  him 
why  he  chose  to  go  out  as  secretary  to  Mr.  Oglethorpe  instead  of 
going  in  the  character  of  a  laborer  in  the  Lord's  vineyard,  when  by 
his  own  account  there  was  such  great  need  of  such  godly  service — a 
question  which  must  have  probed  the  heart  of  this  double-minded  man 
very  deeply.  "  Did  the  Bishop  ordain  us,  my  dear  friend,  to  write 
bonds,  receipts,  etc.,  or  to  preach  the  gospel  ?  Or  dare  we  not  trust 
God  to  provide  for  our  relations  without  endangering,  or  at  least 
retarding,  our  spiritual  improvement  ?  But  I  go  too  far.  You  know 
I  was  always  heady  and  self-willed." 

This  brief  extract  is  of  value  in  showing  the  utter  f orgetfulness  of 
all  things  else  with  which  Mr.  Whitefield  was  throwing  himseH  into 
his  work,  and  at  the  same  time  it  gives  a  hint  of  the  filial  duty  wliich 
the  Wesleys  so  faithfully  performed  toward  their  mother,  now  a 
widow,  and  dependent  on  her  sons  for  support. 

The  offer  of  the  "boy-parson"  having  been  accepted,  he  made 
ready  for  immediate  departure.  The  httle  fleet  with  which  he  was  to 
sail  was  to  take  out  some  soldiers  for  the  defense  of  British  interests 
in  the  Southern  Colonies  of  America  against  the  Spaniards,  who  were 
beginning  to  trouble  them;  and  as  in  those  slow-going  days  such 
matters  were  not  settled  in  haste,  it  was  a  whole  year  before  every 
thing  was  quite  ready  and  the  three  ships  actually  put  to  sea. 

And  an  eventful  year  it  proved ;  for  in  1T3T  England  was  startled 
from  its  ecclesiastical  slumbers  as  it  never  had  been  before.  The  Httle 
cloud  which  first  appeared  at  Oxford  now  overspread  the  heavens,  and 
blessings  began  to  pour  down  in  torrents.  This  young  missionary, 
whose  intended  departure  across  the  sea  was  an  excuse  for  his  irregu- 
larity, became  a  roving  evangelist,  and  so  wonderful  was  the  success 
that  attended  his  labors  that  his  name  was  heralded  all  over  the 
kingdom.  He  was  soon  in  great  request  as  a  preacher  of  charity 
sermons  on  behalf  of  schools,  orphanages,  and  the  like,  and,  with  a 


126  Illusteated  Histoet  of  Methodism. 

careful  foresight  of  what  he  might  need  in  his  new  and  distant  parign, 
he  also  improved  the  opportunity  by  raising  about  three  hundred 
pounds  for  his  Georgia  mission. 

"But  the  great  business  of  this  young  preacher,  whose  Kps  had  been 
touched  by  a  hve  coal  from  God's  altar,  was  to  disseminate  Method- 
ism throughout  England.  He  raised  a  thousand  pounds  or  so  for 
charity,  because  people  would  give  to  him  when  they  would  not  to 
another'  man ;  but  he  had  a  higher  mission  than  to  carry  a  contribution 
box,  high  as  that  much-abused  mission  may  be.  The  collections  were 
only  incidental,  hke  the  miracles  of  the  apostles,  and  in  both  cases  they 
served  to  establish  the  power  and  authority  of  the  minister,  while  the 
real  business  in  hand  was  to  preach  the  Gospel  to  the  poor ;  in  which 
work  Whitefield  far  excelled  all  men  who  had  ever  preached  in  that 
kingdom. 

TVhiteJield's  Theology. — The  burden  of  the  Enghsh  pulpit 
in  those  days  was  morahty  toward  God  and  loyalty  to  the  king.  The 
people  were  exhorted  to  be  good  and  they  would  be  happy ;  a  doctrine 
which  is  well  enough  as  far  as  it  goes,  but  which  falls  lamentably  short 
of  the  purposes  for  which  the  Gospel  was  ordained.  The  doctrine  of 
regeneration  was  not  then,  and  is  not  now,  a  very  popular  one  among 
the  Enghsh  clergy.  The  pious  and  pugnacious  Toplady,  afterward 
one  of  the  thorns  in  "Wesley's  side,  has  been  quoted  to  the  effect  that 
fifty  years  before  his  day  "  a  converted  minister  in  the  Estabhshment 
was  as  great  a  wonder  as  a  comet ; "  and  now,  also,  the  case  was  very 
much  the  same. 

This  was,  however,  the  doctrine  of  all  others  which  Whitefield  knew 
how  to  preach.  His  rehgious  experience  was  not  one  of  those  faint, 
intermittent,  long-drawn,  half-unconscious  processes  of  grace  which 
certain  orthodox  religious  teachers  (so-called)  set  forth  as  the  appro- 
priate thing  for  all  persons  who  wish  to  serve  God  elegantly  and 
easily.  He  had  been  born  again,  and  he  knew  it ;  knew  when,  and 
where,  and  by  what  power;  he  had  passed  suddenly  from  nature's 
darkness  into  the  marvelous  hght  of  God's  favor ;  he  had  been  trans- 
formed by  the  renewing  of  his  mind;  the  Holy  Spirit  had  been 
poured  out  upon  him ;  he  had  bathed  in  seas  of  joy  and  reveled  in 
floods  of  glory ;  no  wonder,  then,  that  for  a  time  he  preached  httle 
else  but  regeneration. 


Whitefield  Ordaened.  127 

This  was  almost  like  preaching  a  new  religion  to  the  people,  so 
(ittle  had  they  heard  of  a  salvation  which  is  God's  free  gift ;  which 
begins  by  giving  sinners  new  hearts,  and  which  changes  the  motives, 
as  well  as  the  manner,  of  their  Hves.  No  wonder,  therefore,  that  the 
churches  in  which  he  preached  were  crowded  ahnost  to  suffocation, 
and  that  multitudes  were  obliged  to  go  away  for  want  of  even  stand- 
ing room,  or  a  chance  to  look  in  at  the  doors  or  windows.  At 
Gloucester,  Bristol,  and  Bath  in  particular,  he  was  overwhelmed  with 
people,  not  only  those  who  came  to  hsten  to  his  wonderful  sermons, 
but  those  who  came  to  him  for  personal  instruction;  while  the 
"  inquiry  meetings  "  in  those  early  beginnings  of  the  Methodist  revival 
were  worthy  patterns  for  those  of  our  own  time. 

The  second  sermon  Whitefield  ever  preached,  and  the  first  he  ever 
pubhshed,  was  upon  the  text,  "  If  any  man  be  in  Christ  he  is  a  new 
creature ; "  in  which  he  hkens  this  mystery  to  the  work  wrought  in  the 
body  of  Kaaman  the  leper.  The  regenerate  man,  or  the  man  who  is 
in  Christ,  he  says,  is  indeed  the  self-same  man,  but  he  has  been 
"  made  anew."  Another  of  his  sermons  was  from  the  text,  "  Almost 
thou  persuadest  me  to  be  a  Christian,"  which,  like  many  another 
discourse  of  his,  was  made  to  serve  the  double  purpose  of  awakening 
sinners  and  drawing  unprecedented  sums  of  money  from  their  purses 
for  the  treasury  of  the  Lord. 

His  charity  sermon  on  the  "  "Widow's  Two  Mites  "  would  seem  to 
have  been  rather  a  practical  affair ;  but  Mr,  "Whitefield  speaks  of  it  as 
other  men  speak  of  their  most  successful  spiritual  appeals,  and  says 
that  under  it  "  God  bowed  the  hearts  of  the  hearers  as  the  heart  of 
-one  man."  After  which  we  are  prepared  for  his  next  sentence, 
"  Almost  aU,  as  I  was  told  by  the  collectors,  offered  most  willingly." 
One  of  his  notable  sermons  was  upon  "  Early  Piety ;"  another,  on  the 
"Nature  and  Necessity  of  the  New  Birth;"  another,  which  he 
preached  to  the  soldiers  in  the  great  cabin  of  his  ship  at  (ribraltar  en 
route  to  America,  was  on  "The  Eternity  of  Hell  Torments;"  but 
whether  he  were  preaching  of  heU  or  heaven,  of  sin  or  salvation,  for 
charity  or  otherwise,  he  kept  his  hearers  continually  face  to  face  with 
the  Scriptures,  with  the  personal  government  of  God,  with  the  actual 
facts  of  eternal  life  and  death,  and  with  the  regenerating  power  of  the 
Holy  Spirit. 


128 


Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 


There  is  one  word  which,  better  than  any  other,  describes  White- 
field's  preaching : — supernatural. 

In  his  day  it  was  usual  for  preachers  to  measure  the  invisible  by 
the  visible,  and  attempt  to  discern  spiritual  truths  by  natural  means. 
Kot  so  with  Whitefield.  He  dwelt  among  the  divine  realities  which 
he  found  described  in  the  word  of  God,  and  by  hearing  him  relate  his 
experience  people  began  to  take  in  the  idea  that  salvation  amounted  to 
something ;  that  it  was  real  and  tangible ;  not  the  unconscious  effect 
of  sacraments  administered  by  the  clergy,  but  a  divine  communication;. 
Christ  in  the  soul,  hell  put  under  foot,  and  heaven  actually  begun. 


After  some  months  he  went  up  to  London  to  see  if  his  expediti'on 
were  not  ready  to  sail^  and  here,  as  in  the  provinces,  he  was  set  upon 
to  preach  charity  sermons,  some  of  the  London  churches  being  opened 
to  him  on  account  of  his  money-raising  abilities,  which  would  other- 
wise have  been  closed  against  him  on  account  of  his  "extravagant" 
notions  about  the  conversion  of  sinners.  Two  of  the  city  clergy  offered 
him  the  use  of  their  pulpits  if  he  would  cut  out  certain  parts  of  his 
sermon  in  which  he  treated  of  regeneration ;  but,  said  the  boy-parson^ 
*'  This  I  had  no  freedom  to  do,  so  they  continued  my  opposers." 


Whitefield  Ordained.  129^ 

Unlike  his  teachers,  the  two  "Wesleys,  Mr.  Whitefield  was  on 
friendly  terms  with  Dissenters,  some  of  whom  used  to  invite  the  young 
minister  to  their  houses  to  commune  with  him  on  his  favorite  doctrine 
of  regeneration.  "  If  the  doctrine  of  the  new  birth  and  justification 
by  faith  was  preached  powerfully  in  the  Church,"  said  they,  "  there 
would  be  but  few  Dissenters  in  England." 

Whitefield  says  he  found  their  conversation  "savory,"  and  imag- 
ined the  best  way  to  "  bring  them  over  was  not  by  bigotry  and  railing, 
but  by  moderation  and  love  and  undissembled  holiness  of  Kfe."  But 
this  did  not  at  all  suit  the  High-church  clergy  of  the  metropolis,  one 
of  whom  called  him  a  "  pragmatical  rascal,"  and  denounced  the  whole 
body  of  Dissenters  in  savagely  apostolic  style ;  that  is  to  say,  in  the 
style  of  those  half-fledged  apostles  who  forbade  the  casting  out  of 
devils  by  one  who  did  not  belong  to  their  own  company. 

In  spite  of  this,  and,  indeed,  partly  because  of  it,  Whitefield's 
popularity  increased  till  it  became  almost  impossible  for  him  to  walk 
the  London  streets  on  account  of  the  crowd  that  gathered  about  him. 
He  says :  "  I  was  constrained  to  go  from  place  to  place  in  a  coach  to 
avoid  the  hosannas  of  the  multitude.  They  grew  quite  extravagant  in 
their  applause,  and  had  it  not  been  for  my  compassionate  High-priest, 
popularity  would  have  destroyed  me.  I  used  to  plead  with  him  to 
take  me  by  the  hand  and  lead  me  through  this  fiery  furnace.  He 
heard  my  request,  and  gave  me  to  see  the  vanity  of  all  commendations 
but  his  own." 

A  report  was  circulated  by  his  jealous  enemies  that  the  Bishop  of 
London,  at  the  request  of  the  clergy,  was  about  to  silence  this  young 
enthusiast ;  but  when  he  waited  on  that  dignitary  to  inquire  about  it  he 
found  that  no  such  sword  was  hanging  over  his  head.  Bishop  Gibson 
was  a  man  of  sound  judgment  and  real  piety,  whose  great  power  and 
influence,  both  in  Church  and  State,  led  his  enemies  to  call  him  the 
"  London  Pope ; "  and  with  this  prelate  on  his  side  the  young  mis- 
sionary had  nothing  to  fear  at  the  hands  of  curates  and  rectors,  who 
hated  the  new  preaching  because  it  showed  them  to  be  still  in  their 
sins. 

Praying-  Without  a  Book. — AU  this  while  Mr.  Whitefield 
had  tried  to  keep  within  the  usages  and  traditions  of  the  Establish- 
ment.    He  read  prayers  out  of  the  Prajer  Book  in  aU  public  serv- 


130  Illusteated  Histoey  of  Methodism. 

ices ;  but  on  one  occasion,  in  a  little  meeting  with  some  friends,  his 
overburdened  soul  broke  out  of  ritualistic  bounds,  and  for  the  first  time 
he  attempted  to  pray  extempore.  "  Some  time,  I  think  in  October," 
says  he,  "  we  began  to  set  apart  an  hour  every  evening  to  intercede 
with  the  great  Head  of  the  Church  to  carry  on  the  work  begun,  and 
for  the  circle  of  our  acquaintance,  according  as  we  knew  their  circum- 
stances required.  I  was  mouth  unto  God,  and  he  only  knows  what 
enlargement  I  felt  in  that  divine  employ.  Once  we  spent  the  whole 
night  in  prayer  and  praise,  and  many  a  time  at  midnight,  and  at  one 
in  the  morning,  after  I  had  been  wearied  almost  to  death  in  preaching, 
writing,  and  conversation,  and  going  from  place  to  place,  God 
imparted  new  life  to  my  soul,  and  enabled  me  to  intercede  with  him 
for  an  hour  and  a  haK  and  two  hours  together.  The  sweetness  of  that 
exercise  made  me  compose  my  sermon  on  '  Intercession.' " 

Wliitelleld  Sails  for  Georgia. — On  the  6th  of  January, 
1T38,  Whitefield,  having  been  duly  appointed  to  the  cure  of  souls  in 
Savannah,  and  having  persistently  declined  all  the  advantageous  propo- 
sitions which  loving  friends  and  wealthy  admirers  could  make  to 
detain  him,  amid  the  tears  and  prayers  of  the  multitudes,  who  literally 
blocked  his  path,  went  on  board  his  ship  at  Gravesend  and  set  his 
face  toward  America. 

The  Conversion  of  Charles  Wesley.  —  Among  the 
Methodists  of  America  it  has  always  been  regarded  as  a  strange  thing 
for  a  minister  to  come  into  the  holy  office  without  a  new  heart.  God 
grant  that  it  may  always  be  so !  But  the  first  form  of  Oxford  Meth- 
odism was  nothing  but  a  desperate  human  effort  after  holiness,  and 
none  of  the  Holy  Club  except  Whitefield  had  thus  far  experienced 
that  divine  mystery,  the  new  birth. 

During  the  most  of  this  notable  year,  1T3Y,  Charles  Wesley  had 
been  in  England,  working  and  worrying  over  Georgia  affairs. 

The  wretched  state  of  mind  in  which  at  this  time  he  was  hving 
will  appear  from  the  following  extract  from  his  Journal : — 

"  January*  22,  1737.  I  called  upon  Mrs.  Pendarvis  while  she  was 
reading  a  letter  of  my  being  dead.  Happy  for  me  had  the  news  been 
true !     What  a  world  of  misery  would  it  have  saved  me ! " 

During  the  month  of  February  he  was  very  ill,  and  while  lying  at 
Kieath's  door  Peter  Bohler,  one  of  the  Moravian  missionaries  who  was 


The  Wesleys  Converted.  131 

in  London  waiting  for  a  ship  to  Georgia,  called  upon  him,  and,  after 
prayer,  said  to  him  : — 

"  You  will  not  die  now.     Do  you  hope  to  be  saved  ? " 

"  Yes,"  answered  Charles  Wesley. 

"  For  what  reason  do  you  hope  it  ? " 

"  Because  I  have  used  my  best  endeavors  to  serve  God." 

Bohler  shook  his  head  and  said  no  more,  at  which  Wesley  thought 
him  very  uncharitable.  "  What !  "  he  continues  in  his  Journal,  "  are 
not  my  endeavors  a  sufficient  ground  of  hope  ?  Would  he  rob  me  of 
my  endeavors  ?     I  have  nothing  else  to  trust  to."  * 

Here  is  another  extract  from  his  Journal,  which  shows  him  still  in 
the  dark : — 

"  April  25.  Soon  after  five,  as  we  were  met  in  our  little  chapel, 
Mrs.  Delamotte  came  to  us.  We  sung,  and  fell  into  a  dispute  whether 
conversion  were  gradual  or  instantaneous.  My  brother  John  was 
very  positive  for  the  latter,  and  very  shocking ;  mentioned  some  late 
instances  of  gross  sinners  believing  in  a  moment.  I  was  much 
offended  at  his  worse  than  unedifying  discourse.  Mrs.  Delamotte  left 
us  abruptly.  I  stayed,  and  insisted  that  a  man  need  not  know  when 
first  he  had  faith.  His  obstinacy  in  favoring  a  contrary  opinion 
•drove  me  at  last  out  of  the  room.  Mr.  Broughton  [one  of  the  Oxford 
Methodists]  was  only  not  so  much  scandalized  as  myself." 

Charles  Wesley  was  neither  the  first  nor  the  last  to  be  scandalized 
by  the  "obstinacy"  of  wiser  men  than  himself.  It  is  rather  "unedify- 
ing "  to  have  one's  prejudices  overthrown  by  obstinate,  uncomfortable 
facts. 

Soon  after  this  his  illness  increased  upon  him  so  that  he  had  to  be 
•carried  about  in  a  chair ;  but  he  still  kept  on  with  his  "  endeavors,'' 
and  "used"  a  great  deal  of  prayer  for  conversion.  Besides  his  friend 
Peter  Bohler,  there  was  one  Mr.  Bray,  a  Smitlifield  brazier,  an  igno- 
rant man  but  a  happy  believer  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  to  whose 
house  he  was  carried,  and  who  showed  him  the  way  of  faith  more 
perfectly,  whereupon  he  began  to  cry  out  to  God  most  earnestly,  and 
to  beg  that  Christ  would  come  to  him  and  save  his  soul.  The  follow- 
ing brief  notes  from  his  Journal  set  forth  his  progressive  state  of 
mind : — 

•  Jackson's  "Life  of  Charles  Wesley,"  p.  110. 


132  Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 

"  May  13.  I  waked  without  Christ,  yet  still  desirous  of  finding 
him.  At  night  my  brother  came,  exceeding  heavy.  I  forced  him,  aa- 
he  had  often  forced  me,  to  sing  a  hymn  to  Christ,  and  almost  thought 
He  would  come  while  we  were  singing." 

.  "  May  14.  Found  much  comfort  in  prayer  and  in  the  "Word.  J 
longed  to  find  Christ,  that  I  might  show  him  to  all  mankind.  Severa. 
persons  called  to-day  and  were  convinced  of  unbehef.  Some  of  them 
afterward  went  to  Mr.  Broughton,  and  were  soon  made  as  easy  a& 
Satan  and  their  own  hearts  could  wish." 

"  May  17.  To-day  I  first  saw  '  Luther  on  the  Galatians.'  Who- 
would  believe  our  Church  had  been  founded  upon  this  important 
article  of  justification  by  faith  alone !  I  am  astonished  I  should  ever 
think  this  a  new  doctrine.  I  spent  some  hours  this  evening  in  private 
with  Martin  Luther,  who  was  greatly  blessed  to  me.  I  labored, 
waited,  and  prayed  to  feel,  '  Who  loved  me  and  gave  himself  for  me  ! ' 
When  nature,  near  exhausted,  forced  me  to  bed,  I  opened  the  book 
upon  '  For  He  will  finish  the  work,  and  cut  it  short  in  righteousness.' 
After  this  comfortable  assurance  that  he  would  come  and  would  not 
tarry,  I  slept  in  peace." 

The  "  opening  of  the  book  "  was  one  of  the  customs  of  the  Holy 
Club.  They  treated  the  Bible  as  a  holy  oracle  to  be  consulted  on  all 
occasions,  and  for  the  settlement  of  all  spiritual  questions.  The 
manner  of  doing  it  was  by  opening  the  book  at  random,  and  reading 
the  first  passage  on  which  the  eye  happened  to  rest.  This  habit  i& 
frequently  referred  to  in  the  Journals  of  the  Wesleys,  and  sometimes 
in  that  of  Whitefield.  It  was  one  of  the  "superstitious  practices" 
alleged  against  them  by  their  enemies,  and  often  apologized  for  by 
their  friends,  though  God  seems  at  times  to  have  greatly  comforted 
them  thereby. 

"Sunday,  May  21,  1738.  The  Day  of  Pentecost.  I  waked  in 
hope  and  expectation  of  His  coming.  At  nine  my  brother  and  some 
friends  came,  and  sang  a  hymn  to  the  Holy  Ghost.  My  comfort  and 
hope  were  hereby  increased.  In  about  half  an  hour  they  went.  I 
betook  myseK  to  prayer,  the  substance  as  follows :  "  O  Jesus,  thou 
hast  said,  'Z  will  come  unto  you.''  Thou  hast  said,  '/  will  send  the 
Comforter  unto  you^  Thou  hast  said,  '  My  Father  a/nd  I  will  come 
unto  you,  cmd  make  our  abode  with  you^     Thou  art  God,  who  cansfe 


The  Wesleys  Converted.  133 

not  lie.  I  wholly  rely  upon  thy  most  trae  promise.  Accomplish  it  in 
thy  time  and  manner."  After  this  prayer,  as  he  was  composing  him- 
self to  sleep,  one  of  his  friends,  moved  by  what  he  thought  to  be  the 
direction  of  the  Lord,  came  to  the  door  of  his  room  and  recited  these 
words  in  his  hearing : — 

"In  the  name  of  Jesus  of  Nazaeeth,  arise  and  believe,  and 

THOU    SHALT   BE    HEALED   OF   AXL   THY   INFIKMITIES." 

"  O  that  Christ  would  but  speak  thus  to  me !  1  cried,  feeling,  at  the 
same  time,  a  strange  palpitation  of  heart.  I  said,  yet  feared  to  say,  '  I 
believe !     I  believe ! ' " 

His  friend  and  host,  Mr.  Bray,  being  sent  for,  came,  and  "  opened 
the  book"  again  at  these  words:  "Blessed  is  the  man  whose  trans- 
gression is  forgiven,  whose  sin  is  covered."  The  two  friends  then 
prayed  together,  after  which  Wesley  "opened  the  book"  for  himself; 
first  at  the  text,  "  And  now.  Lord,  what  is  my  hope  ?  Tnily  my  hope 
is  ever  in  thee ;"  and  next  his  eye  caught  these  words,  "  He  hath  put 
&  new  song  into  my  mouth,  even  praise  unto  our  God." 

"  I  now,"  he  continues,  "  found  myself  at  peace  with  God,  and 
rejoiced  in  hope  of  loving  Christ.  My  temper  for  the  rest  of  the  day 
was  mistrust  of  my  own  great,  but  before  lmkno^vn,  weakness.  I  saw 
that  by  faith  I  stood,  and  [that  it  was]  the  continual  support  of  faith 
which  kept  me  from  faUing.  I  went  to  bed  still  sensible  of  my  own 
weakness,  (I  humbly  hope  to  be  more  and  more  so,)  yet  confident  of 
Christ's  protection." 

Thus  this  Oxford  scholar,  this  ordained  clergyman,  this  "  successor 
of  the  apostles,"  this  "holy"  man,  was  forced  to  lay  down  all  trust  in 
his  own  "  endeavors,"  and  to  grope  in  the  dark  for  the  knowledge  of 
that  Gospel  of  which  he  was  ah-eady  an  accredited  teacher,  and  to  learn, 
at  last,  through  the  teachings  of  an  ignorant  Smithfield  brazier,  and 
one  of  the  poor  women  of  his  humble  household,  the  way  of  being 
saved  through  faith  in  Jesus  Christ.  The  old  fire  of  Pentecost  was 
kindled  anew  in  his  soul  on  this  anniversary  of  that  glorious  day. 
His  body  also,  as  weU  as  his  soul,  was  that  day  healed;  for  John 
"Lesley  writes :  "  I  received  the  surprising  news  that  my  brother 
had  found  rest  to  his  soul.  His  bodily  strength  returned,  also,  from 
that  hour:"  and  then  he  piously  adds,  "Who  is  so  great  a  God  m 
our  God?" 


134 


iLLUbTRATED    HiSTORY    OF   MeTIIODISM. 


The  Conversion  of  Rev.  John  Wesley.— John,  the 

elder  brother,  was 
only  four  days  be- 
hind the  younger 
in  entering  the 
kingdom  of  God. 
For  years  he  had 
possessed  religion 
enough  to  make 
him  miserable,  as 
well  as  to  enable 
him  to  make  other 
people  so.  He 
was  the  holiest 
man  of  the  Holy 
Club ;  but  his 
Pharisaism  had 
been  already  bro- 
ken down  by  what 
he  had  learned  in 
America ;  and  he 
had  reached  the 
point  of  believing 
that  there  is  such 
a  work  as  regen- 
eration, wrought 
by  the  Holy  Spir- 
it, and  that  this 

work  may  be  done  instantly  the  moment  a  sinner  believes  on  Jesus 
Christ  with  all  his  heart.  He  confesses  himself  to  have  been  greatly 
humbled,  and  professes  his  desire  for  "  that  faith  which  none  can  have 
without  knowing  that  he  hath  it."  From  the  Moravians  in  Georgia, 
and  from  the  Moravian  priest,  Peter  Bohler,  in  London,  he  had  learned 
something  of  the  righteousness  which  is  by  faith  ;  something  of  a  sense 
of  pardon  which  gives  constant  peace,  and  something  of  a  work  of  the 
Holy  Ghost  upon  the  soul  which  gives  dominion  over  sin.  At  first 
he  was  surprised,  and  resisted  these  truths  as  the  inventions  of  man. 


SOUTH    LEIGH    CHUBCH, 
In  which  John  Wesley  preached  his  first  Sermon. 


The  Wesleys  Convekted.  135 

but  the  faithful  Peter  Bohler  plied  him  with  texts  of  Scripture  and 
facts  of  Christian  experience  till  the  master  of  logic  was  utterly  driven 
from  his  former  conclusions,  and  brought  up  face  to  face  with  his 
privilege  and  duty  of  immediate  and  conscious  salvation,  as  the  free 
gift  of  God. 

Why  he  should  have  been  "  surprised "  to  learn  that  his  brother 
Charles  had  attained  this  experience  it  is  difficult  to  iinagine,  unless 
there  was,  after  all,  a  lurking  doubt  in  his  mind  of  the  truth  of  the 
doctrine  he  had  begun  to  defend.  But  here  was  another  precious 
proof  of  its  soundness ;  now  he  was  sure  of  his  ground.  He  did  not 
possess  this  saving  faith,  but,  according  to  the  advice  of  his  friend 
Peter,  he  began  to  preach  it  tiU  he  should  have  it,  and  then,  because 
he  had  it,  he  could  preach  it  all  the  more. 

About  this  time  he  wrote  down  some  good  resolutions  with  regard 
to  his  own  behavior,  and  soon  after  wrote  them  over  again,  as  if  the 
first  writing  were  not  strong  enough  to  hold.     Here  they  are : — 

"1.  To  use  absolute  openness  and  unreserve  with  aU  I  should 
converse  with. 

"  2.  To  labor  after  continued  seriousness ;  not  willingly  indulging 
myself  in  any  the  least  levity  of  behavior,  or  in  laughter — no,  not  for 
a  moment. 

"  3.  To  speak  no  word  which  does  not  tend  to  the  glory  of  God :  in 
particular,  not  to  talk  of  worldly  things.  Others,  may ;  nay,  must. 
But  what  is  that  to  thee  ?  and 

"  4.  To  take  no  pleasure  which  does  not  tend  to  the  glory  of  God ; 
thanking  God  every  moment  for  all  I  do  take,  and,  therefore,  rejecting* 
every  sort  and  degree  of  it  which  I  feel  I  cannot  thank  him  in  and 

It  is  singular  to  note  that  while  John  "Wesley  was  confessing  his 
own  want  of  saving  faith  he  should  be  blessed  of  God  in  leading  others 
into  it ;  among  the  rest  a  condemned  felon  in  Newgate,  to  whom  he 
had  at  first  refused  to  preach  at  all,  on  the  ground  that  he  had  no  faith 
in  death-bed  repentance,  and  repentance  by  a  man  about  to  be  lianged 
was  very  much  after  that  sort.  His  unlooked-for  success  with  this 
prisoner  led  him  to  dwell  on  the  theme  of  conscious  pardon  of  sin 
through  faith  in  the  Redeemer  in  the  discourses  which  he  preached 
in  some  of  the  London  churches,  but  the  ^vord  that  was  so  blessed 


136 


Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 


to  the  criminal  was  rejected  by  the  more  f  ortmiate  sinners  who  made 
up  "Wesley's  London  congregations,  and,  one  after  another,  the  doors  of 
the  London  churches  were  closed  against  him.  For  instance,  a  few 
days  after  his  sermon  in  St.  Ann's  Church,  on  "  Free  Salvation  by 
Faith  in  the  Blood  of  Christ ; "  he  makes  this  entry  in  hip  Journal : — 

"  I  was  quickly  ^^  _ 

apprised  that  art  St.  _  \  ~  _ 

Ann's,  likewise,  I 
am  to  preach  no 
more.  So  true  did 
I  find  the  words  of 
a  friend,  wrote  to 
my  brother  about 
this  time  :  '  I  have 
seen  upon  this  oc- 
casion, more  than 
ever  I  could  have 
imagined,  how  in- 
tolerable the  doc- 
trine of  faith  fs  to 
the  mind  of  man ; 
and  how  peculiarly 
intolerable  to  relig- 
ious men.' " 

The     "  turning 

point"  of  John  Wesley's  experience  is  of  such  vital  importance,  not 
only  to  him,  but  to  the  whole  history  of  the  great  revival  of  religion 
of  which  he  was,  under  God,  the  chief  promoter,  that  it  is  worthy 
the  careful  study  of  aU  who  may  open  this  volume ;  his  own  account 
of  it  is,  therefore,  transferred  to  these  pages  almost  entire : — 

"  What  occurred  on  Wednesday,  24,  I  think  best  to  relate  at  large, 
after  premising  what  may  make  it  the  better  understood. 

"  I  believe  till  I  was  about  ten  years  old  I  had  not  sinned  away 
that  '  washing  of  the  Holy  Ghost '  which  was  given  me  in  baptism ; 
having  been  strictly  educated  and  carefully  taught  that  I  could  only 
be  saved  "  by  universal  obedience,  by  keeping  aU  the  commandments 
of  God  ;  "  in  the  meaning  of  which  I  was  diligently  instructed.     And 


OLD    NEWGATE   PRISON,    LONDON. 


The  Wesleys  Coitterted.  137 

those  instructions,  so  far  as  they  respected  outward  duties  and  sins,  I 
gladly  received,  and  often  thought  of.  But  all  that  was  said  to  me  of 
inward  obedience,  or  holiness,  I  neither  understood  nor  remembered. 
So  that  I  was  indeed  as  ignorant  of  the  true  meaning  of  the  Law  as  I 
was  of  the  Gospel  of  Christ. 

"  The  next  six  or  seven  years  were  spent  at  school ;  where,  outward 
restraints  being  removed,  I  was  much  more  negligent  than  before, 
-even  of  outward  duties,  and  almost  continually  guilty  of  outward  sins, 
which  I  knew  to  be  such,  though  they  were  not  scandalous  in  the  eye 
of  the  world.  However,  I  stiU  read  the  Scriptures,  and  said  my 
prayers,  morning  and  evening.  And  what  I  now  hoped  to  be  saved 
by  was,  1.  ISTot  being  so  bad  as  other  people.  2.  Having  stiU.  a  kind- 
ness for  religion.  And,  3.  Beading  the  Bible,  going  to  church,  and 
-saying  my  prayers. 

"  Being  removed  to  the  University  for  five  years,  I  still  said  my 
prayers  both  in  public  and  in  private,  and  read,  with  the  Scriptures, 
several  other  books  of  religion,  especially  comments  on  the  IN^ew 
Testament.  Yet  I  had  not  all  this  while  so  much  as  a  notion  of 
inward  holiness ;  nay,  went  on  habitually,  and  for  the  most  part  very 
contentedly,  in  some  or  other  known  sin :  indeed,  with  some  intermis- 
sion and  short  struggles,  especially  before  and  after  the  Holy  Commun- 
ion, which  I  was  obliged  to  receive  thrice  a  year.  I  cannot  well  tell 
what  I  hoped  to  be  saved  by  now,  when  I  was  continually  sinning 
-against  that  little  light  I  had,  unless  by  those  transient  fits  of  what 
many  divines  taught  me  to  call  repentance. 

"  When  I  was  about  twenty-two  my  father  pressed  me  to  enter  into 
holy  orders.  At  the  same  time  the  providence  of  God  directing  me 
to  Kempis's  '  Christian  Pattern,'  I  began  to  see  that  tme  rehgion 
was  seated  in  the  heart,  and  that  God's  law  extended  to  all  our 
thoughts  as  well  as  words  and  actions.  I  was,  however,  very  angry  at 
Kempis  for  being  too  strict ;  though  I  read  him  only  in  Dean  Stan- 
hope's translation.  Tet  I  had  frequently  much  sensible  comfort  in 
reading  him,  such  as  I  was  an  utter  stranger  to  before :  and  meeting 
likewise  with  a  religious  friend,  which  I  never  had  till  now,  I  began 
to  alter  the  whole  form  of  my  conversation,  and  to  set  in  earnest  upon 
^  new  life.  I  set  apart  an  hour  or  two  a  day  for  religious  retirement. 
I  communicated  every  week.  I  watched  against  all  sin,  whether  in 
9 


138  Illusteated  History  of  Methodism. 

word  or  deed.  I  began  to  aim  at,  and  pray  for,  inward  holiness.  So 
that  now,  '  doing  so  much,  and  living  so  good  a  life,'  I  doubted  not 
but  I  was  a  good  Christian. 

"  Removing  soon  after  to  another  college,  I  executed  a  resolution 
which  I  was  before  convinced  was  of  the  utmost  importance — shaking 
off  at  once  aU  my  trifling  acquaintance.  I  began  to  see  more  and 
more  the  value  of  time.  I  applied  myself  closer  to  study.  I  watched 
more  carefully  against  actual  sins;  I  advised  others  to  be  religious 
according  to  that  scheme  of  religion  by  which  I  modeled  my  own 
life.  But  meeting  now  with  Mr.  Law's  'Christian  Perfection'  and 
'  Serious  CaU,'  although  I  was  much  offended  at  many  parts  of  both, 
yet  they  convinced  me  more  than  ever  of  the  exceeding  height  and 
breadth  and  depth  of  the  law  of  God.  The  light  flowed  in  so  mightily 
upon  my  soul  that  every  thing  appeared  in  a  new  view.  I  cried  to 
God  for  help,  and  resolved  not  to  prolong  the  time  of  obeying  him,  as 
I  had  never  done  before.  And  by  my  continued  endeavor  to  keep 
his  whole  law,  inward  and  outward,  to  the  utmost  of  my  power,  I  was 
persuaded  that  I  should  be  accepted  of  him,  and  that  I  was  even  then 
in  a  state  of  salvation. 

"  In  1Y30  I  began  visiting  the  prisons ;  assisting  the  poor  and  sick 
in  town ;  and  doing  what  other  good  I  could,  by  my  presence  or  my 
little  fortune,  to  the  bodies  and  souls  of  all  men.  To  this  end  I 
abridged  myself  of  all  superfluities,  and  many  that  are  called  necessa- 
ries of  life.  I  soon  became  a  by-word  for  so  doing,  and  I  rejoiced 
that  my  name  was  cast  out  as  evil.  The  next  spring  I  began  observing 
the  Wednesday  and  Friday  fasts,  commonly  observed  in  the  ancient 
Church;  tasting  no  food  tiU  three  in  the  afternoon.  And  now  I 
knew  not  how  to  go  any  further.  I  diligently  strove  against  all  sin. 
I  omitted  no  sort  of  self-denial  which  I  thought  lawful :  I  carefully 
used,  both  in  public  and  in  private,  aU  the  means  of  grace  at  all 
opportunities.  I  omitted  no  occasion  of  doing  good;  I  for  that 
reason  suffered  evil.  And  all  this  I  knew  to  be  nothing,  unless  as  it 
was  directed  toward  inward  holiness.  Accordingly  this,  the  image  of 
God,  was  what  I  aimed  at  in  aU,  by  doing  his  wiU,  not  my  own.  Yet 
when,  after  continuing  some  years  in  this  course,  I  apprehended 
myself  to  be  near  death,  I  could  not  find  that  aU  this  gave  me  any 
comfort,  or  any  assurance  of  acceptance  with  God.     At  this  I  was 


The  Wesleys  CoinrEETED.  139 

then  not  a  little  surprised ;  not  imagining  I  had  been  all  this  time 
building  on  the  sand,  nor  considering  that  '  other  foundation  can  no 
man  lay  than  that  which  is  laid '  by  God,  '  even  Christ  Jesus.' 

"  In  this  refined  way  of  trusting  to  my  own  works  and  my  own 
righteousness,  (so  zealously  inculcated  by  the  mystic  writers,)  I 
dragged  on  heavily,  finding  no  comfort  or  help  therein,  till  the  time 
of  my  leaving  England.  On  shipboard,  however,  I  was  again  active 
in  outward  works ;  where  it  pleased  God  of  his  free  mercy  to  give  me 
twenty-six  of  the  Moravian  brethren  for  companions,  who  endeavored 
to  show  me  '  a  more  excellent  way.'  But  I  understood  it  not  at  first. 
I  was  too  learned  and  too  wise.  So  that  it  seemed  foolishness  unto 
me.  And  I  continued  preaching,  and  following  after,  and  trusting  in, 
that  righteousness  whereby  no  fiesh  can  be  justified. 

"All  the  time  I  was  at  Savannah  I  was  thus  beating  the  air. 
Being  ignorant  of  the  righteousness  of  Christ,  which,  by  a  linng  faith 
in  him,  bringeth  salvation  '  to  every  one  that  believeth,'  I  sought  to 
establish  my  own  righteousness;  and  so  labored  in  the  fire  aU  my 
days.  I  was  now  properly  '  under  the  law ;'  I  knew  that  '  the  law ' 
of  God  was  '  spiritual ;  I  consented  to  it,  that  it  was  good.'  Yea,  '  I 
delighted  in  it,  after  the  inner  man.'  Yet  was  I  '  carnal,  sold  imder 
sin.'  Every  day  was  I  constrained  to  cry  out,  '  What  I  do,  I  allow 
not :  for  what  I  would,  I  do  not ;  but  what  I  hate  that  I  do.  To  will 
is'  indeed  'present  with  me;  but  how  to  perform  that  which  is 
good,  I  find  not.  For  the  good  which  I  would,  I  do  not ;  but  the  evil 
which  I  would  not,  that  I  do.  I  find  a  law,  that  when  I  would  do 
good,  evil  is  present  with  me ; '  even  '  the  law  in  my  members, 
warring  against  the  law  of  my  mind,'  and  still  'bringing  me  into 
captivity  to  the  law  of  sin.' 

"  In  this  vile,  abject  state  of  bondage  to  sin  I  was  indeed  fighting 
continually,  but  not  conquering.  Before,  I  had  willingly  served  sin ; 
now  it  was  unwillingly ;  but  still  I  served  it.  I  fell,  and  rose,  and  fell 
again.  Sometimes  I  was  overcome,  and  in  heaviness;  sometimes  I 
overcame,  and  was  in  joy.  For  as  in  the  former  state  I  had  some 
foretastes  of  the  terrors  of  the  law,  so  had  I  in  this,  of  the  comforts  of 
the  Gospel.  During  this  whole  struggle  between  nature  and  grace, 
which  had  now  continued  above  ten  years,  I  had  many  remarkable 
returns  to   prayer ;  especially  when  I  was  in  trouble  :   I  had  many 


140  Illusteated  History  of  Methodism. 

sensible  comforts  ;  which  are  indeed  no  other  than  short  anticipations 
of  the  life  of  faith.  But  I  was  still  'under  the  law,'  not  'under 
grace ;'  (the  state  most  who  are  called  Christians  are  content  to 
live  and  die  in :)  for  I  was  only  striving  with,  not  freed  from,  sin ; 
neither  had  I  the  witness  of  the  Spirit  with  my  spirit,  and  could  not ; 
for  I  '  sought '  it  not  by  faith,  but,  as  it  were,  by  the  works  of  the 
law.' 

"In  my  return  to  England,  January,  1738,  being  in  imminent 
danger  of  death,  and  very  uneasy  on  that  account,  I  was  strongly 
convinced  that  the  cause  of  that  uneasiness  was  unbelief ;  and  that  the 
^•aining  a  true,  living  faith  was  the  'one  thing  needful'  for  me. 
But  still  I  fixed  not  this  faith  on  its  right  object ;  I  meant  only  faith 
in  God,  not  faith  in  or  through  Christ.  Again,  I  knew  not  that  I 
was  wholly  void  of  this  faith ;  but  only  thought  I  had  not  enough  of 
it.  So  that  when  Peter  Bohler,  whom  God  prepared  for  me  as  soon 
as  I  came  to  London,  affirmed  of  true  faith  in  Christ,  (which  is  but 
one,)  that  it  had  those  two  fruits  inseparably  attending  it,  '  dominion 
over  sin,  and  constant  peace  from  a  sense  of  forgiveness,'  I  was  quite 
amazed,  and  looked  upon  it  as  a  new  gospel.  If  this  was  so,  it  was 
clear  I  had  not  faith.  But  I  was  not  willing  to  be  convinced  of  this. 
Therefore  I  disputed  with  aU  my  might,  and  labored  to  prove  that 
faith  might  be  where  these  were  not;  especially  where  the  sense  of 
forgiveness  was  not :  for  all  the  Scriptures  relating  to  this  I  had  been 
long  since  taught  to  construe  away,  and  to  call  all  Presbyterians  who 
spoke  otherwise.  Besides,  I  weU  saw,  no  one  could,  in  the  nature  of 
things,  have  such  a  sense  of  forgiveness,  and  r\o\feel  it.  But  I  felt  it 
not.  If  then  there  was  no  faith  without  this,  all  my  pretensions  to 
faith  dropped  at  once. 

"  When  I  met  Peter  Bohler  again  he  consented  to  put  the  dispute 
upon  the  issue  which  I  desired,  namely,  Scripture  and  experience.  I 
first  consulted  the  Scripture.  But  when  I  set  aside  the, glosses  of 
men,  and  simply  considered  the  words  of  God,  comparing  them 
together,  endeavoring  to  illustrate  the  obscure  by  the  plainer  passages ; 
I  found  they  all  made  against  me,  and  was  forced  to  retreat  to  my  last 
hold,  '  that  experience  would  never  agree  with  the  literal  interpretor 
tion  of  those  Scriptures.  Nor  could  I  therefore  allow  it  to  be  true, 
till  I  found  some  Hving  witnesses  of  it.'     He  repHed,  he  could  show 


Ihe  Wesleys  CoinrERTED.  141 

me  such  at  any  time ;  if  I  desired  it,  the  next  day.  And  accordingly 
tlic  next  day  he  came  again  with  three  others,  all  of  whom  testified,  of 
their  own  personal  experience,  that  a  true  living  faith  in  Christ  is 
inseparable  from  a  sense  of  pardon  for  all  past,  and  freedom  from  all 
present,  sins.  They  added  with  one  mouth  that  this  faith  was  the 
gift,  the  free  gift,  of  God ;  and  that  he  would  surely  bestow  it  upon 
every  soul  who  earnestly  and  perseveringly  sought  it.  I  was  now 
thoroughly  convinced ;  and  by  the  grace  of  God  I  resolved  to  seek  it 
unto  the  end :  1.  By  absolutely  renouncing  all  dependence,  in  whole 
or  in  part,  upon  my  own  works  or  righteousness,  on  which  I  had 
really  grounded  my  hope  of  salvation,  though  I  knew  it  not,  from  my 
youth  up.  2.  By  adding  to  the  constant  use  of  all  the  other  means  of 
grace  continual  prayer  for  this  very  thing,  justifying  saving  faith,  a 
full  reliance  on  the  blood  of  Christ  shed  for  me  /  a  trust  in  him  as  Twy 
Christ,  as  nny  sole  justification,  sanctifi cation,  and  redemption. 

"I  continued  thus  to  seek  it  (though  with  strange  indifference, 
duUness,  and  coldness,  and  unusually  frequent  relapses  into  sin)  till 
Wednesday,  May  24.  I  think  it  was  about  five  this  morning  that  I 
opened  my  Testament  on  those  words,  'There  are  given  unto  us 
exceeding  great  and  precious  promises,  even  that  ye  should  be  par- 
takers of  the  divine  nature.'  2  Pet.  i,  4.  Just  as  I  went  out  I 
opened  it  again  on  those  words,  '  Thou  art  not  far  from  the  kingdom 
of  God.'  In  the  afternoon  I  was  asked  to  go  to  St.  Paul's.  The 
anthem  was,  '  Out  of  the  deep  have  I  called  unto  thee,  O  Lord : 
Lord,  hear  my  voice ;  O  let  thine  ears  consider  well  the  voice  of  my 
complaint.  If  thou.  Lord,  wilt  be  extreme  to  mark  what  is  done 
amiss,  O  Lord,  who  may  abide  it?  For  there  is  mercy  with  thee; 
therefore  shalt  thou  be  feared. .  O  Israel,  trust  in  the  Lord :  for  with 
the  Lord  there  is  mercy,  and  with  him  is  plenteous  redemption.  And 
he  shall  redeem  Israel  from  all  his  sins.' 

"  In  the  evening  I  went  very  unwillingly  to  a  society  in  Aldersgate- 
street,  where  one  was  reading  Luther's  Preface  to  the  Epistle  to  the 
Romans.  About  a"  quarter  before  nine,  while  he  was  describing  the 
change  which  God  works  in  the  heart  through  faith  in  Christ,  I  felt 
my  heart  strangely  warmed.  I  felt  I  did  trust  in  Christ,  Christ  alone, 
for  salvation :  and  an  assurance  was  given  me  that  he  had  taken  away 
my  sins,  e  ren  wme,  and  saved  me  from  the  law  of  sin  and  death. 


142  Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 

"  I  began  to  pray  with  all  my  might  for  those  who  had,  in  a  more 
especial  manner,  despitefully  used  me  and  persecuted  me.  I  then 
testified  openly  to  aU  there,  what  I  now  first  felt  in  my  heart.  But  it 
was  not  long  before  the  enemy  suggested,  '  This  cannot  be  faith ;  for 
where  is  thy  joy  ? '  Then  was  I  taught  that  peace,  and  victory  over 
sin,  are  essential  to  faith  in  the  Captain  of  our  salvation ;  but  that,  as 
to  the  transports  of  joy  that  usually  attend  the  beginning  of  it, 
especially  in  those  who  have  mourned  deeply,  God  sometimes  giveth, 
sometimes  withholdeth  them,  according  to  the  counsels  of  his  own 
will. 

"  After  my  return  home  I  was  much  buffeted  with  temptations ; 
but  cried  out,  and  they  fled  away.  They  returned  again  and  again. ' 
I  as  often  hfted  up  my  eyes,  and  He  '  sent  me  help  from  his  holy 
place.'  And  herein  I  found  the  difference  between  this  and  my 
former  state  chiefly  consisted.  I  was  striving,  yea,  fighting  with  all 
my  might  under  the  law,  as  well  as  under  grace.  But  then  I  was 
sometimes,  if  not  often,  conquered ;  now,  I  was  always  conqueror. 

"  Thursday,  25.  The  moment  I  awaked,  '  Jesus,  Master,'  was  in 
my  heart  and  in  my  mouth;  and  I  found  all  my  strength  lay  in 
keeping  my  eye  fixed  upon  him,  and  my  soul  waiting  on  him  con- 
tinually. Being  again  at  St.  Paul's  in  the  afternoon,  I  could  taste  the 
good  word  of  God  in  the  anthem,  which  began,  'My  song  shall  be 
always  of  the  loving-kindness  of  the  Lord :  with  my  mouth  will  I  ever 
be  showing  forth  thy  truth  from  one  generation  to  another.'  Yet  the 
enemy  injected  a  fear,  '  If  thou  dost  beheve,  why  is  there  not  a  more 
sensible  change  ? '  I  answered,  (yet  not  I,)  '  That  I  know  not.  But 
this  I  know,  I  have  "now  peace  with  God,"  and  I  sin  not  to-day, 
and  Jesus  my  Master  has  forbid  me  to  take  thought  for  the  morrow.' " 

Wesley  at  Herrnliut. — In  nothing  is  the  grace  of  God  more 
manifest  than  in  changing  John  Wesley,  the  recent  High-church  bigot, 
into  a  docile,  teachable  inquirer  after  the  truth.  It  was  hard  for  this 
learned  priest  to  become  a  "  httle  child,"  but  aU  things  are  possible 
with  God. 

Being  now  converted  and  saved,  one  of  his  first  steps  was  to  seek 
further  instruction  in  the  things  of  God  from  the  Moravian  brethren, 
whose  chief  settlement  was  the  famous  little  community  of  Hermhut,* 

*  Watch  HilL 


The  Wesleys  Converted.  143 

in  Upper  Lusatia,  near  the  borders  of  Bohemia.  This  settlement  was 
made  by  a  company  of  Lutheran  converts,  who  were  compelled  to  fly 
for  their  lives  before  the  soldiers  of  the  Pope  and  the  devil,  in 
Moravia,  and  who  were  afforded  an  asylum  in  Saxony,  and  a  home  on 


JOHlSr    WESLEY    AND    COUNT    ZIXZENDORF. 

the  estates  of  Kickolas  Ludwig,  Count  of  Zinzendorf.  This  noble- 
man, who  was  also  a  Saxon  bishop,  was  not  only  the  patron  of  this 
band  of  exiles,  but  was  otherwise  largely  devoted  to  works  of  charity 


144  Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 

and  religion.  He  maintained  an  orphanage  near  his  castle  at  Marien- 
bom,  and  he  afterward  claimed  that  from  his  own  estates  he  had  sent 
out  three  hundred  preachers  of  the  Gospel  into  all  parts  of  the  world. 
This  was  the  origin  of  that  body  of  Christians  now  known  as  the 
United  Brethren. 

In  the  company  of  these  devout  believers,  who,  in  spite  of  Pa- 
pal persecutions  and  Protestant  backsliding  were  still  holding  up  the 
evangelical  doctrines  of  the  Lutheran  Reformation,  "Wesley  found  great 
delight  and  no  little  sound  instruction ;  especially  in  the  sermons  of 
the  pastor  of  this  flock,  Christian  David,  and  in  the  personal  testimo- 
nies given  at  their  social  meetings.  One  after  another  these  simple- 
minded  men,  wise  only  in  the  word  of  God,  would  declare  what  he 
had  done  for  their  souls,  and  by  the  substantial  agreement  of  their 
experiences  with  his  own  Wesley  was  comforted  and  confirmed. 

The  determination  of  Wesley  to  go  to  the  very  depths  of  thi& 
matter  of  experimental  religion,  and  his  absolute  abandonment  of 
himself  for  that  purpose,  appears  in  an  incident  related  of  him  during 
the  few  weeks'  visit  above  mentioned.  Like  the  Moravians  them- 
selves, he  submitted  to  be  governed  by  the  Count  and  Bishop  Zinzen- 
dorf,  as  well  as  to  be  instructed  by  the  godly  pastor  Christian  David, 
and  the  Count,  with  a  view  of  testing  his  reverend  pupil  for  spiritual 
pride,  and  to  mortify  it  if  any  should  be  found,  sent  Wesley  into  the 
fields  to  dig  like  a  common  laborer.  He  meekly  obeyed.  After  he 
had  been  at  this  work  for  awhile  the  Count  came  out  and  directed  liim 
to  take  his  place  in  his  carriage,  as  he  was  going  to  call  upon  a  neigh- 
boring nobleman. 
V    "  Pray  allow  me  to  make  my  toilet,"  said  Wesley. 

"  By  no  means,"  answered  the  Count ;  "  it  will  help  to  mortify 
your  spiritual  pride  to  go  as  you  are."  And  there  was  nothing  to  da 
but  submit. 

No  wonder  that  Wesley,  on  his  return  from  Herrnhut,  was  troubled 
with  doubts  about  some  of  the  fashions  which  prevailed  even  in  that 
primitive  community  of  Christian  believers ;  though,  on  the  whole, 
he  says  he  would  have  been  glad  to  spend  his  life  among  them. 

During  this  absence  in  Germany  his  brother  Charles  was  making 
himself  very  useful  among  the  prisoners,  and  among  the  poor  of 
London,  as  well  as  at  the  meetings  of  the  societies.     His   Journal 


The  Wesleys  Conveeted.  145^ 

abounds  with  cases  of  conversion,  as  if,  having  himself  been  born  of 
God,  he  could  hardly  think  of  any  other  theme  than  regeneration  by 
the  Holy  Ghost. 

His  eldest  brother,  the  Eev.  Samuel  Wesley,  was  greatly  offended 
at  such  doctrine,  and  opposed  it  with  all  his  might.  To  him  it 
appeared  absurd  that  a  baptized  and  confirmed  member  of  the  Angli- 
can communion,  and  a  regularly  ordained  successor  of  the  apostles 
withal,  should  state  that  he  was  not  a  Christian  until  after  he  had  been 
"bom  again."  Some  of  the  Wesley  sisters,  however,  sympathized 
with  their  "  enthusiastic  "  brothers,  John  and  Charles.  In  September 
his  sister  "Kezzy,"  as  he  calls  her,  a  member  of  the  Established 
Church  in  full  communion,  came  to  him  and  begged  him  with  tears  to 
pray  for  her ;  saying  that  she  believed  there  was  a  depth  of  religion 
she  had  not  yet  fathomed,  and  "  that  she  was  not,  but  longed  to  be, 
converted." 

Concerning  this  interview  her  brother  Charles  says :  "  I  used 
Pascal's  prayer  for  conversion  over  her."  He  evidently  had  not  yet 
learned  to  pray  without  a  book.  His  elder  brother,  John,  had  now 
over-passed  this  ceremonial  stage  of  religion,  as  appears  from  the 
following  entry  in  his  Journal,  in  April,  1Y39  :  "  Beiag  at  Mr.  Fox's 
Society,  my  heart  was  so  full  that  I  could  not  confine  myself  to  the 
forms  of  prayer  which  we  were  accustomed  to  use  there.  I^Teither  do 
I  pui*pose  to  be  confined  to  them  any  more." 

Mrs.  Wesley's  Conversion. — The  mother  of  the  Wesleys, 
having  heard  her  son  Samuel's  account  of  what  he  regarded  as  the 
absurdities  of  his  brethren,  wi'ote  a  letter  to  them  in  which  she  took 
them  to  task  for  the  wild  extravagances  that  followed  their  preach- 
ing ;  but  later  on,  being  made  personally  acquainted  with  the  progress 
of  the  work  of  God  under  their  hands,  she  changed  her  criticisms  for 
commendations,  and  afterward  herseK  entered  into  the  same  blessed 
experience  of  saving  grace. 

The  following,  from  John  Wesley's  Journal,  under  date  of  Sept.  3, 
1739,  shows  how  defective  were  even  the  most  evangelical  teachings 
of  the  lYth  and  18th  centuries  on  the  subject  of  experimental 
religion : — 

"  Monday,  Sept.  3. — I  talked  largely  with  my  mother,  who  told  me- 
that  till  a  short  time  since  she  had  scarce  heard  such  a  thing  men- 


146 


Illustrated  History  of  Methodis:m. 


i;ioned  as  the  having  forgiveness  of  sins  now,  or  God's  Spirit  bearing 
witness  with  our  spirit :  much  less  did  she  imagine  that  this  was  the 
•common  privilege  of  all  true  believers.  'Therefore,'  said  she,  'I 
never  durst  ask  for  it  myself.  But  two  or  three  weeks  ago,  while  my 
son.  Hall,  was  iDronouncing  those  words,  in  delivering  the  cup  to  me, 
"  The  blood  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  which  was  given  for  thee,"  the 
words  struck  through  my  heart,  and  I  knew  God  for  Christ's  sake  had 
forgiven  me  all  my  sins.' 

"  I  asked  whether  her  father  (Dr.  Annesley)  had  not  the  same  faith, 
.and  whether  she  had  not  heard  him  preach  it  to  others.  She  answered 
he  had  it  himself ;  and  declared,  a  little  before  his  death,  that  for  more 
than  forty  years  he  had  no  darkness,  no  fear,  no  doubt  at  all  of  his 
being  '  accepted  in  the  Beloved.'  But  that,  nevertheless,  -she  did  not 
remember  to  have  heard  him  preach,  no,  not  once,  explicitly  ujoon  it : 
whence  she  supjDosed  he  also  looked  upon  it  as  the  peculiar  blessing  of 
a  few;  not  as  j^romised  to  all  the  people  of  God." 

Several  of  the  daughters  are  also  mentioned  in  the  Journal  as  being 
haj)piiy  converted ;  and  at  last  Samuel  himself,  shortly  before  his 
death,  which  occurred  I^ovember  6,  1739,  just  as  the  Methodist 
revival  was  getting  fairly  under  way,  emerged  from  his  cave  of  tradi- 
tional darkness  into  the  light  of  conscious  salvation. 


ELIZABETH  FRY. 


CHAPTER  VI. 


THE  GOSPEL  IN  WORD  AND  IN  POWER. 


Prison  Ministry. — The  churclies  being  closed  against  tliem, 
the  Weslejs  were  glad  to  gain  an  audience  in  the  prisons.  Both  the 
brothers  were  often  found  in  the  cells  of  the  men  about  to  die,  and  to 
them  it  was  an  especial  cause  of  joy  to  find  that  Christ  was  "  able  to 
save  unto  the  uttermost "  all  who  came  unto  God  by  him,  though  in 
tlieu'  more  promiscuous  prison  services  they  must  have  sometimes 
been  almost  at  their  wits'  end  what  to  do  with  their  rough  and  vicious 
auditors. 

Here  are  some  extracts  from  the  Journal  of  Charles  Wesley,  relat- 
ing to  this  sorrowful  but  successful  ministry : — 

"July  12th.  I  preached  at  ITewgatato  the  condemned  felons,  and 
visited  one  of  them  in  his  cell,  sick  of  a  fever :  a  poor  black,  that  had 
robbed  his  master.  I  told  him  of  One  who  came  down  from  heaven 
to  save  lost  sinners,  and  him  in  particular ;  described  the  sufferings  of 
the  Son  of  God,  his  sorrows,  agony,  and  death.  He  listened  with  all 
the  signs  of  eager  astonishment.  The  tears  trickled  down  his  cheeks 
while  he  cried,  '  What !  was  it  for  me  ? '  " 


^  -^ 


The  Gospel  est  Woed  and  est  Power. 


149 


**  July  15tli.  Rejoiced  with  my  poor,  happy  black,  now  believing 
the  Son  of  God  loved  him  and  gave  himseK  for  him." 

"  July  18th.  At  night  I  was  locked  in  with  Bray,  in  one  of  the 
cells.  We  wrestled  in  mighty  prayer.  All  the  criminals  were  present, 
and  all  delightfully  cheerful.     Joy  was  visible  in  all  their  faces." 

"  July  19th.  By  haK  past  ten  we  came  to  Tyburn.  Then  were 
brought  the  children  appointed  to  die.  We  had  prayed  before  that 
our  Lord  would  show  there  was  a  power  superior  to  the  fear  of  death. 
They  were  all  cheerful,  full  of  comfort,  peace,  and  triumph,  assuredly 
persuaded  Christ  had  died  for  them,  and  waited  to  receive  them  into 


A   MODERN    PRISON     CHAPEL. 


paradise.  None  showed  any  natural  terror  of  death :  no  fear,  or 
crying,  or  tears.  I  never  saw  such  calm  triumph,  such  incredible 
indifference  to  dying.  ...  I  could  do  nothing  but  rejoice :  kissed 
Hudson  and  Newington :  took  leave  of  each  in  particular.  Exactly  at 
twelve  they  were  turned  off.  When  the  cart  drew  off  not  one  stirred 
or  struggled  for  life,  but  meekly  gave  up  their  spirits.  That  hour 
under  the  gallows  was  the  most  blessed  hour  of  my  life." 

The  notion  of  condemned  felons  going  to  paradise  by  way  of  New- 
gate and  Tyburn  was  not  at  all  agreeable  to  the  high  notions  of  the 


150  Illustrated  Histoey  of  Methodism. 

London  clergy.  Their  idea  of  religion  was  more  respectable :  salva- 
tion was  for  well-bred  people,  who  went  regularly  to  Churcii.  It  does 
not  seem  to  have  entered  their  minds  but  that  Jesus  Christ  came  to 
call  the  righteous,  or  that  the  first  trophy  of  his  victory  over  death 
and  hell  was  a  condemned  felon  who  was  executed  by  his  side. 
If  a  sinner  were  to  be  saved  by  his  respectability,  the  comi]  mnion  of 
the  Established  Church  was  an  excellent  place  for  the  process :  but 
the  Wesleys  and  "Whitefield  declared  that  salvation  was  by  faith  alone ;. 
whereby  the  high  privileges  of  wealth,  education,  and  station,  as  well 
as  the  high  prerogatives  of  the  clergy,  who  claimed  the  monopoly  of 
sacramental  grace,  were  all  ignored  and  trampled  on.  It  was  toa 
common,  too  easy,  too  low :  any  body  might  be  a  Christian  and  go  ta 
paradise  on  such  terms ;  and  what  then  would  become  of  the  Estab- 
lished religion  and  the  apostolic  clergy  ?  I^o  wonder  these  Methodists 
were  shut  out  of  the  churches ;  yet  this  worked  together  for  goody 
since  it  was  through  this  dark  passage  that  God  brought  them  out 
into  broader,  clearer  light,  and,  under  the  blue  dome  of  his  own  cathe- 
dral, set  them  preaching  to  thousands  upon  thousands  in  the  opea  fields, 

Societies  and  Bauds. — It  wiU  be  remembered  that  Mrs. 
Wesley  named  her  assembly  at  the  Epworth  rectory  a  "  Society : "  a 
name  that  has  held  a  prominent  place  in  Methodist  history,  and 
which  is  still  in  use  by  British  "Wesleyans  to  designate  an  organised 
congregation,  which  they  modestly  refrain  from  calling  a  "  Church." 

It  was  also  at  the  meetings  of  what  the  Moravians  called  "  Socie- 
ties "  that  Wesley  caught  the  idea  of  using  the  testimony  of  converted 
persons  concerning  their  experience  of  salvation,  to  supply,  in  some 
measure,  the  lack  of  service  on  the  part  of  the  ministry.  There  were 
but  very  few  clergy  in  England  who  could  take  care  of  a  company  of 
young  converts,  or  carry  on  the  work  of  bringing  others  to  a  saving 
knowledge  of  Christ :  and  as  the  revival  of  spiritual  religion  began  ta 
spread,  it  became  necessary  to  set  these  little  companies  thus  to  take 
care  of,  and  edify,  one  another,  while  the  Moravian  "Societies"  in 
London  afforded  him  and  his  friends  that  religious  fellowship  which 
he  could  not  find  in  his  own  communion  on  account  of  his  "  extrava- 
gance "  and  "  enthusiasm." 

Those  little  confidential  companies  of  Moravians  at  Herrnhut,  wha 
used  to  meet  every  week  and  turn  their  hearts  inside  out,  in  order  to 


The  Gospel  ln  Word  and  in  Power.  151 

receive  counsel  from,  or  give  encouragement  to,  their  brethren,  greatly 
interested  him,  and  for  some  time  after  his  return  from  Germany  he 
appears  as  a  leader  in  the  "  Societies "  at  Fetter  Lane,  Bear  Yard, 
Gutter  Lane,  and  at  the  Society  in  Aldersgate-street,  so  memorable  a& 
the  place  of  his  conversion. 

What  were  these  Societies  ? 

Some  of  them  were  companies  of  United  Brethren,  gathered  by 
the  Moravian  missionaries;  others  were  the  remnants  of  certain 
religious  assembhes  of  people  belonging  to  the  Established  Church 
which  had  been  organized  during  a  notable  revival  in  London  in  1699. 
It  may  have  been  from  these  London  Societies  that  Mrs.  Wesley 
borrowed  the  name  of  her  meeting  in  the  Epworth  rectory. 

One  of  these  "  Societies "  was  organized  by  the  Wesleys  them- 
selves before  the  visit  of  John  to  Herrnhut,  and  so  great  was  its 
success  that  it  was  able  to  erect  a  chapel  in  Fetter  Lane,  London,  from 
which  it  was  called  the  Fetter  Lane  Society.  This  continued  to  be 
the  head-quarters  of  the  Methodist  movement  until  Wesley's  secession 
therefrom,  as  will  presently  appear.  The  following  extract  from 
Wesley's  Journal  will  indicate  the  nature  and  purpose  of  these  "  So- 
cieties," and  also  of  the  smaller  "bands"  into  which  the  Society  was 
divided : — 

In  obedience  to  the  command  of  God  by  St.  James,  and  by  the  advice  of 
Peter  Bohler,  it  is  agreed  by  us, 

1.  That  we  will  meet  together  once  a  week  to  "confess  our  faults  one  to 
another,  and  pray  one  for  another,  that  we  may  be  healed." 

2.  That  the  persons  so  meeting  be  divided  into  several  hands,  or  little  com 
panics,  none  of  them  consisting  of  fewer  than  five,  or  more  than  ten,  persons. 

3.  That  every  one  in  order  speak  as  freely,  plainly,  and  concisely  as  he 
can,  the  real  state  of  his  heart,  with  his  several  temptations  and  deliverances, 
since  the  last  time  of  meeting. 

4.  That  all  the  bands  have  a  conference  at  eight  every  Wednesday  evening, 
begun  and  ended  with  singing  and  prayer. 

5.  That  any  who  desire  to  be  admitted  into  this  Society  be  asked,  "  What 
are  your  reasons  for  desiring  this  ?  Will  you  be  entirely  open,  using  no  kind 
of  reserve  ?  Have  you  any  objection  to  any  of  our  orders  ?  "  (which  may  theu 
be  read.) 

6.  That  when  any  new  member  is  proposed,  every  one  present  speak  clearly 
and  freely  whatever  objection  he  has  to  him. 

7.  That  those  against  whom  no  reasonable  objection  appears  be,  in  order  for 


152  Illusteated  History  of  Methodism. 

their  trial,  formed  into  one  or  more  distinct  bands,  and  some  person  agreed  on 
to  assist  them. 

8.  That  after  two  months'  trial,  if  no  objection  then  appear,  they  may  be 
admitted  into  the  Society. 

9.  That  every  fourth  Saturday  be  observed  as  a  day  of  general  intercession. 

10.  That  on  the  Sunday  seven-night  following  be  a  general  love-feast,  from 
seven  till  ten  in  the  evening. 

11.  That  no  particular  member  be  allowed  to  act  in  any  thing  contrary  to 
any  order  of  the  Society:  and  that  if  any  persons,  after  being  thrice  admonished, 
do  not  conform  thereto,  they  be  not  any  longer  esteemed  as  members. 

There  were  "  Societies  "  of  this  kind  in  Bristol  and  elsewhere,  and 
it  was  in  connection  with  the  Bristol  Societies  that  the  Methodist 
revival  began  in  that  portion  of  the  kingdom. 

Whitelield's  Return  from  America. — ^Near  the  end  of 
the  year  1Y38  "Whitefield  and  Wesley's  old  friend  and  pupil,  Delar 
motte,  returned  from  Georgia.  As  yet  Mr.  Whitefield  had  only 
taken  deacon's  orders,  and  must  needs  return  to  England  to  be  ordained 
a  priest:  besides,  he  was  desirous  of  establishing  an  orphanage  at 
Savannah,  after  the  manner  of  the  famous  institution  of  Professor 
Francke,  in  Germany,  and  for  this  he  must  resume  his  course  of 
charity  sermons  among  his  English  friends  and  admirers.  But  he 
found  the  churches  were  closed  against  him,  as  well  as  against  his 
friends,  the  Wesleys,  and  he  was  glad  to  be  received  by  the  "  Soci- 
eties," which,  under  their  labors,  were  fast  becoming  a  power  in  the 
British  capital. 

Poiver  Accompanies  the  Word. — It  sometimes  appears 
to  be  the  purpose  of  God  to  break  into  the  minds  and  consciences  of 
men  with  signs  and  wonders,  when  they  refuse  admittance  to  his 
Gospel  in  any  other  way.  These  signs  and  wonders  are  so  many 
exclamatipn  points  to  catch  the  eye  of  heedless  sinners.  The  attention 
of  the  eye  is  more  quickly  caught  than  that  of  the  ear ;  people  will  go 
by  thousands  to  see  a  prodigy,  who  would  not  be  called  out  by  the 
simple  preaching  of  the  Gospel ;  thus,  through  their  curiosity,  God 
makes  a  way  into  their  minds  for  his  truth,  and  thereby  his  kingdom 
is  extended.  Miracles  and  marvels  are  thus  doubly  useful,  first  as 
testimony  to  the  truth  of  the  word  which  Miey  accompanj,  and 
second,  as  a  strong  attraction  to  bring  the  multitude  within  the  circle 
of  its  power. 


The  Gospel  in  Word  and  in  Power. 


153 


The  strange  scenes  wMch.  often  accompanied  the  early  services  of 
the  Methodists  in  England  are  plentifully  mentioned  in  Mr.  Wesley's 
Jonrnal.  He  claims  them  as  evidence  that  God  is  with  him,  and 
defends  himseK  from  the  storm  of  abuse  which  he  encountered  on 
account  of  them  by  boldly  declaring  their  supernatural  or  subter- 
natural  character.     The  Lord  and  the  devil,  he  was  quite  sure,  both 


INTEKIOB    OF    FETTEE   LANE    CHAPEL,    1867. 


•took  these  striking  methods  of  showing  their  interest  in  the  Methodist 
revival.     But  let  Wesley  himseK  speak : — 

"Thursday,  'Nov.  25,  1738.  "While  I  was  preaching  at  Newgate 
on  these  words,  'He  that  believeth  hath  everlasting  life,'  I  was 
insensibly  led,  without  any  previous  design,  to  declare  strongly  and 
explicitly  that  God  willeth  '  all  men  to  be '  thus  '  saved ; '  and  to  pray 
that,  '  if  this  were  not  the  truth  of  God,  he  would  not  suffer  the  blind 
to  go  oat  of  the  way ;  but,  if  it  were,  he  would  bear  witness  to  his 
word.'  Immediately  one,  and  another,  and  another,  sunk  to  the 
10 


154  Illustrated  Histoey  of  Methodism. 

earth :  tliej  dropped  on  every  side  as  thunderstruck.  One  of  them 
cried  aloud.  We  besought  God  in  her  behalf,  and  he  turned  her 
heaviness  into  joy.  A  second  being  in  the  same  agony,  we  called 
upon  God  for  her  also ;  and  he  spoke  peace  unto  her  soul.  In  the 
evening  I  was  again  pressed  in  spirit  to  declare  that  '  Christ  gave 
himseK  a  ransom  for  all.'  And  almost  before  we  called  upon  him  to 
set  to  his  seal,  he  answered.  One  was  so  wounded  by  the  sword  of 
the  Spirit  that  you  would  have  imagined  she  could  not  live  a  moment. 
But  immediately  his  abundant  kindness  was  showed,  and  she  loudly 
sung  of  his  righteousness." 

"  Friday,  26.  All  Newgate  rang  with  the  cries  of  those  whom  the 
word  of  God  cut  to  the  heart.  Two  of  whom  were  in  a  moment  filled 
with  joy,  to  the  astonishment  of  those  that  beheld  them." 

Again  he  writes :  "  "While  I  was  declaring  that  Jesus  Christ  had 
'given  himseK  a  ransom  for  all,'  three  persons,  almost  at  once,  sunk 
down  as  dead,  having  all  their  sins  set  in  array  before  them.  But 
in  a  short  time  they  were  raised  up,  and  knew  that  'the  Lamb  of 
God  who  taketh  away  the  sin  of  the  world '  had  taken  away  their  sins." 

Still  again :  "  One  who  had  been  a  zealous  opposer  of  '  this  way ' 
sent  and  desired  to  speak  with  me  immediately.  He  had  all  the  signs 
of  settled  despair  both  in  his  countenance  and  behavior.  He  said  he 
had  been  enslaved  to  sin  many  years,  especially  to  drunkenness ;  that 
he  had  long  used  all  the  means  of  grace,  had  constantly  gone  ta 
church  and  sacrament,  had  read  the  Scripture,  and  used  much  private 
prayer,  and  yet  was  nothing  profited.  I  desired  we  might  join  in 
prayer.  After  a  short  space  he  rose,  and  his  countenance  was  no 
longer  sad.  He  said,  '  Now  I  know  God  loveth  me,  and  has  forgiven 
my  sins.  And  sin  shall  not  have  dominion  over  me ;  for  Christ  hath 
set  me  free,'     And  according  to  his  faith  it  was  unto  him." 

"  April  17, 1739.  At  Baldwin-street  [one  of  the  Societies  in  Bris- 
tol] we  called  upon  God  to  confirm  his  word.  Immediately,  one  that 
stood  by  cried  out  aloud,  with  the  utmost  vehemence,  even  as  in  the 
agonies  of  death.  But  we  continued  in  prayer  till  a  new  song  was 
put  into  her  mouth,  a  thanksgiving  unto  our  God.  Soon  after,  two 
other  persons  were  seized  with'  strong  pain,  and  constrained  to  roar  for 
the  disquietude  of  their  heart.  But  it  was  not  long  before  they  like- 
wise burst  forth  into  praise  to  God  their  Saviour.     The  last  who 


The  Gospel  in  "Word  and  in  Power.  155 

called  upon  God,  as  out  of  the  belly  of  hell,  was  a  stranger  in  Bristol ; 
and  in  a  short  space  he  also  was  overwhelmed  with  joy  and  love, 
knowing  that  God  had  healed  his  backslidings." 

"  April  21.  At  Weavers'  Hall,  [another  Bristol '  Society,']  a  young 
man  was  suddenly  seized  with  a  violent  trembling  all  over,  and  in  a 
few  minutes  sunk  to  the  ground.  But  we  ceased  not  calling  upon 
God  till  he  raised  him  up  full  of  peace  and  joy  in  tlie  Holy 
Ghost." 

"  April  24.  At  Baldwin-street  a  young  man,  after  a  sharp  though 
short  agony,  both  of  body  and  mind,  found  his  soul  filled  with  peace, 
knowing  in  whom  he  had  believed." 

"  I  did  not  mention  J n  H n,  a  weaver,  who  was  at  Bald- 
win-street the  night  before.  He  was  (I  understood)  a  man  of  a 
regular  Hfe  and  conversation,  one  that  constantly  attended  the  public 
prayers  and  sacrament,  and  was  zealous  for  the  Church,  and  against 
Dissenters  of  every  denomination.  Being  informed  that  people  fell 
into  strange  fits  at  the  Societies,  he  came  to  see  and  judge  for  himseK. 
But  he  was  less  satisfied  than  before ;  insomuch  that  he  went  about  ta 
his  acquaintance,  one  after  another,  till  one  in  the  morning,  and 
labored  above  measure  to  convince  them  it  was  a  delusion  of  the 
devil.     We  were  going  home,  when  one  met  us  in  the  street,  and 

informed  us  that  J n  H n  was  fallen  raving  mad.     It  seems  he 

had  sat  down  to  dinner,  but  had  a  mind  first  to  end  a  sermon  he  had 
borrowed  on  '  Salvation  by  Faith.'  In  reading  the  last  page  he 
changed  color,  fell  off  his  chair,  and  began  screaming  terribly,  and 
beating  himseK  against  the  ground.  The  neighbors  were  alarmed, 
and  flocked  together  to  the  house.  Between  one  and  two  I  came  in^ 
and  found  him  on  the  floor,  the  room  being  full  of  people,  whom  his 
wife  would  have  kept  without,  but  he  cried  aloud,  '  No,  let  them  all 
come ;  let  all  the  world  see  the  just  judgment  of  God.'  Two  or  three 
men  were  holding  him  as  well  as  they  could.  He  immediately  fixed 
his  eyes  upon  me,  and,  stretching  out  his  hand,  cried,  '  Ay,  this  is  he 
who  I  said  was  a  deceiver  of  the  people.  But  God  has  overtaken  me. 
I  said,  It  was  all  a  delusion,  but  this  is  no  delusion.'  He  then  roared 
out,  '  O  thou  devil !  Thou  cursed  devil !  Yea,  thou  legion  of  devils ! 
Thou  canst  not  stay.  Christ  will  cast  thee  out.  I  know  his  work  is 
begun.     Tear  me  to  pieces  if  thou  wilt ;  but  thou  canst  not  hurt  me/ 


156  Illusteated  Histoey  of  Methodism. 

He  then  beat  himself  against  the  ground  again ;  his  breast  heaving  at 
the  same  time  as  in  the  pangs  of  death,  and  great  drops  of  sweat 
trickling  down  his  face.  We  all  betook  ourselves  to  prayer.  His 
pangs  ceased,  and  both  his  body  and  soul  were  set  at  liberty." 

Sunday,  May  20.  "  A  young  man  sunk  down  as  one  dead ;  but  soon 
began  to  roar  out,  and  beat  himself  against  the  ground,  so  that  six 
men  could  scarcely  hold  him.  His  name  was  Thomas  Maxfield.  Ex- 
cept J n  H n,  I  never  saw  one  so  torn  of  the  evil  one.  Mean- 
while many  others  began  to  cry  out  to  the  'Saviour  of  all'  that  he 
would  come  and  help  them,  insomuch  that  all  the  house  (and  indeed 
all  the  street  for  some  space)  was  in  an  uproar.  But  we  continued  in 
prayer ;  and  before  ten  the  greater  part  found  rest  to  their  souls." 

"  I  was  called  from  supper  to  one  who,  feeling  in  herself  such  a 
conviction  as  she  had  never  known  before,  had  run  out  of  the  Society 
in  all  haste  that  she  might  not  expose  herself.  But  the  hand  of  God 
followed  her  still ;  so  that  after  going  a  few  steps  she  was  forced  to 
be  carried  home ;  and  when  she  was  there,  grew  worse  and  worse. 
She  was  in  a  violent  agony  when  we  came.  We  called  upon  God, 
and  her  soul  found  rest.  About  twelve  I  was  greatly  importuned  to 
go  and  visit  one  person  more.  She  had  only  one  struggle  after  I 
came,  and  was  then  filled  with  peace  and  joy.  I  think  twenty-nine 
in  all  had  their  heaviness  tm-ned  into  joy  this  day." 

"  Friday,  October  28.  I  met  with  a  fresh  proof  that  '  whatsoever 
ye  ask,  believing,  ye  shall  receive.'  A  middle-aged  woman  desired  me 
to  return  thanks  for  her  to  God,  who,  as  many  witnesses  then  present 
testified,  was  a  day  or  two  before  really  distracted,  and  as  such  tied 
down  in  her  bed.  But  upon  prayer  made  for  her,  she  was  instantly 
relieved,  and  restored  to  a  sound  mind." 

In  another  place  he  says :  "  I  began  reading  prayers,  and  preaching, 
in  Gloucester-green  Workhouse ;  and  on  Thursday,  in  that  belonging 
to  St.  Thomas's  parish.  On  both  days  I  preached  at  the  castle.  At 
St.  Thomas's  was  a  young  woman,  raving  mad,  screaming  and  tor- 
menting herself  continually.  I  had  a  strong  desire  to  speak  to  her. 
The  moment  I  began  she  was  still.  The  tears  ran  down  her  cheeks 
all  the  time  I  was  telling  her  '  Jesus  of  J^azareth  is  able  and  willing  to 
deliver  you.'  O  where  is  faith  upon  earth?  Why  are  these  poor 
wretches  left  imder  the  open  bondage  of   Satan?     Jesus,  Master! 


Tke  Gospel  est  Woed  and  in  Powee.  157 

Give  thou  medicine  to  heal  their  sickness ;  and  deKver  those  who  are 
now  also  vexed  with  unclean  spirits ! " 

"  Tuesday,  Oct.  23, 1739.  At  eleven  I  preached  at  Beartield  to  about 
three  thousand,  on  nature,  bondage,  and  adoption.  Keturning  in  the 
evening,  I  was  exceedingly  pressed  to  go  back  to  a  young  woman  in 
Kingswood.  (The  fact  I  nakedly  relate,  and  leave  every  man  to  his 
own  judgment  of  it.)  I  went.  She  was  nineteen  or  twenty  years 
old ;  but,  it  seems,  could  not  write  or  read.  I  found  her  on  the  bed, 
two  or  three  persons  holding  her.  It  was  a  terrible  sight.  Anguish, 
horror,  and  despair,  above  all  description,  appeared  in  her  pale  face. 
The  thousand  distortions  of  her  whole  body  showed  how  the  dogs  of 
hell  were  gnawing  her  heart.  The  shrieks  intermixed  were  scarce  to 
be  endured.  But  her  stony  eyes  could  not  weep.  She  screamed  out, 
as  soon  as  words  could  find  their  way,  '  I  am  damned,  damned ;  lost 
forever.  Six  days  ago  you  might  have  helped  me.  But  it  is  past.  I 
am  the  devil's  now.  I  have  given  myself  to  him.  His  I  am.  Him  I 
must  serve.  With  him  I  must  go  to  hell.  I  cannot  be  saved.  I  will 
not  be  saved.  I  must,  I  will,  I  will  be  damned.'  She  then  began 
praying  to  the  devil.  "We  began,  '  Arm  of  the  Lord,  awake,  awake  ! ' 
She  immediately  sunk  down  as  asleep ;  but,  as  soon  as  we  left  off, 
broke  out  again,  with  inexpressible  vehemence,  '  Stony  hearts,  break ! 
I  am  a  warning  to  you.  I  am  damned,  that  you  may  be  saved.'  She 
then  fixed  her  eyes  on  the  corner  of  the  ceiling,  and  said,  '  There  he 
is ;  ay,  there  he  is ;  come,  good  devil,  come.  Take  me  away.  I  am 
yours.  Come  just  now.  Take  me  away.'  We  interrupted  her  by 
calKng  again  upon  God:  on  which  she  sunk  down  as  before;  and 
another  young  woman  began  to  roar  out  as  loud  as  she  had  done.  My 
brother  now  came  in,  it  being  about  nine  o'clock.  We  continued  in 
prayer  till  past  eleven,  when  God  in  a  moment  spoke  peace  into  the 
soul,  first  of  the  first  tormented,  and  then  of  the  other.  And  they 
both  joined  in  singing  praise  to  Him  who  had  '  stilled  the  enemy  and 
the  avenger.' " 

"  Wednesday,  24.  I  preached  at  Baptist  Mills  on  those  words  of 
St.  Paul,  speaking  in  the  person  of  one  '  under  the  law,'  (that  is,  still 
'  carnal,  and  sold  under  sin,'  though  groaning  for  deliverance,)  '  I 
know  that  in  me  dwelleth  no  good  thing.'  A  poor  woman  told  me 
afterward,  'I  does  hope  as  my  husband  wont  hinder  me  any  more. 


158  Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 

For  I  minded  lie  did  shiver  every  bone  of  him,  and  the  tears  ran  down 
his  cheeks  like  the  rain.'  " 

It  would  be  easy  to  make  a  whole  chapter  of  such  cases,  but  these 
will  serve  to  show  the  power  which  accompanied  the  word  as  preached 
by  the  leader  of  the  Methodists,  and  which  afterward  gave  similar 
testimony  to  the  truth  under  the  ministry  of  the  first  Methodists  in 
America.  Nor  were  these  marvels  found  among  Methodists  alone. 
The  very  same  superhuman  influences  are  mentioned  in  the  history  of 
the  great  revival,  which  began  at  about  the  same  time,  at  Northamp- 
ton, in  Massachusetts,  under  the  ministry  of  that  famous  Congregation- 
alist  divine,  Dr.  Jonathan  Edwards.*  The  same  agonies  and  ecstasies 
are  also  mentioned  in  connection  with  other  great  historic  revivals  of 
religion,  and  it  is  to  be  regretted  that  so  many  good  people  who  have 
felt  themselves  called  upon  to  denounce  these  "  extravagancies  "  should 
have  overlooked  the  book  of  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  whose  records, 
if  carefully  studied,  would  have  given  them  a  more  intelligent,  as  well 
as  a  more  orthodox  view  of  the  case. 

*  The  revival  which  commenced  at  Northampton  spread  throughout  the  greater  part  of 
the  colony.  All  sorts  of  people — high  and  low,  rich  and  poor,  wise  and  unwise,  moral  and 
immoral — simultaneously  became  the  subjects  of  the  Spirit's  strivings,,  and  were  converted. 
This  remarkable  movement  took  place  only  a  few  months  before  Wesley  set  sail  for  Georgia, 
and  continued  for  several  years  afterward.  Mr.  Edwards  pubUshed  a  narrative  of  its  most 
striking  incidents,  in  which  he  says : — 

In  many  instances  conviction  of  sin  and  conversion  were  attended  with  intense  physical 
excitement.  Numbers  fell  prostrate  on  the  ground,  and  cried  aloud  for  mercy.  The  bodies 
of  others  were  convulsed  and  benumbed.  As  chaos  preceded  creation,  so  in  New  England 
confusion  went  before  conversion.  The  work  was  great  and  glorious,  but  was  accompanied 
with  noise  and  tumult.  Men  literally  cried  for  mercy ;  but  the  loudest  outcries  were  not  so 
loud  as  the  shrieks  of  Voltaire  or  Volney,  when  the  prospect  of  eternity  unnerved  them. 
Stout-hearted  sinners  trembled ;  but  not  more  than  philosophers  of  the  present  day  would 
do  if  they  had  equally  vivid  views  of  the  torments  of  the  damned  to  which  sin  exposes 
them.  There  were  groanings  and  faintings ;  transports  and  ecstacies  ;  zeal  sometimes  more 
fervid  than  discreet ;  and  passion  not  unf requently  more  powerful  than  pious ;  but,  from  one 
end  of  the  land  to  the  other,  multitudes  of  vain,  thoughtless  sinners  were  unmistakably 
converted,  and  were  made  new  creatures  in  Christ  Jesus.  Frolicking,  night-walking,  singing 
lewd  songs,  tavern-haunting,  profane  speaking,  and  extravagance  in  dress,  were  generally 
abandoned.  The  talk  of  the  people  was  about  the  favor  of  God,  an  interest  in  Christ,  a 
sanctified  heart,  and  spiritual  blessedness  here  and  hereafter.  The  country  was  full  of 
meetings  of  persons  of  all  sorts  and  ages,  to  read,  pray,  and  sing  praises.  Oftentimes  the 
people  were  wrought  up  into  the  highest  transports  of  love,  joy,  and  admiration,  and  had 
such  views  of  the  divine  perfections  and  the  excellencies  of  Christ,  that  for  five  or  six 
hours  together  their  souls  reposed  in  a  kind  of  sacred  elysium,  until  the  body  seemed  to  sink 
beneath  the  weight  of  divine  discoveries,  and  nature  was  deprived  of  all  ability  to  stand  or 
«peak. —  Tyei-Tna7i\t  Life  and  Timef!  of  Weslei/. 


The  Gospel  en  Word  akd  in  Power.  159 

In  one  of  his  replies  to  a  clerical  opponent,  in  May,  1Y39,  Mr. 
Wesley  says : — 

"  The  question  between  us  turns  chiefly,  if  not  wholly,  on  matter  of 
fact.  You  deny  that  God  does  now  work  these  effects :  at  least,  that 
he  works  them  in  this  manner.  I  affirm  both  ;  because  I  have  heard 
these  things  with  my  own  ears,  and  have  seen  them  with  my  eyes.  I 
have  seen  (as  far  as  a  thing  of  this  kind  can  be  seen)  very  many 
persons  changed  in  a  moment  from  the  spirit  of  fear,  horror,  despair, 
to  the  spirit  of  love,  joy,  and  peace ;  and  from  sinful  desire,  till  then 
reigning  over  them,  to  a  pure  desire  of  doing  the  will  of  God.  These 
are  matters  of  fact,  whereof  I  have  been,  and  almost  daily  am,  an  eye 
or  ear  witness.  What  I  have  to  say  touching  visions  or  dreams,  is 
this :  I  know  several  persons  in  whom  this  great  change  was  wrought 
in  a  dream,  or  during  a  strong  representation  to  the  eye  of  their  mind, 
of  Christ  either  on  the  cross,  or  in  glory.  This  is  the  fact ;  let  any 
judge  of  it  as  they  please.  And  that  such  a  change  was  then  wrought 
appears  (not  from  their  shedding  tears  only,  or  falling  into  fits,  or 
crying  out :  these  are  not  the  fruits,  as  you  seem  to  suppose,  whereby 
I  judge,  but)  from  the  whole  tenor  of  their  life,  till  then  many  ways 
wicked ;  from  that  time,  holy,  just,  and  good. 

"  I  will  show  you  him  who  was  a  Hon  till  then,  and  is  now  a  lamb ; 
him  that  was  a  drunkard,  and  is  now  exemplarily  sober ;  the  whore- 
monger that  was,  who  now  abhors  the  very  'garment  spotted  by  the 
flesh.'  These  are  my  living  arguments  for  what  I  assert,  namely, 
'  That  God  does  now,  as  aforetime,  give  remission  of  sins,  and  the  gift 
of  the  Holy  Ghost,  even  to  us  and  to  our  children;  yea,  and  that 
always  suddenly,  as  far  as  I  have  known,  and  often  in  dreams  or  in 
the  visions  of  God.'  If  it  be  not  so,  I  am  found  a  false  witness  before 
God.     For  these  things  I  do,  and  by  his  grace  will,  testify." 

And  further,  on  this  point,  he  writes  in  his  Journal : — 

"Perhaps  it  might  be  because  of  the  hardness  of  our  hearts, 
unready  to  receive  any  thing  unless  we  see  it  with  our  eyes  and  hear 
it  with  our  ears,  that  God,  in  tender  condescension  to  our  weakness, 
suffered  so  many  outward  signs  of  the  very  time  when  he  wrought 
this  inward  change  to  be  continually  seen  and  heard  among  us.  But 
although  they  saw  "  signs  and  wonders,"  (for  so  I  must  term  them,) 
yet  many  would  not  believe.     They  could  not  indeed  deny  the  facts : 


160  Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 

but  tliey  could  exjpMvn  tliem  away.  Some  said,  '  These  were  purely 
natural  effects ;  the  people  fainted  away  only  because  of  the  heat  and 
closeness  of  the  rooms.'  And  others  were  '  sure  it  was  all  a  cheat  r 
they  might  help  it  if  they  would.  Else  why  were  these  things  only 
in  their  private  societies :  why  were  they  not  done  in  the  face  of  the- 
sun?' 

"  To-day  our  Lord  answered  for  himseK.  For  while  I  was  enf orcing^ 
these  words,  '  Be  still,  and  know  that  I  am  God,'  he  began  to  make- 
bare  his  arm,  not  in  a  close  room,  neither  in  private,  but  in  the  open' 
air,  and  before  more  than  two  thousand  witnesses.  One,  and  another,, 
and  another  was  struck  to  the  earth ;  exceedingly  trembling  at  the 
presence  of  his  power.  Others  cried,  with  a  loud  and  bitter  cry,. 
'  What  must  we  do  to  be  saved  ? '  And  in  less  than  an  hour  seven 
persons,  wholly  unknown  to  me  till  that  time,  were  rejoicing,  and 
singing,  and  with  all  their  might  giving  thanks  to  the  God  of  their 
salvation." 

Concerning  these  singular  bodily  exercises  already  mentioned,  the 
Rev.  Ralph  Erskine  wrote  to  Wesley  thus :  "  Some  of  the  instances 
you  give  seem  to  be  exemplified,  in  the  outward  manner,  by  the  cases 
of  Paul  and  the  jailer,  as  also  Peter's  hearers,  (Acts  ii.)  The  last 
instance  you  give  of  some  struggling  as  in  the  agonies  of  death  is  to- 
me  somewhat  more  inexplicable,  if  it  do  not  resemble  the  child  of 
whom  it  is  said,  that  '  when  he  was  yet  a-coming,  the  devil  threw  him 
down  and  tare  him.'  I  make  no  question,  Satan,  so  far  as  he  gets 
power,  may  exert  himself  on  such  occasions,  partly  to  mar  and  hinder 
the  beginning  of  the  good  work,  in  the  persons  that  are  touched  with 
the  sharp  arrows  of  conviction ;  and  partly,  also,  to  prevent  the  succesa 
of  the  Gospel  on  others.  However,  the  merciful  issue  of  these 
conflicts,  in  the  conversion  of  the  persons  thus  affected,  is  the  main 
thing." 

Erskine  also  mentions  that  they  have  something  in  Scotland  analo- 
goas  to  what  had  occurred  in  Bristol.  Sometimes,  he  says,  a  whole 
congregation,  in  a  flood  of  tears,  would  cry  out  at  once,  so  as  to  drown- 
the  voice  of  the  minister. 

The  Rev.  Richard  Watson  writes  upon  this  point : — 

"That  cases  of  real  enthusiasm  occurred  at  this  and  subsequent 
periods,  is  indeed  allowed.     There  are  always  nervous,  dreamy,  and 


The  Gospel  in  Word  and  in  Power. 


161 


excitable  people  to  be  found ;  and  the  emotion  produced  among  tbese 
would  often  be  communicated  by  natural  sympathy.  No  one  could 
be  blamed  for  this  unless  he  had  encouraged  the  excitement  for  its 
own  sake,  or  taught  the  people  to  regard  it  as  a  sign  of  grace,  which 
most  assuredly  Mr.  Wesley  never  did.  'Nov  is  it  correct  to  represent 
these  effects,  genuine  and  fictitious  together,  as  peculiar  to  Methodism. 
Great  and  rapid  results  were  produced  in  the  first  ages  of  Christianity, 
but  not  without  '  outcries,'  and  strong  corporeal  as  well  as  mental 
emotions.  Like  effects  often  accompanied  the  preaching  of  eminent 
men  at  the  Reformation ;  and  many  of  the  Puritans  and  Kon-con- 
formist  ministers  had  similar  successes  in  our  own  country.  In  Scot- 
land, and  also  among  the  grave  Presbyterians  of  New  England,, 
previous  to  the  rise  of  Methodism,  the  ministry  of  faithful  men  had 
been  attended  by  very  similar  circumstances." 

.  Besides  these  "  bodily  exercises,"  there  were  about  this  time  two 
or  three  triumphant  deaths  among  the  Methodist  converts,  whose- 
dying  testimonies  added  further  confirmation  of  the  blessed  truth  of 
regeneration  through  faith  in  J  esus  Christ :  and  these  and  other  such 
experiences,  wrought  into  hymns  by  Charles  Wesley,  the  poet  of  the 
great  revival,  then  began  to  cheer  the  souls  of  believers  with  songs 
which  were  destined  to  be  heard  and  echoed  all  around  the  world. 


SOUTH   COAST  OF  ENGLAND. 


CHAPTER   VII. 

"THE  WORLD  IS  MY  PARISH. 

Field  PreaeliiJig^. — It 

was  tlie  impetuous  White- 
field,  who  set  the  example  of 
field  preaching,  but  his  older 
brethren,  the  Wesleys,  were 
.*ts«i^j^^'^«rr^»^^^p'^-  j  gQQj^  }g(j  iq  follow  it. 

Whitefield,  now  returned  from  his  first  visit  to  America,  had  been 
ordained  as  a  priest  by  his  old  friend  Bishop  Benson,  who  sa^'^s  of 
him :  "  Though  mistaken  on  some  points,  I  think  Mr.  Whitefield  a 
very  pious,  well-meaning  young  man,  with  good  abilities  and  great 
zeal."  Going  to  Georgia  had  not  cured  him  of  any  of  his  "  enthu- 
siasm,-' or  shorn  him  of  any  of  his  strength.  Again  the  churches 
from  Avhich  he  was  not  shut  out  were  overwhelmed  with  people, 
thousands  of  whom  were  glad  to  hear,  even  from  the  church-yard,  the 
•wonderful   preacher  whom  they  could  not  approach  near  enough  to 


"The  World  is  My  Parish."  163 

see,  and  they  found  the  preaching  to  be  the  same  doctrine  over  again : 
Regeneration  by  the  Holy  Ghost ;  and  the  same  practical  outcome : 
conversion  of  sinners,  and  collections  for  the  Georgia  mission. 

At  Bristol,  the  scene  of  his  great  success  the  year  before,  he  was 
now  denied  the  use  of  the  churches,  and  was  obliged  to  content  him- 
seK  with  a  sermon  on  "  The  Penitent  Thief*"  to  the  prisoners  in 
Newgate ;  but  even  here  he  did  not  omit  the  collection,  which,  on 
this  occasion,  he  tells  us,  amounted  to  fifteen  shillings.  Here,  also, 
the  State-church  authorities  pursued  him,  and  at  their  instance  the 
mayor  and  magistrates  commanded  the  jailer  not  to  allow  him  to 
preach  again  in  the  prison,  giving  as  a  reason  that  "  he  insisted  upon 
the  necessity  of  being  born  again." 

What  harm  it  could  possibly  do  the  ISTewgate  prisoners  to  be  born 
again  the  magistrate  did  not  say;  the  point  to  be  gained  was,  to 
silence  this  too  faithful,  too  orthodox,  too  evangelical  preacher.  But 
the  Gospel  was  in  him  as  a  fire  shut  up  in  his  bones.  He  was  sent  to 
preach :  God  had  called  him  to  do  that  work  in  his  boyhood :  for  it 
he  had  been  ordained  both  deacon  and  priest :  sinners  needing  new 
hearts  were  terribly  plenty :  and,  besides,  there  was  his  Orphan  House 
to  be  built  in  Georgia :  therefore,  he  must  preach :  heaven  and  earth 
demanded  it. 

Bristol  and  Kin^swood. — There  was  a  village  of  colliers  at 
Kingswood,  near  Bristol,  a  people  whom  he  abeady  knew  to  be  almost 
in  a  state  of  barbarism,  and  on  whom  nothing  was  so  likely  to  take 
-saving  effect  as  his  favorite  doctrine  of  regeneration.  They  were 
evidently  too  far  gone  in  sin  to  be  repaired ;  any  work  that  could  reach 
their  case  must  include  a  new  nature  and  begin  with  a  new  birth. 
Here  on  Sunday,  February  ITth,  1Y39,  for  the  first  time  in  England, 
'George  Whitefield  preached  in  the  open  air.  His  congregation  was 
made  up  of  about  two  hundred  of  the  Kingswood  colliers,  and  of  his 
experience  in  this  connection  he  writes :  "  I  believe  I  was  never  more 
acceptable  to  my  Master  than  when  I  was  standing  to  teach  these 
hearers  in  the  open  fields." 

On  the  4th  of  March  following  he  preached  again  in  the  open  air 
at  a  place  called  Baptist  Mills,  to  a  congregation  of  three  or  four  thou- 
sand people.  The  sight  of  this  great  throng  elated  him :  "  Blessed  be 
•God  !  "  says  he,  "  all  things  happen  for  the  furtherance  of  the  Gospel : 


164  Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 

I  now  preach  to  ten  times  as  many  people  as  I  should  if  I  had  been, 
confined  to  the  churches.  Surely  the  devil  is  blind ;  so  are  his  emis- 
saries, or  they  would  not  so  confound  themselves." 

The  State-church  of  England  was  a  part  of  the  machinery  of  the 
Government.  The  Church  was  the  instrument  of  the  State.  The 
means  of  grace  were  matters  for  which  Englishmen  might  be  taxed. 
The  regular  clergy  held  their  places  by  act  of  ParKament  as  well  as  by 
personal  and  political  favor ;  they  were  therefore  manageable.  But 
the  people  called  "  Methodists,"  who  were  now  becoming  so  numerous- 
and  so  troublesome,  were  not  disposed  to  submit  to  the  political  mo- 
nopoly of  religion  claimed  by  the  clergy  and  magistrates ;  and  as  for 
Whitefield,  while  he  desired  to  do  nothing  contrary  to  his  ordination 
vows  in  the  Establishment,  he  could  by  no  means  refuse  to  heed  the 
call  of  the  great  Shepherd  and  Bishop  of  Souls,  by  whom  he  was 
appointed  a  preacher  of  righteousness.  The  churches  were  the  property 
of  the  Establishment,  but  the  out-of-doors  belonged  to  the  Lord; 
therefore  when  Whitefield  found  himself  shut  out  of  the  Church  of 
England,  he  straightway  adjourned  his  services  to  the  church  of  God. 

It  was  a  bold  thing  to  do,  but  Whitefield  does  not  seem  to  have 
been  conscious  of  any  great  courage  in  the  matter.  He  was  already 
somewhat  calloused  by  the  abuse  of  his  enemies,  and  to  be  called  bad: 
names  by  them  did  him  little  harm.  On  one  occasion,  at  Coal-pit 
Heath,  in  the  neighborhood  of  Bristol,  while  he  was  preaching  to  a 
congregation  of  many  thousands,  a  "  gentleman "  who  was  drunk 
interrupted  him,  called  him  a  "  dog,"  declared  that  he  ought  to  be 
"  whipped  at  the  cart's  tail  " — which  was  one  of  the  modes  of  punish- 
ment in  that  day — and  offered  money  to  any  one  who  would  pelt  him 
with  mud  and  stones ;  but  the  colliers  were  the  friends  of  the  preacher,, 
and  instead  of  pelting  him  they  pelted  his  adversary  until  the  over- 
zealous  "gentleman"  was  glad  to  make  his  escape  and  leave  the- 
Methodist  to  go  on  with  his  sermon. 

At  Hannam  Mount  he  preached  to  four  or  five  thousand  people,, 
of  which  service  he  writes : — 

"  The  sun  shone  very  bright,  and  the  people,  standing  in  such  an 
awful  manner  around  the  mount  in  the  prof oundest  silence,  filled  me 
"with  holy  admiration." 

Two  days  later  he  estimates  his  congregation  at  ten  thousand,  buti 


"The  Wokld  is  My  Parish."  165 

the  voice  of  tlie  preaclier  was  so  loud  and  clear  that  it  could  be  dis- 
tinctly heard  by  every  one  in  the  vast  assembly.  At  Rose  Green,  in 
Kingswood,  his  congregation  covered  three  acres,  and  was  computed  at 
twenty  thousand  souls,  upon  which  he  exclaims :  "  The  fire  is  kindled 
in  the  country,  and  all  the  devils  in  hell  shall  not  be  able  to  quench  it." 
Among  these  crowds  of  poor  people  "Whitefield  collected  about  two 
hundred  pounds  for  his  Georgia  orphanage,  much  of  it  with  his  own 
hands,  in  his  own  hat,  which  latter  was  sometimes  almost  filled 
with  half-pence,  and  the  carrying  of  such  a  weight  through  such  a 
<}rowd  caused  him  to  complain  of  the  lameness  of  his  arms. 

Besides  his  public  ministrations  he  gave  personal  instruction  to 
inquirers  in  the  divine  mysteries  of  faith  and  regeneration :  he  was 
also  teaching  his  brother  Methodists  how  to  carry  on  their  work  with- 
out any  just  cause  of  offense  to  the  rich  and  the  mighty,  and  in  a  way 
by  which,  without  the  help  of  their  money  or  their  influence,  the 
Gospel  could  be  preached  to  the  ignorant  and  the  poor.  Out-door 
preaching  was  not  forbidden  by  the  Prayer  Book,  though  not  contem- 
plated by  the  men  who  made  it.  Such  services  were,  indeed,  irregu- 
lar, but  no  one  could  say  they  were  unlawful.  On  several  previous 
occasions,  after  preaching  a  charity  sermon  by  special  request  in  some 
Ohurch,  Whitefield  had  felt  himseK  impelled  to  go  out  and  preach  in 
the  church-yard  to  the  larger  congregation  which  awaited  him  there, 
and  this  new  departure  had  already  developed  in  him  a  larger  freedom 
of  manner  than  was  fashionable  at  that  time.  When,  therefore,  he  took 
to  field  preaching  he  easily  broke  away  from  the  stiffness  which  pre- 
vailed within  church  walls,  and  began  at  once  to  strike  out  boldly  and 
freely  to  reach  the  hearts  of  the  people,  multitudes  of  whom  would 
never  have  heard  the  word  of  life  if  Whitefield  and  his  brother  Meth- 
odists had  not  brought  it  out  of  the  Church  to  them  in  the  woods  and 
fields.  It  was  the  miracle  of  feeding  the  five  thousand  over  again. 
That  was  an  out-of-door  service,  too,  and  was  doubtless  intended  to  be 
prophetic  as  well  as  humane. 

Wesley  Takes  to  the  Fields. — It  was  now  necessary  for 
Mr,  Whitefield  to  leave  the  neighborhood  of  Bristol,  but  he  could  not 
bear  the  thought  of  leaving  this  great  fiock  to  be  scattered  abroad  as 
cheep  having  no  shepherd,  therefore  he  wi'ote  to  his  friend  John  Wes- 
ley at  London  to  come  down  to  Bristol  and  carry  on  the  work  which 


166  Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 

he  had  begun ;  and,  much  to  the  grief  of  the  London  Societies,  among 
whom  Wesley  had  come  to  be  a  spiritual  leader,  as  well  as  much  against 
the  prejudices  of  his  brother  Charles,  who  was  shocked  at  the  idea  of 
any  thing  so  irregular  as  an  out-of-door  service,  he  consented  to  make 
trial  of  this  new  method  of  work.  But  first  the  call  was  made  a  sub- 
ject of  special  prayer  by  the  brethren,  after  which  the  matter  was  sub- 
mitted to  the  "  test  by  lot,"  a  common  practice  among  the  Moravians, 
and  the  lot  decided  that  he  should  go. 

Charles  Wesley  appears  not  to  have  been  satisfied  with  the  knowl- 
edge of  the  divine  will  obtained  in  this  manner,  and  submitted  the 
case  to  the  further  test  of  "opening  the  book;"  whereupon,  the 
book  being  placed  upon  its  back  and  allowed  to  fall  open,  the  first  text 
which  caught  his  eye  was,  "  Son  of  man,  behold  I  take  from  thee  the 
desire  of  thine  eyes  with  a  stroke,  yet  thou  shalt  not  groan  nor  weep." 
Thus  to  all  appearances  it  was  the  will  of  God  that  John  Wesley 
should  go  down  to  Bristol,  at  which  place  he  arrived  on  Saturday,  the 
Slst  of  March,  1Y39.  He  would  have  gone  to  the  ends  of  the  earth  on 
the  strength  of  such  a  call. 

Of  his  first  service  in  Bristol  Mr.  Wesley  writes : — 

"  Saturday,  31.  In  the  evening  I  reached  Bristol,  and  met  Mr. 
Whitefield  there.  I  could  scarce  reconcile  myseK  at  first  to  this 
strange  way  of  preaching  in  the  fields,  of  which  he  set  me  an  example 
on  Sunday ;  having  been  all  my  life  (till  very  lately)  so  tenacious  of 
every  point  relating  to  decency  and  order  that  'I  should  have  thought 
the  saving  of  souls  almost  a  sin  if  it  had  not  been  done  in  a  church." 

"April  1,  1Y39.  In  the  evening  (Mr.  Whitefield  being  gone)  I 
began  expounding  our  Lord's  sermon  on  the  mount  (one  pretty 
remarkable  precedent  of  field  preaching,  though  I  suppose  there  were 
churches  at  that  time  also)  to  a  little  society  which  was  accustomed 
to  meet  once  or  twice  a  week  in  Nicholas-street." 

"Monday,  2.  At  four  in  the  afternoon  I  submitted  to  be  more 
vile,  and  proclaimed  in  the  highways  the  glad  tidings  of  salvation, 
speaking  from  a  little  eminence  in  a  ground  adjoining  to  the  city,  to 
about  three  thousand  people.  The  Scripture  on  which  I  spoke  was 
this,  (is  it  possible  any  one  should  be  ignorant,  that  it  is  fulfilled  in 
every  true  minister  of  Christ  ?)  '  The  Spirit  of  the  Lord  is  upon  me, 
because  he  hath  anointed  me  to  preach  the  Gospel  to  the  poor.     He 


"The  World  is  My  Parish."  167 

hath  sent  me  to  heal  the  broken-hearted ;  to  preach  deliverance  to  the 
captives,  and  recovery  of  sight  to  the  blind :  to  set  at  liberty  them 
that  are  bruised,  to  proclaim  the  acceptable  year  of  the  Lord.' " 

"  The  World  is  My  Parish." — This  utterance  of  Mr.  Wes- 
ley, which  is  perhaps  more  quoted  than  any  other  of  his  sayings,  marks 
the  long  step  in  advance  which  he  took  when  he  began  to  preach  in 
the  fields.  As  a  Churchman  he  was  forbidden  to  preach  in  the  parish 
of  any  clergyman  without  his  consent ;  but  Wesley  understood  the 
jurisdiction  of  the  local  minister  to  be  confined  to  the  church  and 
those  premises  which  properly  belonged  thereto ;  but  that  it  should 
extend  to  all  the  commons,  fields,  and  forests,  he  could  not  for  a 
moment  allow.  When  he  was  questioned  as  to  his  good  faith  in  hold- 
ing out-of-door  services  without  the  consent  of  the  local  clergy,  he 
replied : — 

"  You  ask,  '  How  is  it  that  I  assemble  Christians  who  are  none  of 
my  charge,  to  sing  psalms,  and  pray,  and  hear  the  Scriptures  ex- 
pounded? and  think  it  hard  to  justify  doing  this  in  other  men's 
parishes,  upon  catholic  principles.' 

"  Permit  me  to  speak  plainly.  If  by  catholic  principles  you  mean 
any  other  than  scriptural,  they  weigh  nothing  with  me :  I  allow  no 
other  rule,  whether  of  faith  or  practice,  than  the  Holy  Scriptures :  but 
on  scriptural  principles  I  do  not  think  it  hard  to  justify  whatever  I  do. 
God  in  Scripture  commands  me,  according  to  my  power,  to  instruct 
the  ignorant,  reform  the  wicked,  confirm  the  virtuous.  Man  forbids 
me  to  do  this  in  another's  parish ;  that  is,  in  effect,  to  do  it  at  all, 
seeing  I  have  now  no  parish  of  my  own,  nor  probably  ever  shall. 
Whom,  then,  shall  I  hear,  God  or  man  ?  '  If  it  be  just  to  obey  man 
rather  than  God,  judge  you.'  'A  dispensation  of  the  Gospel  is  com- 
mitted to  me  ;  and  woe  is  me  if  I  preach  not  the  Gospel.'  But  where 
shall  I  preach  it  upon  the  principles  you  mention?  Why,  not  in 
Europe,  Asia,  Africa,  or  America ;  not  in  any  of  the  Christian  parts, 
at  least,  of  the  habitable  earth.  For  all  these  are,  after  a  sort,  divided 
into  parishes.  If  it  be  said,  '  Go  back,  then,  to  the  heathens  from 
whence  you  came : '  nay,  but  neither  could  I  now  (on  your  principles) 
preach  to  them :  for  all  the  heathens  in  Georgia  belong  to  the  parish 
either  of  Savannah  or  Frederica. 

"  Suffer  me  now  to  tell  you  my  principles  in  this  matter.     I  look 


168  Illusteated  Histoky  of  Methodism. 

upon  all  the  world  as  mj  parish ;  thus  far  I  mean,  that  in  whatever 
part  of  it  I  am,  I  judge  it  meet,  right,  and  mj  bounden  duty,  to 
declare  unto  all  that  are  willing  to  hear,  the  glad  tidings  of  salvation. 
This  is  the  work  which  I  know  God  has  called  me  to ;  and  sure  I  am 
that  his  blessing  attends  it.  Great  encouragement  have  I,  therefore, 
to  be  faithful  in  fulfilling  the  work  he  hath  given  me  to  do.  His 
servant  I  am,  and  as  such  am  employed  according  to  the  plain  direc- 
tion of  his  word,  '  as  I  have  opportunity,  doing  good  unto  all  men : ' 
and  his  providence  clearly  concurs  with  his  word,  which  has  disen- 
gaged me  from  all  things  else,  that  I  might  singly  attend  on  this  very 
thing,  '  and  go  about  doing  good.'  " 

The  Kiiigsi¥Ood  School.* — One  of  the  first  thoughts  of  the 
converted  colliers  at  Kingswood  was  the  need  of  Christian  education 
for  their  children,  and  Mr.  Whitefield,  at  his  farewell  service,  April  2, 
1T39,  laid  the  corner-stone  of  a  school ;  but  the  plans  and  the  comer- 
stone  comprised  the  chief  assets  of  the  enterprise  when  it  fell  into  the 
hands  of  Mr.  "Wesley,  who  succeeded  Whitefield  in  the  care  of  the 
Kingswood  mission.  The  following  account  of  the  work  of  grace 
among  this  benighted  people,  from  Mr.  Wesley's  Journal,  gives  a  vivid 
picture  of  the  life  of  a  great  class  of  persons  in  the  England  of  that 
day ;  a  population  numbering  hundreds  of  thousands,  and  scattered  all 
over  the  mining  districts  of  the  kingdom : — 

"  Few  persons  have  lived  long  in  the  west  of  England  who  have 
not  heard  of  the  colliers  of  Kingswood ;  a  people  famous,  from  the 
beginning  hitherto,  for  neither  fearing  God  nor  regarding  man:  so 
ignorant  of  the  things  of  God  that  they  seemed  but  one  remove  from 
the  beasts  that  perish ;  and,  therefore,  utterly  without  desire  of  instruc- 
tion, as  well  as  without  the  means  of  it. 

"  Many  last  winter  used  tauntingly  to  say  of  Mr.  Whitefield,  '  If 
he  will  convert  heathens,  why  does  not  he  go  to  the  colliers  of  Kings 
wood  ? '     In  spring  he  did  so.     And  as  there   were   thousands   who 

*  Kingswood  was  formerly  a  royal  chase,  containiBg  between  three  and  four  thousand 
acres ;  but  previous  to  the  rise  of  Methodism  it  had  been  gradually  appropriated  by  the 
several  lords  whose  estates  encircled  it.  The  deer  had  disappeared,  and  the  greater  part  of 
the  wood  also.  Coal  mines  had  been  discovered,  and  it  was  now  inhabited  by  a  race  of  people 
as  lawless  as  the  foresters,  their  forefathers,  but  far  more  brutal ;  and  differing  as  much 
from  the  people  of  the  surrounding  country  in  dialect  as  in  appearance.  They  had  no  place 
of  worship,  for  Kingswood  then  belonged  to  the  parish  of  St.  Philip,  and  was  at  least 
three  miles  distant  from  the  parish  church. 


"The  World  is  My  Parish." 


169 


resorted  to  no  place  of  public  worship,  he  went  after  them  into  their 
own  wUdemess,  '  to  seek  and  save  that  which  was  lost.'  When  he  was 
called  away  others  went  into  'the  highways  and  hedges  to  compel 
them  to  come  in.'  And  by  the  grace  of  God  their-  labor  was  not  in 
vain.  The  scene  is  already  changed.  Kingswood  does  not  now,  as  a 
year  ago,  resound  with  cursing  and  blasphemy.  It  is  no  more  filled 
with  drunkenness  and  uncleanness,  and  the  idle  diversions  that  natu- 
rally lead  thereto.  It  is  no  longer  fuU  of  wars  and  fightings,  of  clamor 
and  bitterness,  of  wrath  and  envyings.  Peace  and  love  are  there. 
Great  numbers  of  the  people  are  mild,  gentle,  and  easy  to  be  entreated. 


NEW   KINGSWOOD   SCHOOL. 


They  '  do  not  cry,  neither  strive,'  and  hardly  is  their  '  voice  heard  in 
the  streets ; '  or,  indeed,  in  their  own  wood,  unless  when  they  are  at 
their  usual  evening  diversion,  singing  praise  unto  God  their  Saviour. 
"  That  their  children,  too,  might  know  the  things  which  make  for 
their  peace,  it  was  some  time  since  proposed  to  build  a  house  in  Kings- 
wood  ;  and  after  many  foreseen  and  unforeseen  difficulties,  in  June  last 
the  foundation  was  laid.     The  ground  made  choice  of  was  in  the 

fniddle  of  the  wood,  between  the  London  and  Bath  roads,  not  far 
11 


170  Illusteated  Histoey  of  Methodism. 

from  that  called  Two-Mile  Hill,  about  three  measured  miles  from 
Bristol. 

"  Here  a  large  room  was  begun  for  the  school,  having  four  small 
rooms  at  either  end  for  the  school-masters  (and  perliaps,  if  it  should 
please  God,  some  poor  children)  to  lodge  in.  Two  persons  are  ready 
to  teach  so  soon  as  the  house  is  fit  to  receive  them,  the  shell  of  which 
is  nearly  finished ;  so  that  it  is  hoped  the  whole  will  be  completed  in 
spring,  or  early  in  the  summer." 

Such  was  the  beginning  of  that  famous  institution  which  for 
many  years  has  been  one  of  the  chief  training  schools  of  the  English 
Methodist  preachers ;  its  doors  being  now  open  only  for  the  sons  of 
Wesleyan  ministers  in  active  service. 

Wesley  spent  the  remainder  of  the  year  1739  at  Bristol  and 
vicinity,  where,  in  about  nine  months,  he  preached  and  expounded  no 
less  than  five  hundred  times ;  all  these  services,  with  only  eight  excep- 
tions, being  held  in  the  open  air. 

Wesley  and  Bean  Nash. — The  singular  spectacle  of  a 
clergyman  of  the  Church  of  England,  in  gown  and  bands,  standing  on 
a  table,  or  in  a  cart,  or  on  the  stump  of  a  tree  in  the  open  fields,  sur- 
rounded by  a  multitude  of  unwashed,  uncombed,  uncultivated  people, 
down  whose  smutty  faces  the  tears  had  washed  little  places  white,  was 
something  so  wonderful  as  to  attract  the  notice  of  the  "  higher  classes," 
and  accordingly,  among  the  crowds  were  often  seen  the  carriages  of 
the  nobiHty  and  gentry,  to  whom,  however,  the  preacher  was  quite 
as  plain  and  faithful  as  to  the  ruder  portion  of  his  audience,  on  wliich 
account  he  was  regarded,  in  certain  quarters,  as  a  very  rude  and  even 
dangerous  person.  How  stupid  of  him  not  to  be  able  to  discern 
between  sin  in  the  rich  and  sin  in  the  poor ! 

During  a  visit  to  the  neighboring  city  of  Bath,  which  was  at  that 
time  the  center  of  the  English  world  of  luxury,  fashion,  and  leisure,  a 
notorious  rake  and  gambler  called  Beau  Nash,  who  was  the  acknowl- 
edged leader  in  Bath  society,  attempted  to  break  up  one  of  Wesley's 
out-of-door  meetings.  Soon  after  the  preacher  had  commenced  his 
sermon  the  dandy  appeared  in  gorgeous  array,  and  impudently 
demanded — 

"  By  what  authority  dare  you  do  what  you  are  doing  now  ? " 

"  By  the  authority  of  Jesus  Christ,  conveyed  to  me  by  him  who  is 


"The  Woeld  is  My  Parish." 


171 


now  Arclibisliop  of  Canterbury,  when  he  laid  his  hands  upon  my  head 
and  said,  'Take  thou  authority  to  preach  the  Gospel,'"  was  Mr. 
vV^esley's  deHberate  reply. 

"  But  this  is  a  conventicle,"  said  Nash,  "  and  contrary  to  act  of 
Parliament." 

"  No,"  answered  Wesley,  "  conventicles  are  seditious  meetings,  but 
here  is  no  sedition ;  therefore  it  is  not  contrary  to  act  of  Parhament . 

"  I  say  it  is,"  stormed  the  fellow  ;  "  and,  besides,  your  preaching 
frightens  people  out  of  their  wits." 


WESLEY    AND    BEAU    NASH. 

"  Sir,"  said  Wesley,  "  did  you  ever  hear  me  preach  ? " 
"No." 

"  How  can  you  judge  of  what  you  never  heard  ? " 
"  I  judge  by  common  report." 
"  Is  not  your  name  Nash  ? "  asked  Wesley. 
"  It  is,"  said  the  beau. 

"Well,  sir,  I  dare  not  judge  you  by  common  report,"  was  Mr. 
Wesley's  stinging  reply. 

The  pretentious  fop  was  confounded,  especially  when  an  old  woman 


1V2  Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 

in  the  congregation  took  part  in  the  argument  against  him,  and  instead 
of  breaking  up  the  "conventicle,"  as  he  had  boasted  he  would  do, 
he  was  glad  enough  to  sneak  away  and  leave  Wesley  to  finish  his 
sermon. 

John  Wesley  and  his  Critics. — The  preaching  of  Wesley 
was  of  a  much  less  florid  and  enthusiastic  style  than  that  of  Whitefield, 
but  the  crowds  that  waited  on  him  were  equally  large.  In  the 
plainest  speech  he  talked  the  plainest  theology,  mixed  with  the  most 
downright  common  sense,  and  the  multitudes  seemed  to  rehsh  it  quite 
as  well  as  they  did  the  brilliant  rhetoric  of  his  pupil ;  his  word,  also, 
was  attended  with  greater  spiritual  power.  Whitefield's  sermons  were 
always  "collection  sermons,"  while  Wesley  was  wholly  intent  on 
teaching  his  hearers  the  lesson  which  he  himself  had  so  long  been 
striving  to  learn,  namely,  how  to  save  their  souls.  He  also  took  fre- 
quent collections,  it  is  true,  but  the  financial  feature  was  far  less  promi- 
nent under  Wesley  than  it  was  under  Whitefield. 

If  Wesley  had  held  to  his  Holy  Club  notions,  and  simply  taught 
the  duties  of  religion,  there  would  have  been  little  or  no  complaint ; 
but  when  he  declared  that  without  saving  faith  in  Christ  there  was  no 
salvation,  even  for  the  aristocracy  and  clergy,  their  indignation  knew 
no  bounds.  One  of  his  favorite  texts  was,  "  By  grace  are  ye  saved 
through  faith,"  and  he  constantly  insisted  that  it  is  the  grace  of  God, 
and  not  their  own  efforts  at  goodness,  which  brings  salvation  within 
reach  of  any  believer. 

It  was  not  long  before  both  the  pulpit  and  the  press  opened  their 
guns  upon  him.  He  was  denounced  as  "  a  restless  deceiver  of  the 
people;"  an  "ignorant  pretender;"  a  "new-fangled  teacher,  setting 
up  his  own  fanatical  conceits  in  opposition  to  the  authority  of  God ;" 
a  "rapturous  enthusiast;"  a  "Jesuit  in  disguise;"  and,  worst  of  all, 
"  a  Dissenter y  "  Every-where,"  says  Wesley,  "  we  were  represented 
as  'mad  dogs,'  and  treated  accordingly.  We  were  stoned  in  the 
streets,  and  several  times  narrowly  escaped  with  our  lives.  In  ser- 
mons, newspapers,  and  pamphlets  of  all  kinds,  we  were  painted  as 
unheard-of  monsters,  but  this  moved  us  not ;  we  went  on  testifying 
salvation  by  faith  both  to  small  and  great,  and  not  counting  our  live<* 
dear  unto  ourselves  so  that  we  might  finish  our  course  with  joy." 

As  a  specimen  of  the  churchly  criticisms  on  John  Wesley,  this. 


"The  World  is  My  Parish."  173 

from  a  sermon  by  Rev.  Joseph  Trapp,  a  London  Doctor  of  Divinity, 
will  suffice.  He  accuses  Wesley  of  "  outraging  common  decency  and 
common  sense ;"  says  his  course  is  "  so  ridiculous  as  to  create  the 
greatest  laughter,  were  it  not  so  deplorable  and  detestable  as  to  create 
the  greatest  grief  and  abhorrence,  especially  when  vast  multitudes  are 
so  sottish  and  wicked  as  in  a  tumultuous  manner  to  run  maddeninof 
after  him.  Go  not  after  these  impostors  and  seducers,"  he  cries,  "  but 
shun  them  as  you  would  the  plague.  I  am  ashamed  to  speak  upon  a 
subject  which  is  a  reproach,  not  only  to  our  Church  and  country,  but 
human  nature  itself.  To  the  prevalence  of  immorahty  and  profanity, 
infidelity  and  atheism,  is  now  added  the  pest  of  enthusiasm." 

This  tirade  he  published  in  a  pamphlet  entitled  "The  Kature, 
Folly,  Sin,  and  Danger  of  being  Righteous  Over  Much ;  with  a 
Particular  Yiew  to  the  Doctrines  and  Practices  of  Certain  Modern 
Enthusiasts."  All  this,  and  much  more  to  the  same  purpose,  because 
a  plain-spoken  young  minister  of  the  Establishment  was  preaching  the 
plain  Scripture  doctrine  of  salvation  by  faith,  and  doing  that  preach- 
ing out  of  doors ! 

Whitefield,  also,  was  treated  to  his  full  share  of  abuse,  since  his 
favorite  doctrine  of  regeneration  was  no  whit  more  acceptable  to  the 
English  Pharisees  than  Wesley's  teachings  on  salvation  by  faith. 
One  Thomas  Tucker,  a  young  clergyman,  in  a  bitter  attack  on 
Mr.  Whitefield,  accused  him  of  "  propagating  blasphemies  and  enthu- 
siastic notions  which  strike  at  the  root  of  all  religion,  and  make  it  the 
jest  of  those  \vho  sit  in  the  seat  of  the  scornful ;"  to  which  Wesley 
lephed  on  Whitefield's  behalf  by  advising  Tucker  not  to  meddle  with 
controversy,  since  his  talents  were  not  equal  to  its  management,  and 
it  would  only  entangle  and  bewilder  him. 

Charles  Wesley  and  Ingham  were  also  at  work  on  the  same  hnes, 
but  for  a  time  they  appear  to  have  escaped  persecution  under  cover  of 
the  tumult  which  raged  around  the  two  chief  apostles  of  the  Meth- 
odist revival. 

The  next  onslaught  was  much  more  authoritative  and  serious. 
In  August,  1Y39,  Edmund  Gibson,  Bishop  of  London,  published  a 
"  Pastoral  Letter  by  way  of  Caution  against  Lukewarmness  on  the  One 
Hand,  and  Enthusiasm  on  the  Other,"  a  large  part  of  which  was 
leveled  against  the  Methodists,  whom  he  accuses  of  claiming  divine 


174  Illusteated  History  of  Methodism. 

inspiration  in  tlieir  preaching,  and  special  divine  direction  in  their 
personal  affairs;  forgetting,  no  doubt,  that  both  these  benedictions 
were  promised  to  behevers  in  the  word  of  God.  But  the  thing  which 
troubled  the  Bishop  the  most  was,  the  fact  that  the  Methodists  boasted 
of  "  sudden  and  surprising  effects  as  wrought  by  the  Holy  Ghost  in 
consequence  of  their  preaching ;"  and  that  they  endeavored  "  to  justif;y 
their  own  extraordinary  methods  of  teaching  by  casting  unworthy 
reflections  upon  the  parochial  clergy,  as  deficient  in  the  discharge  of 
their  duty,  and  not  instructing  their  people  in  the  true  doctrines  of 
Christianity." 

To  this  "  pastoral  letter "  Whitefield  wrote  an  answer,  in  a  firm 
but  respectful  tone,  turning  the  tables  upon  the  Bishop,  and  charging 
him  with  propagating  a  "  new  gospel ;"  quoting  from  the  Bishop's 
writings  the  statement  that  "  good  works  are  a  necessary  condition  of 
our  being  justified  in  the  sight  of  God ;"  while  Whitefield  reasserted 
that  faith  is  the  only  necessary  condition  of  justification,  and  that  good 
works  are  the  necessary  fruit  and  consequences  of  a  saved  condition 
of  soul.  "  This,"  says  Whitefield,  "  is  the  doctrine  of  Jesus  Christ ; 
this  is  the  doctrine  of  the  Church  of  England ;  and  it  is  because  the 
generality  of  the  Church  of  England  to-day  fail  to  preach  this  doctrine 
that  I  am  resolved,  God  being  my  helper,  to  continue,  in  season  and 
out  of  season,  to  declare  it  unto  all  men,  let  the  consequences  as  to  my 
private  person  be  what  they  will." 

"  The  Methodists,"  says  another  critic,  "are  mad  enthusiasts,  who 
teach,  for  dictates  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  seditions,  heresies,  and  contempt 
of  the  ordinances  of  God  and  man.  They  are  buffoons  in  religion, 
and  mountebanks  in  theology ;  creatures  who  disclaim  sense  and  are 
below  argument." 

This  writer  also  accuses  Whitefield  of  "  behavior  disgraceful  to  the 
Christian  religion  and  to  the  ministerial  oflSce."  "  The  clergy,"  says 
he,  "  have  all  refused  him  their  pulpits,  and  the  Lord-Mayor  the  halls 
and  markets  of  the  city.  He  is  a  conceited  boaster  and  heterodox 
intruder,  whose  next  performance  may  be  accompanied  with  a  chorus 
of  ten  thousand  sighs  and  groans,  deepened  with  bassoons."  In  view 
of  the  alarming  progress  of  Methodism  he  makes  his  pitiful  moan  as 
follows : — 

"  In  Yorkshire,  by  the  preaching  of  the  Methodists  the  sjiirit  of 


"The  World  is  My  Paeish."  175 

•enthusiasm  has  so  prevailed  that  ahnost  every  man  who  can  hammer 
out  a  chapter  in  the  Bible  has  turned  an  expounder  of  the  Scripture, 
to  the  great  decay  of  industry  and  the  ahnost  ruin  of  the  woolen  manu- 
facture, which  seems  threatened  with  destruction  for  want  of  hands  to 
work  it.  Methodism  has  laid  aside  play-books  and  poems  for  Script- 
ure phrases  and  hymns  of  its  own  composing.  Its  disciples  are  never 
easy  but  when  they  are  in  a  church  or  expounding  the  Bible,  which 
they  can  do  off-handed  from  Genesis  to  Kevelation  with  great  ease  and 
power.  They  have  given  away  their  finery  to  tattered  beggars,  resolv- 
ing to  wear  the  coarsest  attire  and  live  upon  the  most  ordinary  diet. 
Several  fine  ladies,  who  used  to  wear  French  silks,  French  hoope  four 
yards  wide,  bob-wigs,  and  white  satin  smock  petticoats,  are  turned 
Methodists,  and  now  wear  stuff  gowns ! " 

Alas,  alas !  What  was  to  become  of  England  if  Methodism  went 
on  at  such  a  rate  ?  Still,  we  must  not  be  unmindful  of  this  sinister 
comphment  to  the  Yorkshire  Methodists  for  their  extraordinary  knowl- 
edge of  the  word  of  God.  Such  a  talent  for  "  expounding  the  Bible  " 
"  from  Genesis  to  Kevelation,"  with  such  "  power  and  ease,"  ought  to 
have  mitigated  the  grief  of  this  churchly  man  over  such  awful  calam- 
ities as  a  fine  lady  turned  Methodist,  and  her  lamentable  downfall  from 
"  white  satin  smock  petticoats  "  to  "  stuff  gowns." 

One  Penruel,  a  curate  of  the  Establishment,  declared  that  of  his 
personal  knowledge  John  Wesley  was  a  Papist ;  but  the  Papists,  for 
their  part,  denounced  hun  ;  so  there  was  an  end  to  that  slander. 

Whether  the  attacks  of  the  press  and  the  pulpit  were  intended  to 
excite  the  mob  against  the  Methodists,  it  is  impossible  to  say ;  but  that 
these  attacks  were  well  calculated  to  that  end  cannot  be  denied.  On 
one  occasion  a  mob  gathered  from  the  worst  purlieus  in  Bristol  filled 
the  streets  and  alleys  near  the  place  where  Wesley  was  preaching,  and 
also  filled  the  air  with  a  perfect  din  of  shouts,  groans,  and  curses ;  but 
It  was  remarked  that  within  a  fortnight  one  of  the  chief  rioters  hanged 
himself,  and  a  second,  being  seized  with  serious  illness,  sent  for  Mr. 
Wesley  to  come  and  pray  with  him. 

Dr.  Doddridge  on  the  Methodists.— There  were,  how- 
ever, some  godly  men  of  high  position  who  saw  and  felt  the  divine 
power  which  accompanied  the  new  revival,  and  who  bore  brave 
testimony  to  the  faithfulness  and  soundness  of  its  leaders ;  as  proof  of 


176 


Illusteated  History  of  Methodism. 


PHILIP  DODDRIDGE. 


which  take  the  following  extract  from  a  letter  written  by  the  Eev.  Dr^ 
Doddridge.  Under  the  date  of  September  17,  1739,  he  writes  con- 
cerning the  two  Wesleys,  Whitefield,  and  Ingham : — 

"The  common  people  flock  to 
hear  them,  and  in  most  places  hear 
gladly.  They  commonly  preach 
once  or  twice  every  day ;  and  ex- 
pound the  Scriptures  in  the  even- 
ing to  religious  societies,  who  hava 
their  society  rooms  for  that  pur- 
pose." He  then  proceeds  to  give 
an  account  of  his  hearing  Charles 
Wesley  preach  at  Bristol,  standing 
on  a  table,  in  a  field.  "  He  then," 
continues  Dr.  Doddridge,  "preached 
about  an  hour  in  such  a  manner  as 
I  scarce  ever  heard  any  man  preach. 
Though  I  have  heard  many  a  finer 
sermon,  yet  I  think  I  never  heard  any  man  discover  such  evident 
signs  of  vehement  desire."  "With  unusual  fervor  he  acquitted 
himself  as  an  embassador  for  Christ ;  and  although  he  used  no  notes, 
nor  had  any  thing  in  his  hand  but  a  Bible,  yet  he  delivered  his 
thoughts  in  a  rich,  copious  variety  of  expression,  and  with  so  much 
propriety  that  I  could  not  observe  any  thing  incoherent  through  the 
whole  performance,  which  he  concluded  with  singing,  prayer,  and  the 
usual  benediction." 

Thus  in  various  ways  the  Methodist  revival  was  promoted,  and  its 
leaders  vindicated  and  protected,  both  by  the  praise  of  godly  men, 
and  the  powers  of  the  upper  world. 

The  "New  Room"  and  the  "Old  Foundry."— The 
first  Methodist  house  of  worship  was  that  erected  by  John  Wesley 
at  Bristol  in  1739,  for  the  accommodation  of  the  Nicholas-street  and 
Baldwin-street  "  Societies."  It  was  not  dignified  by  the  name  of 
"  church "  or  even  "  chapel,"  but  was  simply  called  "  The  New 
Koom." 

More  familiar  to  readers  of  Methodist  history,  however,  is  the 
first  Methodist  preaching-house   in  London.      This  was  the  famous 


"The  World  is  My  Parish." 


177 


«01d  Foundry,"  tlie  purchase  of  which  Mr.  Wesley  undertook 
on  his  own  sole  responsibility,  and  which,  as  the  cradle  of  London 
Methodism,  deserves  a  somewhat  minute  description. 

In  November,  1739,  Mr.  Wesley  was  invited  by  two  gentlemen, 
who  were  strangers  to  him,  to  preach  in  an  unused  and  dilapidated 
building  in  London  near  the  Moorfields ;  where  on  Sunday,  Novem- 
ber 11th,  he  preached  to  two  large  congregations.  In  the  mormng,  at 
eight  o'clock,  there  were  about  five  thousand,  and  at  five  in  the  even- 
ing seven  or  eight  thousand  persons  present.     The  place  had  formerly 


THE  OLD  FOUNDRY. 

been  used  as  a  government  foundry  for  the  casting  of  cannon,  but 
somewhat  more  than  twenty  years  before  this  a  terrible  explosion  had 
occurred  which  blew  off  the  roof  and  otherwise  injured  the  buildmg, 
killing  and  wounding  a  considerable  number  of  workmen.  This  acci- 
dent led  to  the  abandonment  of  the  Old  Foundry  and  the  removal  of 
the  works  to  Woolwich. 

The  purchase-money  was  £115;  but  the  place  being  «a  vast  un- 
couth heap  of  ruins,"  a  large  sum  additional  to  this  had  to  be  expended 


178  Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 

in  needful  repairs.  To  meet  this  expenditure  some  friends  lent  him 
the  purchase  money ;  and  offered  to  pay  subscriptions,  some  four,  some 
<6LX,  and  some  ten  shillings  a  year  toward  the  liquidation  of  the  debt. 
In  three  years  these  subscriptions  amounted  to  about  £480,  leaving, 
however,  a  balance  of  nearly  £300,  for  which  Wesley  was  still  respon- 
sible. From  this  it  would  seem  that  the  entire  cost  of  the  Old 
Foundry  was  about  £800. 

It  stood  in  the  locality  called  "Windmill  Hill,"  now  known  by 
the  name  of  Windmill-street,  a  street  that  runs  parallel  with  City 
Road,  and  abuts  on  the  north-west  corner  of  Finsbury  Square.  The 
building  measured  about  forty  yards  in  front,  from  north  to  south. 
There  were  two  front  doors,  one  leading  to  the  chapel,  and  the  other  to 
'the  preacher's  house,  school,  and  bandroom.  A  bell  was  hung  in  a 
plain  beKry,  and  was  rung  every  morning  at  five  o'clock  for  early  serv- 
ice, and  every  evening  at  nine  for  family  worship ;  as  well  as  at  sundry 
other  times.  The  chapel,  which  would  acconamodate  some  fifteen  hun- 
dred people,  was  without  pews;  but  on  the  ground  floor,  immediately 
before  the  pulpit,  were  about  a  dozen  seats  with  back  rails,  appro- 
priated to  female  worshipers.  Under  the  front  gallery  were  the  free 
seats  for  women ;  and  under  the  side  galleries,  the  free  seats  for  men. 
The  front  gallery  was  used  exclusively  by  females,  and  the  side  gal- 
leries by  males.  "  From  the  beginning,"  says  Wesley,  "  the  men  and 
women  sat  apart,  as  they  always  did  in  the  primitive  Church ;  and 
'none  were  suffered  to  call  any  place  their  own,  but  the  first  comers  sat 
down  first.  They  had  no  pews ;  and  all  the  benches  for  rich  and  poor 
were  of  the  same  construction."  * 

The  bandroom  was  behind  the  chapel,  on  the  ground  floor,  some 
•eighty  feet  long  and  twenty  feet  wide,  and  accommodated  about  three 
hundi'ed  persons.  Here  the  classes  met ;  here,  in  winter,  the  five 
■o'clock  morning  service  was  conducted ;  and  here  were  held,  at  two 
o'clock  on  Wednesdays  and  Fridays,  weekly  meetings  for  prayer  and 
intercession.  The  north  end  of  the  room  was  used  for  a  school,  and 
was  fitted  up  with  desks;  and  at  the  south  end  was  "The  Book 
Room,"  for  the  sale  of  Wesley's  publications. 

*  Wesley's  arrangements  for  the  Foundry  congregation  were  carried  out  in  all  his 
'London  chapels  until  four  years  before  his  death,  when,  greatly  to  his  annoyance,  the  lay 
authorities  at  City  Road  Chapel  set  aside  his  policy  and  allowed  families  to  sit  together. 


"The  Wokld  is  My  Parish."  179 

Over  the  bandroom  were  apartments  for  Wesley,  in  wliicli  his 
dother  died  ;  and  at  the  end  of  the  chapel  was  a  dwelling-house  for 
his  domestics  and  assistant  preachers ;  while  attached  to  the  whole  was 
a  small  building  used  as  a  coach-house  and  stable. 

Some  HoraTian  Heresies. — The  "  Societies  "  in  London, 
in  whose  fellowship  the  Methodists  of  this  period  lived  and  labored, 
were  at  first  wholly  composed  of  pious  Episcopalians  and  Moravians, 
chiefly  the  latter ;  but  a  large  number  of  persons  who  had  been  con- 
verted under  the  preaching  of  Whitefield  and  the  Wesleys  were  soon 
incorporated  into  them,  and  frequent  dissensions  arose  between  the 
older  and  younger  members,  which  John  Wesley,  who  was  now  the 
recognized  leader  among  them,  was  ofttimes  called  upon  to  settle. 
He  could  not  be  absent  even  for  a  few  weeks  without  finding  a  quarrel 
on  his  return,  either  concerning  the  peculiar  teachings  of  some  newly 
arrived  Moravians  from  Germany,  or  because  of  some  petty  personal 
.grievance ;  or,  it  might  be,  a  rebellion  against  the  authority  of  Charles 
Wesley,  who  in  the  absence  of  his  elder  brother  felt  a  very  great 
responsibility  of  management,  and  who,  from  first  to  last,  had  a  decided 
talent  for  making  trouble ;  or  perhaps  the  chronic  jealousy  of  some 
of  the  Germans  had  broken  out  into  open  war  against  the  Wesleys,  and 
held  that  as  new-comers  and  novices  they  should  be  more  in  subjec- 
tion ;  while  the  English  converts  fought  for  the  rights  and  preroga- 
tives of  the  Methodists  under  whose  preaching  they  had  been  con- 
verted. 

On  one  occasion  Mr.  Wesley,  returning  from  a  brief  absence, 
found  them  contending  over  the  Moravian  notion  of  "  Quietism,"  as  it 
has  been  called ;  that  is  to  say,  the  alleged  duty  of  the  inquirer  after 
God  to  wait  in  absolute  spiritual  silence  and  inaction  until  the  Lord 
should  appear  to  do  his  saving  work  in  the  soul.  There  was  one 
Molther,  who  aspired  to  be  a  theological  doctor,  and  who  taught, 
.among  other  things,  that  faith  does  not  admit  of  degrees  ;  there  must 
be  either  the  full  assurance  by  the  Holy  Ghost  of  the  indwelling  of 
Christ,  or  else  there  is  no  faith  at  all;  while  Wesley,  following  a 
higher  authority,  had  taught  them  to  look  first  for  "  the  blade,"  then 
for  "  the  ear,"  then  for  "  the  full  corn  in  the  ear."  Some  of  the  Mora- 
vians, in  their  attempts  to  honor  the  doctrine  of  salvation  by  faith, 
.proceeded  to  the  extravagance  of  teaching  that  believers  were  not 


180  Illusteated  History  of  Methodism. 

bound  to  obey  the  moral  law,  any  more  than  the  subjects  of  the- 
King  of  England  were  bound  to  obey  the  King  of  France ;  while 
Wesley  believed  and  taught  that  Christ  came,  not  to  destroy,  but  ta- 
fulfill  the  law. 

One  of  the  Germans,  named  Bell,  insisted  that  it  was  deadly 
poison  for  a  man  to  come  to  the  Lord's  Supper,  or  even  to  read  the 
Scriptures  and  pray,  until  he  was  born  of  God.  "If  we  read,"  said 
he,  "  the  devil  reads  with  us ;  if  we  pray,  he  prays  with  us ;  if  we  go 
to  the  sacrament,  he  goes  with  us."  "  "Weak  faith  is  no  faith,"  said 
another.     "  As  many  go  to  hell  by  praying  as  by  thieving,"  said  a  third. 

Against  these  wild  notions  Wesley,  who  knew  more  of  the  true 
Moravian  doctrine  than  the  renegade  Moravians  themselves,  contended- 
with  all  his  might,  whereupon  the  Fetter  Lane  Society,  of  which  he  was 
one  of  the  original  members,  voted  to  exclude  him  from  its  list  of  min- 
isters, though  they  (iid  not,  at  this  time,  expel  him  from  membership. 

Mr.  Wesley  Leaves  the  Moravian  Society. — On  the 
20th  of  July,  1740,  four  days  after  the  action  above  mentioned,  Mr. 
Wesley  went  to  one  of  the  Fetter  Lane  love-feasts,  and  at  its  con- 
clusion read  a  paper  stating  the  errors  into  which  they  had  fallen,  and 
concluding  thus :  "  I  believe  these  assertions  to  be  flatly  contrary  ta 
the  word  of  God.  I  have  warned  you  hereof  again  and  again,  and 
besought  you  to  turn  back  to  the 'law  and  the  testimony.'  I  have 
borne  with  you  long,  hoping  you  would  turn.  But,  as  I  find  you 
more  and  more  confirmed  in  the  error  of  your  ways,  nothing  now 
remains  but  that  I  should  give  you  up  to  God.  You  that  are  of  the- 
same  judgment,  follow  me."  Without  saying  more  he  then  silently 
withdrew,  eighteen  or  nineteen  of  the  society  following  him.  So- 
ended  John  Wesley's  connection  with  the  Moravian  Church  in  which 
he  had  learned  so  much  and  labored  so  well. 

It  would  seem  as  if  God  were  thus  cutting  his  chosen  servant 
loose  from  one  tie  after  another  which  shortened  his  liberty  and  hin- 
dered his  work.  His  heart  clung  to  the  regular  methods  of  the  min- 
istry of  the  Establishment,  but  for  no  offense  save  that  he  preached 
too  well  and  with  too  much  success  the  Establishment  turned  him  out 
of  doors.  The  societies  of  his  Moravian  brethen,  his  first  spiritual 
teachers,  were  then  his  chosen  resting-place ;  but  from  this  limited 
ministry  and  fellowship  he  was  now  compelled  to  take  his  departure^- 


"The  Woeld  is  My  Paeish."  181 

-•and  strike  out  into  all  the  world  alone.  The  Fetter  Lane  Society  was 
only  too  well  named ;  it  was  a  heavy  clog  to  his  feet ;  henceforth,  in 
Boul  and  body,  the  great  leader  must  be  free. 

An  attempt  was  made  by  Count  Zinzendorf,  the  following  year,  to 
bring  Mr.  Wesley  back  into  the  Moravian  field,  but  without  avail. 
The  Count,  with  his  usual  manner  of  authority,  charged  Wesley  with 
changing  his  religion,  quarreling  with  the  brethren,  and  teaching  false 
views  of  Christian  perfection.  But  Wesley  had  now  outgrown  the 
Moravian  leading-strings.  The  Count,  whom  he  had  once  obeyed 
with  abject  submission,  could  no  longer  play  the  Pope  over  him,  and 
as  for  the  Moravian  theology,  Wesley  says  :  "  Waiving  their  odd  and 
affected  phrases;  their  weak,  mean,  silly,  childish  expressions;  their 
crude,  confused,  and  undigested  notions ;  and  their  whims,  unsup- 
ported either  by  Scripture  or  sound  reason,  I  find  three  grand,  unre- 
tracted  errors  running  through  almost  all  their  books,  namely,  uni- 
versal salvation,  antinomianism,  and  a  kind  of  new,  reformed  quietism." 
J^o  wonder  the  proposed  reunion  failed. 

The  Methodif^t  "  United  Society."— From  the  Fetter 
Lane  love-feast  Wesley  and  the  seceders  proceeded  to  the  Foundry, 
ivhere,  on  the  23d  day  of  July,  1Y40,  he  formed  them  into  the  first 
*'  United  Society,"  on  a  plan  much  resembling  those  from  whose  fel- 
lowship he  had  departed.  There  were  twenty-five  men  and  forty-eight 
women  in  attendance.  With  this  little  band  of  Methodists  the  world 
was  to  be  overrun. 

"  In  the  latter  end  of  the  year  1739,"  says  Mr.  Wesley,  "  eight  or 
ten  persons  came  to  me  in  London,  and  desired  that  I  should  spend 
some  time  with  them  in  prayer,  and  advise  them  how  to  'flee  from 
the  wrath  to  come : '  this  was  the  rise  of  the  '  United  Societies.' " 
It  would  appear  that  these  eight  or  ten  persons  were  members  of  the 
Fetter  Lane  Society  who  were  disturbed,  and,  likely  enough,  dis- 
gusted, by  the  continued  dissensions  and  the  vagaries  of  doctrine  which 
they  found  therein ;  and  it  would  be  a  natural  solution  of  the  problem 
of  different  dates,  which  would  otherwise  be  confusing,  to  fix  this  yol- 
imtary  action  on  the  part  of  these  eight  or  ten  persons  as  the  first 
-suggestion  to  Mr.  Wesley  of  the  necessity  of  a  separate  organization, 
which,  a  few  months  later,  was  effected  by  the  establishment  of  the 
first  United  Society  at  the  Foundry. 


182  Illustrated  History  Of  Methodism. 

liay  Preachers — Hoi^ell  Harris. — In  the  Moravian  so- 
cieties, no  less  than  in  the  State  Church,  it  was  held  to  be  a  sin 
and  a  shame  for  any  but  an  ordained  man  to  preach ;  though  in  the 
Moravian  societies  he  might  relate  his  experience  and  incidentally 
bring  in  a  good  deal  of  Scripture  exposition  therewith.  But  in  the 
year  1739  Mr.  Wesley  had  made  the  acquaintance  of  the  Welsh 
evangelist,  Howell  Harris,  a  man  who,  with  no  ordination  whatever, 
had  been  blessed  with  a  success  in  the  preaching  of  the  Gospel  in 
Wales  almost  equal  to  that  which  had  attended  the  preaching  of  the 
Methodists  in  England.  This  Welshman  appears  to  have  been  the 
first  man  in  the  United  Kingdom  who  caught  the  idea  of  preaching 
the  Gospel  on  the  sole  authority  of  the  Author  of  the  Gospel,  instead 
of  on  the  authority  of  a  self-constituted  Church. 

Harris  first  commenced  visiting  from  house  to  house  in  his  own 
native  parish,  and  in  neighboring  ones,  about  the  same  time  that  the 
Wesleys  reached  Georgia.  Up  to  this  period  the  morals  of  the  Welsh 
were  deplorably  corrupt ;  and  among  both  rich  and  poor,  ministers 
and  people,  gluttony,  drunkenness,  and  licentiousness  were  common. 
In  the  parish  churches  the  name  of  Christ  was  hardly  ever  uttered, 
and  in  1T36  there  were  only  six  Dissenting  chapels  throughout  the 
whole  of  northern  Wales. 

Crowds  began  to  gather  about  him,  and,  almost  without  knowing  it, 
Harris  began  to  preach.  The  magistrates  and  clergy  threatened  him ; 
but  their  threats  failed  to  silence  him.  For  a  maintenance  he  set  up 
a  school,  and  meantime  continued  preaching.  Numbers  were  con- 
vinced of  sin,  and  these  the  young  preacher,  only  twenty-two  years  of 
age,  formed  into  small  societies.  At  the  end  of  1737  persecuting 
malice  ejected  him  from  his  school ;  but,  instead  of  silencing  the 
preacher,  it  led  him  to  preach  more  than  ever.  He  now  gave  himself 
entirely  to  the  work  of  an  evangelist,  and  henceforth  generally  de- 
livered three  or  four,  and  sometimes  five  or  six,  sermons  daily  to 
crowded  congregations.  A  wide-spread  reformation  followed.  Public 
diversions  became  unfashionable,  and  religion  became  the  theme  of 
common  conversation.  Thus  Howell  Harris  was  an  itinerant  preacher 
at  least  a  year  and  a  haK  before  Whitefield  and  Wesley ;  and,  as  the 
herald  of  hundreds  more  who  were  to  follow,  he  met  the  fiercest 
persecutions  with  an  undaunted  soul  and  an  unflinching  face.     Par- 


"The  World  is  My  Paeish."  18S 

eons  and  country  squires  menaced  him,  and  mobs  swore  and  flung 
stones  and  sticks  at  him ;  but  he  calmly  pursued  his  way,  laboring 
almost  alone  in  his  own  isolated  sphere  until  he  met  with  Whitefield  in 
the  town  of  Cardiff,  in  1739.  Whitefield  says  he  found  him  "  a  burning 
and  shining  hght ;  a  barrier  against  profanity  and  immorahty ;  and  an 
indefatigable  promoter  of  the  Gospel  of  Christ.  During  the  last 
three  years  he  had  preached  almost  twice  every  day,  "for  three  or 
four  hours  together;  had  visited  seven  counties,  estabhshed  thirty 
societies,  and  ^"he  good  work  was  growing  and  spreading  under  his 
hands." 

John  Ceiinick. — It  is  not  quite  proper,  however,  to  reckon 
Harris  as  the  first  Methodist  lay  preacher :  that  honor  belongs  to  John 
Cennick,  the  son  of  an  EngHsh  Quaker,  who  was  brought  up  in  the 
quiet,  religious  ways  of  that  excellent  people,  but  who,  on  leaving 
home  to  learn  the  trade  of  carpenter,  in  London,  fell  into  the  snares 
which  always  infest  great  cities,  and  soon  became  a  gay  young  man  of 
the  world. 

In  1735  John  was  convinced  of  sin  while  walking  in  Cheapside, 
and  at  once  left  off  song-singing,  card-playing,  and  attending  theaters. 
Sometimes  he  wished  to  go  into  a  popish  monastery,  to  spend  his  hfe 
in  devout  retirement ;  at  other  times  he  longed  to  live  in  a  cave, 
sleeping  on  fallen  leaves,  and  feeding  on  forest  fruits.  He  fasted  long 
and  often,  and  prayed  nine  times  every  day.  He  was  afraid  of  seeing 
ghosts,  and  terribly  apprehensive  lest  he  should  meet  the  devil.  Fan- 
cying dry  bread  too  great  an  indulgence  for  so  great  a  sinner  as 
himself,  he  began  to  feed  on  potatoes,  acorns,  crabs,  and  grass ;  and 
often  wished  he  could  hve  upon  roots  and  herbs.  At  length,  on  Sep- 
tember 6,  1737,  he  found  peace  with  God,  and  went  on  his  way  rejoic- 
ing. Like  Howell  Harris,  he  at  once  commenced  preaching ;  and  also 
began  to  write  hymns,  a  number  of  which  Charles  "Wesley  corrected 
for  the  press. 

In  May,  1739,  on  the  recommendation  of  Mr.  Whitefield,  Cennick 
was  placed  in  charge  of  the  New  Kingswood  School,  in  which  office 
he  also  rendered  good  service  as  a  preacher,  and  gained  strong  hold 
upon  the  hearts  of  the  coUiers,  as  well  as  of  their  children.  It  was 
not  long,  however,  before  he  began  to  be  afflicted  with  certain  Cal- 
vinistic  notions,  on  account  of   which  he  regarded  it  as  either  his- 


184  Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 

privilege  or  his  duty,  or  both,  to  quarrel  with  Mr.  Wesley,  against 
whom  he  headed  a  fierce  opposition,  based  wholly  upon  differences  of 
theological  opinion,  and,  as  a  result,  the  work  of  revival  in  the  region 
of  Bristol  languished  for  many  years. 

Thomas  Maxfield  comes  next  in  the  notable  army  of  lay 
preachers ;  a  young  man  of  fair  talents  and  deep  piety,  who,  in  1740, 
came  to  Mr.  'Wesley,  in  London,  and  desired  to  assist  him  as  a  "  son 
in  the  Gospel,"  and  whom  Mr.  Wesley  appointed  to  be  the  leader  of 
the  Society  at  the  Foundry.  Preaching,  however,  was  no  part  of  his 
duty.  But  the  people  were  hungry  for  the  bread  of  hfe,  and  young 
Maxfield  showed  a  rare  skill  in  breaking  it  to  them.  His  efforts  as  an 
expositor  of  Scripture  became  more  and  more  attractive,  and  presently 
it  was  reported  to  Mr.  Wesley,  then  at  Bristol,  that  the  young  man  he 
had  appointed  simply  as  a  leader  of  the  Foundry  Society  had  taken  it 
upon  himself  to  preach !  On  the  receipt  of  these  strange  tidings 
Wesley  hastened  up  to  London  to  put  a  stop  to  such  wickedness  and 
folly ;  but  on  mentioning  his  intention  to  his  mother,  who,  after  the 
death  of  her  husband  had  removed  to  London,  that  wise,  strong- 
souled  woman  replied : — 

"  Take  care  what  you  do.  Thomas  Maxfield  is  as  truly  called  of 
God  to  preach  the  Gospel  as  ever  you  were." 

Mr.  Wesley  was  now  in  a  dilemma.  He  believed  a  great  deal  in  the 
traditions  of  his  Church  ;  he  also  had  great  faith  in  the  Christian  judg- 
ment of  his  mother,  whose  words  seemed  to  impress  themselves  upon 
him  with  more  than  human  authority.  It  was  as  if  the  Lord  had 
spoken  to  him  by  the  mouth  of  this  prophetess ;  therefore,  laying 
aside  his  prejudices,  he  examined  the  young  man  as  to  his  gifts  and 
graces,  and,  instead  of  extinguishing  him  as  a  preacher,  he  promoted 
him  to  a  kind  of  lay  pastorate  of  the  souls  at  the  Foundiy,  thus  estab- 
lishing the  first  precedent  of  that  vast  system  of  "appointments" 
which  has  since  held  such  a  prominent  place  in  Methodist  economy. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE  CALVINISTIC  CONTROVERSY,  ETC. 
Opinions  !     Opinions  I-Wliat  crimes  have  been  committed 
m  thy  name;  especially  in  the  name  of  theological  opinions' 

It^is  appalling  to  discover  how  little  good,  and  how  great  evil,  has 


186 


Illusteated  History  of  Methodism. 


come  of  those  theoretical  disputes  upon  which  good  men  have  ex- 
hausted so  much  talent  and  time ;  while  the  small  importance  which 
the  Head  of  the  Church  seems  to  attach  to  any  sort  of  inferential  the- 
ology appears  in  the  fact  that  he  carries  on  his  work  of  saving  peni- 
tent sinners,  both  by  means  of,  and  in  spite  of,  long  cherished  and' 
well  defended  religious  opinions. 

Whitefield,  like  his  teachers  the  Wesleys,  was  a  believer  in  free 
grace  until  he  went  to  America;  but  at  Northampton  he  met  the 


JOHN    CALVIN".       (FROM    AN    OLD    PORTRAIT.) 

great  Dr.  Jonathan  Edwards,  who  taught  him  the  theology  of  Calvin,, 
and  the  young  evangelist,  having  a  better  voice  for  rhetoric  than  brain 
for  logic,  was  thereby  very  much  beguiled.  But  by  means  of  the 
Calvinist  Edwards  and  Whitefield  the  Lord  managed  to  carry  on  hi? 
work  of  saving  sinners  as  well  as  by  the  Arminian  John  Wesley, 
though  by  no  means  to  the  same  ultimate  extent.  In  their  opinions 
these  men  were  as  wide  apart  as  the  poles  ;  but  down  underneath  their 
opinions  they  had  some  real  faith,  some  true  religion,  which  the  Lord 
could  make  use  of  in  carrying  on  his  kingdom  without  stopping  to  cor- 


The  CxVlyinistic  Contkoversy. 


187 


recL  the  one  or  take  sides  with  tlie  other ;  though  it  is  p.ain  enough, 
from  the  providence  of  God  as  well  as  from  the  general  drift  of  the 
chnrcli  doctrine,  which  side  oi  this  question  he  favors. 

AYith  his  usual  impetuosity,  Whitetield  plunged  soul  and  bod}-  into 
the  Calvinistic  arena,  and  at  once  announced  his  doctrinal  conversion  in 
letters  to  his  English  friends.  Wesley,  wdio  was  quite  as  dogmatic  as 
his  pupil,  besides  being  a  much  better  logician  and  theologian,  took  up 
the  case  with  great  spirit ;  wrote  some  vigorous  letters  with  a  view  to 


"^"^ii^V  ■"''''''' 


ARMINIUS. 


helping  his  yonng  pupil  out  of  his  delusions,  and  j? reached  and  pub- 
lished a  powerful  sermon  against  Predestination,  which  was  the  signal 
for  a  general  theological  war. 

For  a  time  these  old  friends  maintained  pleasant  personal  relations 
in  spite  of  the  great  divergence  in  tlieii'  theology ;  but  the  debate  waxed 
so  hot,  and  attracted  so  many  new  combatants,  that  for  years  there  was 
nmch  bitterness  between  them,  all  cooperation  ceased,  and  a  complete 
separation,  and  almost  estrangement,  ensued.  Writing  from  Savannah, 
mider  date  of  March  2Ck  1740.  to  Mr.  Wesley,  Whitetield  savs : — 


188  Tllusteated  HxStory  of  Methodism. 

"  My  Honored  Fkiend  and  Brotuee  : — For  once  hearken  to  a 
child,  who  is  willing  to  wash  yonr  feet.  I  beseech  you,  by  the  mercies 
of  God  in  Christ  Jesus  our  Lord,  if  you  would  have  my  love  confirmed 
toward  you,  write  no  more  to  me  about  misrepresentations  wherein 
we  differ.  If  possible,  I  am  ten  thousand  times  more  convinced 
of  the  doctrine  of  election,  and  ih.Q  final  perseverance  of  those  that  arc 
truly  in  Christ,  than  when  I  saw  you  last.  You  think  otherwise.  Why, 
then,  should  we  dispute,  when  there  is  no  probability  of  convincing  ? 
"Will  it  not,  in  the  end,  destroy  brotherly  love,  and  insensibly  take 
from  us  that  cordial  union  and  sweetness  of  soul  which  I  pray  God 
may  always  subsist  between  us  ?  How  glad  would  the  enemies  of  the 
Lord  be  to  see  us  divided !  How  many  would  rejoice  should  I  join 
and  make  a  party  against  you  !  How  would  the  cause  of  our  common 
Master  suffer  by  our  raising  disputes  about  particular  points  of  doc- 
trine !  Honored  sir,  let  us  offer  salvation  freely  to  all  by  the  blood 
of  Jesus;  and  whatever  light  God  has  communicated  to  us  let  us 
freely  communicate  to  others.  I  have  lately  read  the  life  of  Luther, 
and  think  it  in  nowise  to  his  honor  that  the  last  part  of  his  life  was 
so  much  taken  up  in  disputing  with  Zwinglius  and  others,  who  in 
all  probability  equally  loved  the  Lord  Jesus,  notwithstanding  they 
might  differ  from  him  in  all  other  points.  Let  this,  dear  sir,  be  a 
caution  to  us.  I  hope  it  will  be  to  me ;  for,  provoke  me  to  it  as  much 
as  you  please,  I  intend  not  to  enter  lists  of  controversy  with  you  on  the 
points  wherein  we  differ.  Only,  I  pray  to  God  that  the  more  you 
judge  me,  the  more  I  may  love  yo^i,  and  learn  to  desire  no  one's  appro- 
bation but  that  of  my  Lord  and  Master  Jesus  Christ." 

Two  months  after  this  Whitefield  writes  again  : — 

Cape  Lopen,  May  24,  1740. 
"  Honored  Sm : — I  cannot  entertain  prejudices  against  your  con- 
duct and  principles  any  longer,  without  informing  you.  The  more  I 
examine  the  writings  of  the  most  experienced  men  and  the  experiences 
of  the  most  established  Christians,  the  more  I  differ  from  your  notion 
about  not  committing  sin,  and  your  denying  the  doctrines  of  election 
and  final  perseverance  of  the  saints.  I  dread  coming  to  England, 
unless  you  are  resolved  to  oppose  these  truths  with  less  warmth  than 
when  I  was  there  last.     I  dread  your  coming  over  to  America,  because 


Ihe  Calvinistic  Controveksy.  189 

the  work  of  God  is  carried  on  here  (and  that  in  a  most  glorious 
manner)  by  doctrines  quite  opposite  to  those  you  hold." 

In  June  he  writes  to  a  friend  in  London : — 

"  For  Christ's  sake  desire  dear  Brother  Wesley  to  avoid  disputing 
with  me.  I  think  I  had  rather  die  than  see  a  division  between  us  ; 
and  yet  how  can  we  walk  together  if  we  oppose  each  other  ? " 

About  the  same  time  he  again  addresses  Wesley  as  follows : — 

Savaitnah,  June  25,  1740. 

"  My  Honored  Friend  and  Brother  : — For  Christ's  sake,  if 
possible,  never  speak  against  election  in  your  sermons.  No  one  can 
say  that  I  ever  mentioned  it  in  public  discourse,  whatever  my  private 
sentiments  may  be.  For  Christ's  sake,  let  us  not  be  divided  among 
ourselves.  Nothing  will  so  much  prevent  a  division  as  you  being 
silent  on  this  head.  I  am  glad  to  hear  that  you  speak  up  for  an 
attendance  on  the  means  of  grace,  and  do  not  encourage  persons  who 
run,  I  am  persuaded,  before  they  are  called.  The  work  of  God  will 
suffer  by  such  imprudence. 

"  Perhaps  the  doctrines  of  election  and  of  final  perseverance  have 
been  abused;  but,  notwithstanding,  they  are  children's  bread,  and 
ought  not  to  be  withheld  from  them,  supposing  they  are  always  men- 
tioned with  proper  cautions  against  the  abuse  of  them.  I  write  not 
this  to  enter  into  disputation.  I  cannot  bear  the  thought  of  opposing 
you ;  but  how  can  I  avoid  it,  if  you  go  about,  as  your  brother  Charles 
once  said,  to  drive  John  Calvin  out  of  Bristol."  , 

This  "children's  bread"  Wesley  analyzes  in  the  famous  sermon 
above  mentioned.  Mr.  Whitefield  had  professed  his  intention,  not- 
withstanding his  views  of  the  doctrine  of  election,  to  continue  his 
advocacy  of  the  doctrine  of  free  grace,  which  was  to  the  credit  of  his 
heart  if  not  of  his  head  :  to  which  Mr.  Wesley  replies : — 

"  Though  you  use  softer  words  than  some,  you  mean  the  self -same 
thing ;  and  God's  decree  concerning  the  election  of  grace,  according  to 
your  account  of  it,  amounts  to  neither  more  nor  less  than  what  others 
call  '  God's  decree  of  reprobation.'  Call  it,  therefore,  by  whatever 
name  you  please,  '  election,  preterition,  predestination,  or  reprobation,' 
it  comes  in  the  end  to  the  same  thing.     The  sense  of  all  is  plainly 


190  Illustrated  Histoey  of  Methodism. 

this — by  virtue  of  an  eternal,  "anchangeable,  irresistible  decree  of  God 
one  part  of  mankind  are  infallibly  saved,  and  the  rest  infallibly 
damned;  it  being  impossible  that  any  of  the  former  should  be 
damned,  or  that  any  of  the  latter  should  be  saved." 

Wesley  then  proceeds  to  state  the  objections  to  such  a  doctrine : — 

"  1.  It  renders  all  preaching  vain ;  for  preaching  is  needless  to 
them  that  are  elected ;  for  they,  whether  with  or  without  it,  wiU  infal- 
libly be  saved.  And  it  is  useless  to  them  that  are  not  elected ;  f  ot 
they,  whether  with  preaching  or  without,  will  infallibly  be  damned. 

"  2.  It  directly  tends  to  destroy  that  holiness  which  is  the  end  of  all 
the  ordinances  of  God ;  for  it  wholly  takes  away  those  first 'motives  to 
foUow  after  holiness  so  frequently  proposed  in  Scripture — the  hope  of 
future  reward  and  fear  of  punishment,  the  hope  of  heaven  and  fear  of 
heU.  * 

"  3.  It  directly  tends  to  destroy  several  particular  branches  of  holi- 
ness ;  for  it  naturally  tends  to  inspire  or  increase  a  sharpness  of 
temper  which  is  quite  contrary  to  the  meekness  of  Christ,  and  leads  a 
man  to  treat  with  contempt,  or  coldness,  those  whom  he  supposes  to  be 
outcasts  from  God. 

"  4.  It  tends  to  destroy  the  comfort  of  religion. 

"  5.  It  directly  tends  to  destroy  our  zeal  for  good  works ;  for  what 
avails  it  to  relieve  the  wants  of  those  who  are  just  dropping  into  eter- 
nal fire ! 

"  6.  It  has  a  direct  and  manifest  tendency  to  overthrow  the  whole 
Christian  revelation ;  for  it  makes  it  unnecessary. 

"7.  It  makes  the  Christian  revelation  contradict  itseK;  for  it  is 
grounded  on  such  an  interpretation  of  some  texts  as  flatly  contradicts 
all  the  other  texts,  and  indeed  the  whole  scope  and  tenor  of  Scripture. 

"  8.  It  is  full  of  blasphemy ;  for  it  represents  our  blessed  Lord  as  a 
hypocrite  and  dissembler,  in  saying  one  thing  and  meaning  another — 
in  pretending  a  love  which  he  had  not ;  it  also  represents  the  most 
holy  God  as  more  false,  more  cruel,  and  more  unjust  than  the  devil  j 
for,  in  point  of  fact,  it  says  that  God  has  condemned  millions  of  souls 
to  everlasting  fire  for  continuing  in  sin  which,  for  want  of  the  grace 
he  gives  them  not,  they  are  unable  to  avoid." 

"Wesley  sums  up  the  whole  thus  : — 

"  This  is  the  blasphemy  clearly  contained  in  the  horrible  decree  of 


The  CALvrNiSTic  Conteoveesy.  191 

predestination.  And  here  I  fix  my  foot.  On  this  1  join  issue  with 
every  asserter  of  it.     You  represent  God  as  worse  than  the  devil." 

The  publication  of  Mr.  Wesley's  sermons  against  predestination 
aroused  the  wrath  of  the  Calvinists  to  fever  heat.  In  the.  midst  of 
the  storm  of  sermons  and  pamphlets  which  it  called  forth  Mr.  White- 
field  returned  a  second  time  from  America,  and,  perceiving  that  the 
theological  guK  between  himseK  and  his  former  friends  was  now  im- 
passable, he  began  to  open  his  mouth  against  them.  In  his  reply  to 
Mr.  Wesley's  sermon,  he  says  : — 

"  I  frankly  aclcnowledge  I  believe  the  doctrine  of  reprobation  in 
this  view — that  God  intends  to  give  saving  grace  through  Jesus  Christ 
only  to  a  certain  number,  and  that  the  rest  of  mankind,  after  the  fall 
of  Adam,  being  justly  left  of  God  to  continue  in  sin,  will  at  last 
sufier  that  eternal  death  wliich  is  its  proper  wages."  Nevertheless, 
he  argues  that  preachers  of  the  Gospel  are  bound  to  preach  promiscu- 
ously to  all,  since  they  cannot  possibly  know  who  are  the  elect  and 
who  are  the  reprobate ;  and  he  defends  the  justice  which  dooms  mill- 
ions of  unborn  sinners  to  everlasting  burnings,  by  showing  that  this 
was  the  fate  which  all  mankind  had  justly  incurred  by  reason  of  the 
sin  of  Adam,  and  that,  instead  of  being  an  act  of  injustice  on  the  part 
of  God  to  destroy  the  many,  it  was  an  act  of  special  grace  on  his  part 
to  save  the  few.  The  Bible  statement  that  "  the  Lord  is  loving  to  every 
man,  and  his  mercy  is  over  all  his  works,"  Whitefield  explains  by 
showing  that  this  refers  to  his  general  and  not  his  saving  mercy ;  and 
he  goes  on  to  deny  the  doctrine  of  Universal  Eedemption  as  set  forth 
by  Wesley,  declaring  it  to  be  the  highest  reproach  upon  the  dignity  of 
the  Son  of  God,  challenging  Wesley  to  make  good  the  assertion  that 
Christ  died  for  them  that  perish,  on  the  ground  that  if  all  were  uni- 
versally redeemed,  it  would  follow  that  all  must  finally  be  saved. 

Whatever  may  be  said  of  the  mysteries  of  the  Calvinistic  system 
in  general,  they  were  evidently  too  wonderful  for  Mr.  Whitefield. 

This  wide  difference  of  opinion  naturally  wrought  an  estrangement 
between  these  old  friends,  both  of  whom,  with  intemperate  zeal,  en- 
tered into  this  war  of  words,  and  the  next  year  Mr.  Wesley  makes 
this  entry  in  his  Journal  under  the  date  of  April  28,  1741 : — 

"  Having  heard  much  of  Mr.  Whitefield's  unkind  behavior  since 
his  return  from  Georgia,  I  went  to  him  to  hear  him  speak  for  himself, 


192  Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 

that  I  might  know  how  to  judge.  I  much  approved  of  his  plaii*- 
ness  of  speech.  He  told  me,  he  and  I  preached  two  different  Gospels, 
and  therefore  he  not  only  would  not  join  with,  or  give  me  the  right 
hand  of  fellowship,  but  was  resolved  pubhclj  to  preach  against  me 
and  my  brother,  wheresoever  he  preached  at  all.  Mr.  Hall  (who  went 
with  me)  put  him  in  mind  of  the  promise  he  had  made  but  a  few  days 
before,  that,  whatever  his  private  opinion  was,  he  would  never  pub- 
licly preach  against  us.  He  said,  that  promise  was  only  an  effect  of 
human  weakness,  and  he  was  now  of  another  mind." 

On  one  occasion,  when  the  two  friends  met  in  a  large  social 
gathering,  Whitefield  mounted  his  hobby,  and  spoke  largely  and  val- 
iantly in  defense  of  his  favorite  system.  Wesley,  on  the  other  hand, 
was  silent  till  all  the  company  were  gone,  when,  turning  to  the 
spurred  and  belted  controversial  knight,  he  quietly  remarked, 
"  Brother,  are  you  aware  of  what  you  have  done  to-night  ?  " 

"  Yes,"  said  Whitefield,  "  I  have  defended  truth." 

"  You  have  tried  to  prove,"  replied  Wesley,  "  that  God  is  worse 
than  the  devil ;  for  the  devil  can  only  tempt  a  man  to  sin ;  but,  if 
what  you  have  said  be  true,  G^a^i  forces  a  man  to  sin ;  and,  therefore, 
on  your  system,  God  is  worse  than  the  devil." 

Howell  Harris,  the  Welshman,  and  John  Cennick,  the  Kings- 
wood  school-master,  both  took  sides  with  the  Calvinists.  The  former 
in  writing  a  letter  says  : — 

"I  have  been  long  waiting  to  see  if  Brother  John  and  Charles 
should  receive  further  light,  or  be  silent  and  not  oppose  election  and 
perseverance ;  but,  finding  no  hope  of  this,  I  begin  to  be  staggered 
how  to  act  toward  them.  I  plainly  see  that  we  preach  two  Gospels. 
My  dear  brother,  deal  faithfully  with  Brother  John  and  Charles.  If 
you  like,  you  may  read  this  letter  to  them.  We  are  free  in  Wales 
from  the  helhsh  infection."  What  there  is  particularly  "hellish" 
about  the  doctrine  of  free  grace  this  enthusiastic  predestinarian  does 
not  minutely  point  out.  To  an  unprejudiced  mind  there  would 
naturally  appear  to  be  more  "hell"  in  the  Calvinistic  than  in  the 
Arminian  view. 

The  Methodist  revival  was  now  only  just  begun,  but  already  there 
were  two  sorts  of  Methodists,  one  under  the  lead  of  Whitefield,  the 
other  under  the  lead  of  Wesley ;  both  beheving  in  Jesus  Christ  as  the 


The  Calvinistio  Contkoveksy.  19^ 

Redeemer  and  Saviour  of  men,  and  in  the  Holy  Ghost  as  the  Sanctilier 
and  Comforter  of  believers,  but  separated  from  each  other  by  a  set  of 
inferences  falsely  drawn  from  isolated  texts:  inferences  which  ex- 
plained away  the  universal  love  of  God:  "opinions"  which,  if  they 
were  true,  could  have  no  possible  value  either  to  the  elect  or  reprobate, 
and  whose  only  purpose  seems  to  have  been  to  confuse  the  minds  and 
sour  the  tempers  of  all  persons  to  whose  knowledge  they  might  chance 
to  come.  One  of  these  parties  grew  into  what  was  called  the  "  Lady 
Huntingdon  Connection,"  after  the  name  of  Mr.  Whitefield's  chief 
patroness — a  Christian  communion  of  which  comparatively  few  people- 
have  ever  heard ;  the  other  has  overrun  the  English-speaking  world. 

Thus  according  to  the  faith  of  each  was  it  done  unto  him.  White- 
field  accepted  the  Gospel  as  God's  plan  to  save  a  few,  and  to  him 
was  given  a  small  spiritual  family  in  the  Lord.  Wesley  saw  in  the- 
Gospel  a  plan  to  save  the  many,  and  his  spiritual  household,  hke  that 
of  Abraham,  has  become  as  the  stars  of  heaven  for  multitude. 

If  there  ever  were  a  notable  victim  of  the  small  theology  of  John 
Calvin,  George  Whitefield  was  that  man.  Doubtless  he  and  the  two- 
Wesleys  were  made  to  work  together.  There  was  just  that  diversity 
of  gifts  which  might  have  made  these  three  men  the  three  determina- 
tive points  in  the  evangehcal  circle  that  should  have  encompassed  the 
whole  earth ;  but  before  this  circle  could  be  fairly  projected,  as  iq  a 
little  while  it  would  have  been,  that  deceiver  who  spoils  so  much  of 
the  good  that  lies  within  the  reach  of  human  hands  separated  thes& 
three  chief  friends  by  the  only  conceivable  method  by  which  he  could 
have  accomplished  his  infernal  purpose. 

It  is  a  pitiful  spectacle  to  see  a  great  revivahst,  with  two  nations 
waiting  on  his  ministrations,  wielding  the  powers  of  the  world  to  come,, 
and  bringing  sinners  by  multitudes  to  salvation — to  see  such  a  man 
turned  from  the  work  of  preaching  the  Gospel  to  the  fruitless  and 
foolish  task  of  setting  forth  what  one  of  the  great  Calvinistic  divines- 
calls  "  the  secret  wiU  of  God." 

Has  Jehovah  from  all  eternity  determined  to  save  just  so  many  of 
the  human  race,  and  to  pass  by  aU  the  rest  ? 

Whitefield  answers,  "  Yes."     Wesley  answers,  "  No." 

"  But,"  says  Whitefield,  "  God  teaches,  my  friends,  that  election  is^ 
true." 


194 


Illustkated  Histoiiy  of  Methodism. 


answers 


^  "And  God  teaches  me  to  preach  and  i3rint  against  it,' 
Wesley. 

Alas,  for  the  estrangement  of  these  ai^ostolic  men !     If  they  liad 
lived  in  our  day,  the  one  would  have  seen  his  "opinions,"  alon^  .vith 


LADY   HITNTIXGDON. 


Otl 


ler  rnl.bish  of  the  same  sort,  thrust  into  out-of-the-way  corners  in 
the  libraries  of  theological  seminaries,  while  the  other  would  have  dis- 
covered that  it  is  possible  for  Calvinists  and  Arminians  to  preach  and 
pray  harmoniously  together,  siin].ly  by  keeping,,  to  the  thiiii^s  which  are 


The  Calvtnistic  Controversy.  195 

/plainly  laid  down  in  the  Gospel,  and  leaving  all  mere  inferences 
thereon  to  take  their  own  chances  of  living  or  dying. 

liady  Hnnting^doii. — Among  the  distinguished  persons  who 
were  led  to  a  true  faith  in  Christ  through  the  labors  of  the  Oxford 
Methodists  was  SeKna,  the  Countess  of  Huntingdon. 

During  a  severe  illness  she  had  been  led  to  consecrate  herself  to  the 
Lord,  and  on  her  recovery  she  faithfully  fulfilled  her  promise  by  a  long 
life  of  benevolence  and  devotion.  Through  the  influence  of  her  sister- 
in-law,  Lady  Margaret  Hastings,  afterward  the  wife  of  Ligham,  of  the 
Holy  Club,  Lady  Sehna  became  attached  to  the  Methodists,  and  al- 
though she  was  an  enthusiastic  Churchwoman,  a  member  of  the 
aristocracy,  and  could  even  boast  of  having  royal  blood  in  her  veins, 
•she  became,  greatly  to  the  disgust  of  the  Earl,  her  husband,  a  frequent 
attendant  of  the  Moravian  Societies  in  London. 

On  Mr.  "Wesley's  separation  from  the  Fetter  Lane  Society  she 
attached  herself  to  his  party,  and  invited  him  to  preach  in  her  house ; 
but  when  "Wesley  and  "Whitefield  fell  out,  because  of  their  differences 
in  theology.  Lady  Huntingdon,  being  a  Calvinist,  sided  with  "White- 
field,  and  at  length  by  her  munificent  gifts,  as  well  as  on  account  of 
her  piety  and  talents,  she  became  the  acknowledged  head  of  a  little 
sect  of  Methodists  who  did  not  believe  in  free  grace. 

After  the  rupture  between  "Wesley  and  his  pupil,  "Whitefield  had 
-caused  a  Tabernacle  to  be  erected  for  his  own  use  not  far  from 
Mr.  "Wesley's  Foundiy ;  an  aiTangement  well  calculated  to  promote  all 
sorts  of  ill  will  between  these  former  friends,  and  the  two  congrega- 
tions of  their  respective  followers ;  but  the  Countess,  who  appears  to 
have  had  almost  a  controlling  influence  with  Whitefield — whom  she 
afterward  appointed  one  of  her  chaplains — induced  him  to  seek  for  a 
reconciliation  with  "Wesley,  and  in  consequence  thereof  the  breach  was 
healed.  The  two  men  held  a  union  service  at  Whitefield's  Tabernacle, 
at  which  the  Lord's  Supper  was  celebrated  by  over  a  thousand  com- 
municants ;  and  the  brotherly  love  thus  restored  bound  their  hearts 
together  to  the  day  of  their  death.  Sometimes  the  old  fire  would 
suddenly  blaze  up  for  a  moment,  when  they  began  to  talk  of  their 
respective  "  opinions,"  but  "Whitefield  would  smother  it  with  his 
■favorite  saying,  "  "Well,  brother,  let  us  agree  to  disagree." 

After  her  husband's  death  the  Countess  devoted  herseK  wholly  to 


196  Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 

a  religious  life :  her  house,  at  Chelsea,  near  London,  became  the  head- 
quarters of  a  revival  movement  among  the  nobility ;  many  ladies  of 
rank  were  converted ;  meetings  for  prayer  and  the  reading  of  the- 
Scriptures  were  held  at  their  mansions,  and  some  of  the  leading  men 
of  tlie  kingdom  occasionaDy  attended  the  preaching  of  Whitefield,. 
both  at  his  Tabernacle  and  at  the  house  of  his  patroness.  Only  a  very 
few  of  them  could  be  persuaded  to  renounce  the  world,  the  flesh,  and 
the  devil ;  but  they  were  all  agreed  that  Lady  Huntingdon's  young 
chaplain  was  the  most  wonderful  preacher  they  had  ever  heard. 

This  elect  lady  not  only  devoted  herseK,  her  time,  and  her  influ- 
ence to  God,  but,  what  was  more  rare,  her  ample  fortune  also.  She 
sold  her  country-seats,  her  jewels,  her  elegant  equipages,  and  other 
appendages  of  a  fashionable  and  titled  lady,  and  devoted  the  proceeds- 
to  the  purchase  of  theaters,  halls,  and  dilapidated  chapels,  which  she 
caused  to  be  fitted  up  for  pubhc  worship  conducted  by  some  of  her 
chaplains. 

Trevecca  College. — In  order  to  provide  a  ministry  for  these 
chapels.  Lady  Huntingdon  erected  a  theological  school  at  Trevecca,  in. 
"Wales,  and  called  to  its  presidency  the  saintly  Fletcher,  Yicar  of 
Madeley. 

Here  any  young  man,  who  was  truly  converted  and  ready  to  give 
himseK  to  the  work  of  preaching  the  Gospel,  might  receive  board,, 
tuition,  and  one  suit  of  clothes  a  year,  all  at  the  college's  expense.  At 
first  no  theological  tests  were  imposed ;  but  afterward,  as  the  Calvin- 
istic  controversy  grew  hotter  and  more  bitter,  the  school  was  made  so- 
strictly  an  institution  of  the  elect  that  no  behever  in  free  grace  could 
be  either  a  teacher  or  a  pupil  therein.  Fletcher,  on  this  account, 
resigned  his  charge  of  the  school,  which,  as  might  have  been  expected, 
never  rose  above  mediocrity. 

Durine:  her  life  the  Countess  is  said  to  have  bestowed  more  than 
half  a  million  of  dollars  in  works  of  rehgion  and  charity,  and  at  her 
death,  in  her  eighty-fourth  year,  June  17, 1791,  she  bequeathed  twenty 
thousand  dollars  for  special  benefactions,  and  the  remainder  of  her 
fortune  she  devoted  to  the  support  of  the  sixty-four  chapels  which  she 
had  helped  to  build  in  England,  Ireland,  and  Wales. 

Like  Wesley,  Lady  Huntingdon  was  greatly  attached  to  the  Estab- 
lished Church,  but  in  order  to  retain  the  control  of  the  chapels  which* 


The  Calvlnistic  Controversy. 


197 


•ehe  had  built  she  was  forced  to  avail  herself  of  the  Act  of  Toleration, 
and  thus  these  chapels  became  Dissenting  meeting-houses,  in  which 
her  Episcopahan  friends  would  no  longer  preach  or  worship.  After 
her  death  all  connection  between  them  was  dissolved,  and,  instead  of 
a  little  system,  they  became  so  many  independent  chapels. 

It  was  from  this  fate  of  Lady  Huntingdon's  party,  which  Wesley, 
from  the  first,  was  able  to  foresee,  that  he  constantly  strove  to  save 
ImnseK  and  his  connection.  If  he  had  been  willing  to  avail  himself  of 
the  Act  of  Toleration  his  Societies  would  have  been  protected  thereby ; 


^^4^N^ 


TREVECCA   COLLEGE. 


but  they  would  have  thereby  become  Dissenting  bodies,  which,  of  all 
things,  Wesley  dreaded.  lie  taught  the  Methodists  to  claim  their  places 
as  regular  members  of  the  Established  Church,  and  to  liold  their  rela- 
tions to  the  United  Societies  as  a  secondary  matter,  not  involving  their 
ecclesiastical  status,  but  merely  a  provisional  arrangement  for  helping 
their  growth  in  grace;  therefore  they  were  without  protection  aa 
Dissenters,  and  without  influence  as  members  of  the  Establishment, 


198  Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 

and  their  persons  and  tlieir  property  were  for  many  years  subject  tu- 
the  mercy  of  any  mob,  magistrate,  or  Higli-Church  parson  whopa 
Satan  might  stir  up  to  torment  them. 

Class-mecting^s. — Like  every  other  step  in  the  progress  of  early 
Methodism,  the  establishment  of  "  classes  "  was  plainly  providential. 

The  number  of  members  in  "Wesley's  United  Societies  had  now 
greatly  increased.  That  at  the  Foundry  contained,  in  the  year  1742,. 
about  eleven  hundred  members.  There  was  also  a  large  Society  at 
Bristol,  and  many  smaller  ones  scattered  over  England  and  Wales.  In^ 
the  county  of  Yorkshire  alone  there  were  sixty  Societies,  which  had 
been  estabhshed  by  Wesley's  companion  in  Georgia,  who  shortly  after- 
ward joined  the  Moravians,  and  soon  faded  out  of  sight.  Hitherto, 
Wesley  and  his  brother,  with  some  little  assistance  from  the  other 
Oxford  Methodists,  had  exercised  a  pastoral  oversight  over  these  Soci- 
eties, but  in  February,  1Y42,  an  accident  led  to  an  important  addition 
to  the  simple  Methodist  system. 

In  the  erection  of  the  "  New  Room  "  at  Bristol,  the  first  of  all  the 
Wesleyan  preaching  houses,  a  large  debt  had  been  incun-ed,  and  on 
the  date  above  mentioned  some  of  the  principal  members  of  the  Bristol 
Society  met  together  to  consult  how  to  raise  the  money  to  pay  it. 
One  of  them  stood  up  and  said,  "  Let  every  member  of  the  Society 
give  a  penny  a  week  till  the  debt  is  paid."  Another  answered, 
"  Many  of  them  arc  poor,  and  cannot  afford  to  do  it."  "  Then,"  said 
the  fonner,  "  put  eleven  of  the  poorest  with  me ;  and  if  they  can  give 
any  thing,  well ;  I  will  call  on  them  weekly ;  and  if  they-  can  give 
nothing,  I  will  give  for  them  as  well  as  for  myself.  And  each  of  you 
call  on  eleven  of  your  neighbors  weekly ;  receive  what  they  give,  and 
make  up  what  is  wanting."  "  It  was  done,"  writes  Wesley ;  "  and  in 
awhile,  some  of  these  informed  me  they  found  such  and  such  an  one 
did  not  live  as  he  ought.  It  struck  me  immediately,  '  This  is  the 
thing,  the  very  thing,  we  have  wanted  so  long.'  " 

Accordingly  he  called  together  these  weekly  collectors  of  money 
to  pay  the  debt  of  the  Bristol  Chapel,  and  desired  each,  in  addition  ta 
collecting  money,  to  make  particular  inquiry  into  the  behavior  of  the 
members  whom  they  visited.  They  did  so.  Many  disorderly  walkers 
were  detected;  and  thus  *he  Society  was  purged  of  unworthy 
members. 


Class  Meetings.  199 

Within  six  weeks  after  this,  on  March  25,  Wesley  introduced  the 
same  plan  in  London,  where  he  had  long  found  it  difficult  to  become 
acquainted  with  all  the  members  personally.  He  requested  several 
earnest  and  sensible  men  to  meet  him,  to  whom  he  explained  his  diffi- 
culty. They  all  agreed,  that  to  come  to  sure,  thorough  knowledge  of 
each  member,  there  could  be  no  better  way  than  to  divide  the  Society 
into  classes,  hke  those  at  Bristol.  Wesley  at  once  -appointed  as  leaders 
those  in  whom  he  could  most  confide ;  and  thus,  in  three  years  after 
their  first  organization,  the  United  Societies  were  regularly  divided 
into  classes. 

At  first  the  leaders  visited  each  member  of  their  classes  at  their  own 
houses ;  but  for  convenience  it  was  presently  arranged  that  the  class 
should  assemble  once  a  week,  at  a  time  and  place  most  convenient  for 
the  whole,  the  time  being  spent  chiefly  in  conversing  with  those 
present,  one  by  one,  the  leader  beginning  and  ending  each  meeting 
with  singing  and  prayer. 

Thus  class  meetings  began.  Wesley  writes:  "It  can  scarce  be- 
conceived  what  advantages  have  been  reaped  by  this  little  prudential 
regulation.  Many  now  experienced  that  Christian  fellowship  of  which 
they  had  not  so  much  as  an  idea  before.  They  began  to  bear  one 
another's  burdens,  and  naturally  to  care  for  each  other's  weKare. 
And  as  they  had  daily  a  more  intimate  acquaintance,  so  they 
had  a  more  endeared  affection  for  each  other.  Upon  reflection  I 
could  not  but  observe  this  is  the  very  thing  which  was  from  the 
beginning  of  Christianity.  As  soon  as  any  Jews  or  heathen  were  so 
convinced  of  the  truth  as  to  forsake  sin  and  seek  the  gospel  of  salva- 
tion, the  first  preachers  immediately  joined  them  together ;  took  an 
account  of  their  names ;  advised  them  to  watch  over  each  other ;  and 
met  these  catechumens,  as  they  were  then  called,  apart  from  the  great 
congregation,  that  they  might  instruct,  rebuke,  exhort,  and  pray  with 
them  and  for  them  according  to  their  several  necessities." 

The  Quarterly  Tisitation,  or  the  "  Quarterly  Meeting,'^ 
as  it  is  usually  called  in  America,  was  another  providential  method 
developed  by  the  circumstances  and  necessities  of  the  early  Methodist 
Societies.  The  appointment  of  leaders  over  the  classes  devolved  upon 
Mr.  Wesley,  but  the  difficulty  of  finding  suitable  persons  in  sufficient 
•numbers  induced  him  to   arrange    to  meet  the   classes  himself,   if 


■200 


Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 


possible,  as  often  as  four  times  a  year.  The  performance  of  this  duty 
made  him,  of  necessity,  an  itinerant,  and  from  this  time  to  ahnost  the 
day  of  his  death  John  Wesley  was  the  greatest  traveler  in  the  United 
Kingdom.  As  the  mmiber  of  the  Societies  increased,  it  became 
impossible  for  him  to  meet  all  the  classes  himself,  and  thus  the  duty 
was  devolved  upon  his  helpers,  but  the  coming  of  the  preacher, 
who,  if    he  was  not  Wesley  himseK  was  his  personal  representative, 


Wesley's  orphan-house  at  Newcastle. 

was  regarded  as  an  important  event  in  the  life  of  the  simple-minded 
people  of  which  the  first  Societies  were  chiefly  composed ;  and  this 
quarterly  visitation  became  one  of  the  strongest  bonds  by  which  the 
Societies  were  held  together. 

Wesley  at  Newcastle. — In  the  year  1742  Mr.  Wesley 
extended  his  missionary  journeys  into  the  north  of  England,  and  on 
the  28th  of  May  reached  the  smoky  metropolis  of  Newcastle-upon- 
Tyne,  where,  even  after  his  Kingswood  experiences,  he  was  greatly 


Wesley  at  Newcastle. 


201 


•shocked  at  the  degradation  and  wickedness  of  the  people.  Drunken- 
ness and  swearing  were  habitual,  and  even  the  mouths  of  the  little 
children  were  filled  with  oaths  and  curses. 

On  Sunday  morning,  at  seven  o'clock,  Wesley  and  his  traveling 
companion,  John  Taylor,  took  their  stand  in  Sandgate,  the  poorest 
and  most  abandoned  part  of  the  town,  and  began  to  sing  the  Old 
Hundredth  Psahn.  Presently  the  people  began  to  come  together  to  see 
what  was  the  matter,  and  about  the  time  Wesley  had  finished  his 


ORPHAN-HOUSE    AVKSLEYAN    SCHOOLS,   NEWCASTLE. 
(On  the  site  of  the  old  Orphan  House.) 

,preaching,  which  followed  the  singing,  he  had  a  congregation  of  from 
twelve  to  fifteen  hundred  persons,  some  of  whom  he  declares  to  have 
been  the  worst  and  most  profane  of  any  barbarians  he  had  ever 
addressed.  Concerning  the  profanity  of  this  people  it  was  said  "  they 
used  the  language  as  though  they  had  received  a  liberal  education  in 
the  regions  of  woe."  Wesley's  text  on  this  occasion  was,  "  He  was 
wounded  for  our  transgressions,  he  was  biniised  for  our  iniquities : 
the  chastisement  of  our  peace  was  upon  him  ;  and  with  his  stripes  we 

Are  healed." 
13 


^02  Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 

When  the  service  was  ended  the  people  stood  gaping  with  aston- 
ishment, upon  which  the  preacher  said :  "  If  you  desire  to  know  who 
I  ain,  my  name  is  John  Wesley.  At  five  in  the  evening,  with  God's 
help,  I  design  to  preach  here  again." 

At  five  o'clock  he  again  took  his  stand  on  the  hill  opposite  Keel- 
man's  Hospital,*  while  just  before  him  swarmed  the  denizens  of 
Sandgate  and  the  crowded  alleys  by  the  river  Tyne.  In  Moorfields 
and  Kennington  Common  Wesley  had  preached  to  congregations 
estimated  at  from  ten  to  twenty  thousand  people,  but  on  this  occasion 
he  preached  to  the  largest  as  well  as  to  the  wildest  crowd  he  had  ever 
seen,  who  listened  to  him  respectfully,  and  after  the  preaching  pressed 
upon  him  for  a  nearer  view,  or  perhaps  a  shake  of  the  hand,  and  were, 
as  he  says,  "ready  to  tread  him  under  foot  out  of  pure  love  and 
kindness." 

From  this  time  forth  Newcastle  became  one  of  the  strongholds  of 
Methodism.  Here  Wesley  formed  a  society,  which  he  calls  "  a  wild, 
staring,  loving  society,"  and  here  he  also  opened  a  second  school,  some- 
what after  the  manner  of  the  one  at  Kingswood,  in  which  forty  poor 
children  were  to  be  taught ;  the  scholars  as  well  as  the  teachers  to  be 
selected  by  himseK  and  his  brother.  There  was  also  a  provision  for 
supporting  a  small  number  of  orphans,  from  whence  the  school 
derived  its  popular  name,  "The  ISTewcastle  Orphanage." 

Wesley  Preaching  on  His  Father's  Toinb.f — In  June 
of  this  year  Mr.  Wesley  made  a  visit  to  his  old  home  at  Epworth.  The 
parish  clergyman  was  a  miserable  man  of  dissolute  habits,  who  hated 
the  Methodists  with  all  his  might,  and  on  the  appearance  of  their 
leader  in  his  parish  he  poured  out  his  wi'ath  against  them  in  two  dis- 
courses which  Wesley  describes  as  two  of  the  bitterest  and  vilest 
sermons  he  ever  heard.  He  was  desirous  of  preaching  to  his  old  neigh- 
bors, and,  being  shut  out  of  the  church,  he  resolved  to  preach  in  the 
church-yard — a  proceeding  proper  enough  on  general  principles,  but  a 
plain  breach  of  the  law  of  the  Prayer  Book — and  taking  his  stand  upon 
the  broad,  low  platform  which  marked  the  grave  of  his  father,  he 
preached  with  wonderful  power  to  the  crowds  that  gathered  about  him. 

*  "  Keelman  "  is  Newcastle-English  for  "  bargeman ; "  this  class  of  persons  being  verj 
numerous  at  Newcastle,  where  they  are  employed  on  the  heavy  boats  or  barges  used  in 
transporting  coal.  t  See  beginning  of  chapter. 


Wesley  PnEACHmG  on  his  Father's  Tomb.         203 

Durino-  the  week  of  his  visit  to  Epworth  he  preached  from  this 
strano-e  pulpit  every  day.  On  one  occasion  his  voice  was  drowned 
by  the  cries  of  the  penitents  ;  several  persons  dropped  down  as  if  they 
had  been  dead,  and  the  quiet  old  church-yard  was  turned  into  an 
"  inquiry -room,"  in  which  many  sinners  found  peace  with  God,  and 
which  then  resounded  with  songs  of  joy,  thanksgiving,  and  praise. 

John  Whitelanib,  Wesley's  brother-in-law,  at  that  time  the  curate  at 
Wroote,  who  heard  him  preach  at  Ep^vorth,  says,  in  writing  to  him  : — 

"  Your  presence  creates  an  awe,  as  if  you  were  an  inhabitant  of 
another  world." 


JOHN    WESLEY    AT    FORTY    YEARS    OF    AGE. 

(From  Tyerman's  "  Life  and  Times  of  Wesley.") 

But  Epworth  was,  of  old,  a  j^lace  given  to  religious  persecution^ 
and  no  wonder  that  among  the  descendants  of  people  wdio  could  burn 
the  house  of  their  clergyman  at  midnight  because  they  did  not  like 
his  politics,  some  should  be  found  who  would  annoy  a  Methodist 
because  they  did  not  like  his  religion. 

There  were  a  good  many  conversions  among  the  Epworth  sinners, 
but  some  of  them  were  not  allowed  to  live  in  peace.  On  one  occasion  a 
whole  wagon  load  of  them  were  arrested  and  carried  before  a  magistrate. 


204  Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 

"  With  what  offense  are  these  people  charged  ? "  asked  the  squire. 

"  They  pretend  to  be  better  than  other  people,"  said  one  of  their 
accusers. 

"  And  they  pray  from  morning  till  night,"  said  another. 

"  They  have  converted  my  wife,"  said  another ;  but  he  added,  as  a 
grudging  admission  of  the  tnith,  "  tiU  she  went  among  them  she  had 
such  a  tongue,  but  now  she  is  as  quiet  as  a  lamb." 

"  Take  them  back,"  said  the  justice,  "  take  them  back,  and  let  them 
convert  all  the  scolds  in  town." 

Death  of  Mrs.  Wesley. — After  the  death  of  his  father,  John 
Wesley,  like  a  dutiful  and  affectionate  son,  assumed  the  support  of  his 
mother,  and  on  the  completion  of  the  repairs  at  the  Foimdry  removed 
her  to  a  comfortable  home  which  he  had  fitted  up  therein.  The 
incident  concerning  her  defense  of  young  Maxfield,  the  lay  preacher, 
shows  that  she  took  an  active  interest  in  the  affairs  of  the  Society; 
and  the  constant  presence  of  such  a  woman  at  the  head-quarters  of 
Methodism  could  not  fail  to  be  of  great  advantage. 

Soon  after  his  visit  to  Epworth  Wesley  heard  that  his  mother  was 
seriously  iU,  and  hastened  home,  only  to  find  her  just  on  the  borders 
of  heaven. 

Her  death  and  burial  are  thus  recorded  iu  his  Journal,  under  date 
of  Friday,  July  23,  1743  :— 

"About  three  in  the  afternoon  I  went  to  see  my  mother,  and 
found  her  change  was  near.  I  sat  down  on  the  bedside ;  she  was  in 
her  last  conflict,  unable  to  speak,  but  I  believe  quite  sensible.  Her 
look  was  cahn  and  serene,  and  her  eyes  fixed  upward,  while  we 
commended  her  soul  to  God.  From  three  to  four  the  silver  cord  was 
loosing,  and  the  wheel  breaking  at  the  cistern ;  and  then,  without  any 
eti-uggle,  or  sigh,  or  groan,  her  soul  was  set  at  liberty.  We  stood 
round  the  bed,  and  fulfilled  her  last  request,  uttered  a  little  before  she 
lost  her  speech,  '  Children,  as  soon  as  I  am  released,  sing  a  psalm  of 
praise  to  God.' 

"  Sunday,  August  1.  Almost  an  innumerable  company  of  people 
being  gathered  together,  about  five  in  the  afternoon  I  committed  to 
the  earth  the  body  of  my  mother,  to  sleep  with  her  fathers.  The 
portion  of  Scripture  from  which  I  afterward  spoke  was,  'I  saw  a 
great  white  throne,  and  Him  that  sat  on  it,  from  whose  face  the  earth 


Death  of  Mrs.  AVesley. 


205 


and  the  heaven  fled  away,  and  there  was  found  no  place  for  them. 
And  I  saw  tlie  dead  small  and  great  stand  before  God,  and  the  books 
were  opened.  And  the  dead  were  judged  out  of  those  things  which 
were  written  in  the  books  according  to  their  works.'  It  was  one  of 
the  most  solemn  assemblies  I  ever  saw,  or  expect  to  see,  on  this  side 
eternity.  "We  set  up  a  plain  stone  at  the  head  of  her  grave,  inscribed 
with  the  following  words  ; — • 

HERE  LIES   THE   BODY   OF 

MRS.    SUSANNAH   WESLEY, 

THE  YOUNGEST   AND   LAST   SURVIVING  DAUGHTER   OF 
DK.   SAMUEL  ANNESLEY. 


MRS.   WESLEY'S  MONUMENT, 


The  place  of  Mrs.  Wesley's  burial  Avas  at  Bunhill-Fields,  now  in 
the  midst  of  that  vast  aggregation  of  towns,  called  London  ;  a  place 
wliich  is  also  memorable  as  containing  the  tomb  of  John  Bunyan. 

Mrs.  Wesley's  New  Toiiil>. — In  the  year  1869  an  appeal 
was  made  to  the  "  boys  of   England,"'    in  the  columns  of   one  of  the 


206  Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 

English  religious  papers,  for  funds  to  restore  the  tomb  of  Daniel 
De  Foe,  whose  tody  also  lies  in  Bunhill-Fields.  Shortly  afterward  a 
eimilar  appeal  appeared  in  the  Methodist  Recorder  to  the  "  Mothers 
and  Daughters  of  Methodism,"  to  erect  a  suitable  monument  over 
the  grave  of  Susannah  "Wesley,  "  the  mother  of  the  Kevs.  John  and 
Charles  Wesley ;  the  former  of  whom  was,  under  God,  the  Founder 
of  the  Societies  of  the  people  called  Methodists."  This  appeal  met 
with  a  hearty  response,  and  the  monument  has  been  erected;  not, 
however,  in  the  Bunhill-Fields'  Burial  Ground,  but  on  a  much  more 
eligible  site,  in  front  of  the  City-road  Chapel,  and  immediately  adjoin- 
ing the  house  in  which  her  most  distinguished  son  lived  and  died. 
The  inscription  is  as  follows : — 

HERE   LIES   THE   BODY   OF 

MRS.    SUSANNAH   WESLEY, 
Widow  op  the  Rev.  Samuel  Wesley,  M.  A., 

(late  BECTOR  op  EPWORTH,  in  LINCOLNSHIRE,) 

WHO  DIED  JULY  23,  1742, 

AGED  78  TEARS. 

SHE  WAS  THE  YOUNGEST   DAUGHTER  OP  THE 

REV.    SAMUEL  AITNESLEY,   D.D.,   EJECTED  BY  THE  ACT 

OF  UNIFORMITY  FROM  THE  RECTORY  OF  ST.    GILES'S. 

CRIPPLE6ATE,  AUG.  24,  1662. 

SHE  WAS  THE  MOTHER  OF  NINETEEN  CHILDREN, 

OP  WHOM  THE  MOST  EMINENT  WERE  THE 

REV.  JOHN  AND  CHARLES  WESLEY ; 

THE    FORMER    OF    WHOM    WAS    UNDER    GOD    THE 

FOUNDER  OP  THE  SOCIETIES  OP  THE  PEOPLE 

CALLED  METHODISTS. 


IN  SURE  AND  CERTAIN  HOPE  TO  RISE, 
AND  CLAIM  HER  MANSION  IN  THE  SKIES, 
A  CHRISTIAN  HERE  HER  FLESH  LAID  DOWS, 
THE  CROSS  EXCHANGING  FOR  A  CROWN. 


A  VIEW    IN    THE  BLACK    COUNTRY DUDLEY   AT  NIGHT. 


CHAPTER  IX. 


STORMY    DAYS   FOR    METHODISM. 

The  Black  Country.— The  soutliem  section  of  tlie  county 
of  Staffordshire,  between  Wolverhampton  and  Birmingham,  known 
as  "  The  Black  Country,"  is  notable  in  Methodist  history  as  the  scene 
of  some  of  the  most  violent  persecutions. 

In  1743  Charles  Wesley  made  a  preaching  tour  through  these 
almost  infernal  regions,  in  which  already  there  had  been  a  considerable 
awakening.  At  Wednesbury  he  foimd  a  society  of  more  than  three 
hundred  members,  many  of  whom  had  been  reformed  from  the 
wildest  and  wickedest  ways  of  Hfe,  but  the  town  was  full  of  people 
who  raged  against  the  movement  Hke  untamed  beasts  of  the  forest. 

He  had  need  of  courage  who  should  venture  to  preach  under  the 
auspices  of  this  Society.  But  Charles  Wesley  was  a  brave  man. 
Moreover,  the  success  of  his  brother  and  Mr.  Whitefield  in  open-air 
preaching,  and  the  evident  favor  of  the  Lord  which  had  attended 
these  efforts,  had  converted  him  to  that  idea;  and  now  there  was  no 
more  courageous  open-air  preacher  in  England  than  the  High-chm-ch, 


208  Illustrated  Histoey  of  Methodism. 

poetical  Charles  Wesley.  Having  met  his  brother  at  "Wednesburj^ 
he  determined  to  preach  in  the  neighboring  town  of  Walsal,  and 
a  considerable  number  of  the  brethren  formed  a  procession  with 
Wesley  at  their  head  and  marched  thither,  singing  as  they  went,  while 
the  rabble  hooted  at  them  as  they  passed  through  the  streets. 

Charles  Wesley  took  his  stand  on  the  steps  of  the  Walsal  Market- 
house,  with  the  faithful  Wednesbury  Society  about  him.  Presently 
a  mob  was  raised,  which  bore  down  upon  the  httle  company  like  a 
flood,  with  the  intention  of  sweeping  them  away.  Finding  that  the 
Methodists  were  inclined  to  stand  their  ground,  the  mob  next  com- 
menced to  throw  stones,  many  of  which  struck  the  preacher,  but 
failed  to  stop  his  discourse.  When  he  was  near  the  close  thereof,  the 
surging  multitude  pressed  so  hard  upon  him  as  to  push  him  from  hi& 
platform;  he,  however,  regained  his  feet  in  time  to  save  himself 
from  being  trampled  to  death,  and  stretched  out  his  hands  to  pro- 
nounce the  benediction,  when  he  was  again  thrown  down.  A  third 
time  he  regained  his  position  and  proceeded  to  return  thanks,  as  waa 
his  custom,  after  which  he  passed  through  the  midst  of  the  rioters, 
who  were  raging  on  every  hand,  but,  strangely  enough,  no  one  laid  a 
hand  upon  him. 

From  Walsal  Charles  Wesley  proceeded  to  Sheffield,  where,  he 
says,  "  Hell  from  beneath  was  moved  to  oppose  us."  The  house  in 
which  he  was  preaching  being  in  danger  of  destruction  by  the  mob, 
in  order  to  save  the  house  he  announced  that  he  would  preach  out  of 
doors ;  whereupon  the  crowd  followed  him  to  the  place  chosen  for 
this  purpose,  and  he  finished  his  sermon  under  a  shower  of  stones. 

After  preaching  he  returned  to  the  Methodist  house  where  he 
had  been  entertained,  which  was  also  used  as  a  preaching  place,  and 
here  the  mob  continued  their  violence  through  the  whole  night. 
Wesley  would  have  gone  out  to  meet  them,  in  order  to  save  the  home 
of  his  friend  from  destruction,  but  he  was  not  permitted  to  do  so,  lest 
it  should  cost  him  his  life.  The  rabble  raged  all  night,  and  by  morn- 
ing they  had  puUed  down  one  end  of  the  house,  but  no  personal  injury 
was  received  either  by  Mr.  Wesley  or  his  friends. 

This  disgraceful  tumult  he  ascribes  to  the  sermons  which  were 
preached  against  the  Methodists  by  the  clergy  of  the  Sheffield 
Churches. 


Stormy  Days  for  Methodism. 


20^ 


One  would  suppose  that  after  such  experiences  Chailes  Wesley 
•would  have  been  ready  to  shake  off  the  dust  of  his  feet  against 
the  town  of  SheflSeld,  and  depart  to  more  peaceful  scenes ;  but 
the  next  morning  he  began  his  preaching  again  at  five  o'clock,  and 
later  in  tlie  day  held  another  out-door  service  in  the  very  heart  of  the 
town,  on  returning  from  which  he  passed  the  ruins  of  the  little  Meth- 
odist chapel,  whereof  hardly  one  stone  remained  upon  another.  Again 
the  mob  surrounded  his  lodging-place  at  night,  and  threatened  to  tear 


A    "BLACK    COUNTRY"  WELCOME, 
(Wesley  at  Wednesbury.) 

down  the  dwelling,  which  was  already  partially  destroyed,  but  he 
tells  us  that  he  was  much  fatigued,  and  dropped  to  sleep  with  that 
word^   "  Scatter  thou  the  people  that  delight  in  war." 

Charles  Wesley  often  acknowledged  himself  to  be  constitution- 
ally a  timid  man ;  but  there  was  nothing  he  feared  so  much  as  to 
offend  his  own  conscience ;  and  under  the  inspiration  of  duty  this 
lamb    became   a    Hon,   wholly   insensible  to   fear    by  reason   of  the 


•210  Illustrated  HiSTORr  of  Methodism. 

overmastering  religious  fervor  wliich  lifted  liim  above  all  sense  of 
what  the  world  calls  danger. 

It  was  no  unusual  experience  for  the  "Wesleys  to  find  a  mob 
waiting  for  them  on  their  arrival  at  the  various  towns  on  their  route ; 
indeed,  a  peaceable  quarterly  visitation  in  the  Black  Country,  or 
Cornwall,  was  regarded  as  rather  an  exception  to  the  rule.  On  one 
occasion,  while  preaching  in  the  chapel  at  St.  Ives,  the  place  was 
attacked  by  the  mob,  its  windows  smashed  in,  its  seats  torn  up,  and 
the  fragments  borne  away,  with  the  shutters,  poor-box,  and  aU  but  the 
stone  walls.  Wesley  bade  the  people  stand  still  and  see  the  salvation 
of  God,  resolving  to  continue  with  them  until  the  end  of  the  strife. 
After  raging  about  an  hour,  the  raffians  feU  to  quarreling  among 
themselves,  broke  the  head  of  the  town  clerk,  who  was  their  captain, 
and  drove  one  another  out  of  the  room.  Having  kept  the  field, 
the  Society  gave  thanks  for  the  victory.  "The  word  of  God  runs 
and  is  glorified,"  writes  "Wesley,  "  but  the  devil  rages  horribly." 

The  converted  miners  were  as  fearless  in  duty  as  they  had  been 
in  fights  and  brawls.  Wesley  says,  "  I  cannot  find  one  of  this  people 
who  fears  those  that  can  kill  the  body  only."  Hereby  some  of  theii 
bitterest  persecutors  were  conquered,  or  won  by  their  meek  endurance, 
and  became  standard-bearers  of  the  cross  among  them. 

Similar  assaults  were  made  in  other  places.  At  Poole  a  drunken 
hearer  attempted  to  drag  the  preacher  from  his  stand,  and  a  church- 
warden, heading  the  rabble,  drove  him  and  his  congregation  out  of  the 
parish.  The  Church  record  bears  to  this  day  an  entry  of  the  score  at 
the  village  inn  of  drinks  furnished  to  the  mob  "for  driving  out 
the  Methodists."  A  strong  man  behind  Wesley  aimed  several  blows 
with  a  heavy  club  at  his  head,  but  they  were  all  turned  aside,  Wesley 
says  he  knew  not  how.  He  was  struck  a  powerful  blow  on  the  chest, 
and  another  on  the  mouth,  making  the  blood  gush  forth ;  but  he 
declares  he  felt  no  more  pain  from  either  than  if  he  had  merely 
been  touched  with  a  straw.  The  noise  on  every  side,  he  says,  was 
like  a  roaring  sea.  Some  cried,  "  Knock  his  brains  out !  "  "  Down 
with  him  !  "  "  Kill  him !  "  "  Crucify  him  !  "  Others  shouted,  "  No, 
let  us  hear  him  first ! "  And  while  they  were  thus  disputing  among 
themselves  wliether  to  hear  him  or  kill  him,  Wesley  broke  out  in  loud 
eupplication,   which   prayer   was    suddenly   answered   by  Him   who 


Stormy  Days  for  Methodism.  21  i 

lioldeth  the  hearts  of  all  men  in  his  hand,  and  the  ruffian  that  headed 
the  mob,  and  who  was  a  professional  prize-fighter,  was  suddenly  struck 
with  awe  and  tenderness,  and  when  Wesley  had  reached  the  "  Amen," 
this  fellow  turned  to  him  and  said : — 

"  Sir,  I  will  spend  my  hf e  for  you  ;  follow  me,  and  not  one  soul 
here  shall  touch  a  hair  of  your  head."  Then  a  stout  butcher  cried  out 
that  he  also  would  stand  by  him,  and  several  others  at  once  ralhed  for 
his  protection,  before  whom  the  people  fell  back  as  if  by  common 
consent,  and,  led  on  through  their  open  ranks  by  these  heaven-sent 
champions,  Wesley  passed  safely  through  the  midst  of  the  mob,  and 
escaped  to  his  lodgings  unharmed. 

As  in  Sheffield,  so  in  Wednesbury  and  elsewhere,  the  clergy  and 
the  magistrates  favored  the  mob :  the  former  instigated  it,  and  the 
latter  refused  to  suppress  it.  The  Methodists  of  the  town  had  already 
endm*ed  intolerable  wrongs.  Women  and  cliildi'en  had  been  knocked 
down  and  dragged  in  the  gutters  of  the  streets ;  their  houses  had  been 
attacked,  their  windows  and  furniture  demohshed ;  and  so  worthless 
was  the  pohce  of  that  day  that  the  rioters  were  accustomed  to 
assemble  at  the  blowing  of  a  horn,  and  virtually  usurped  the  control 
of  the  town  for  nearly  half  a  year. 

It  was  in  view  of  these  sufferings  on  the  part  of  his  people,  of 
which  his  younger  brother  had  had  such  a  rough  experience,  that  John 
Wesley  presented  himself  in  the  Black  Country  to  face  the  fury  of 
his  enemies.  God  was  evidently  with  him,  proving  again  the  truth  of 
'the  declaration  that  he  is  able  to  make  the  wrath  of  man  to  praise 
him,  and  the  remainder  he  will  restrain.  Doubtless  it  was  the  swift 
answer  to  Wesley's  prayer  that  turned  the  hearts  of  the  leaders  of  the 
mob,  so  that  from  desiring  to  kill  him  they  were  ready  to  die  in 
defending  him ;  for  on  no  other  theory  can  this  sudden  change  of 
feeling  and  purpose  be  explained. 

From  Wednesbury  Wesley  went  to  Nottingham,  where  his  brother 
Charles  was  preaching.  "  He  looked,"  says  the  latter,  "  hke  a  soldier 
of  Christ :  his  clothes  were  torn  to  tatters," 

Wesley  and  the  Methodists  Denounced  as  Papists 
and  Traitors. — These  were,  indeed,  stormy  days  for  .Methodism. 
But  the  storm  had  not  yet  reached  its  height. 

On  the  15th  of  November,  1774,  King  George  sent  a  message  to 


212  Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 

the  House  of  ParKament,  saying  that  he  had  received  intelKgence  that 
the  oldest  son  of  the  Pretender,  that  is  to  say,  the  heir  of  the  papist 
King  James  II.  had  arrived  in  France,  and  that  preparations  were 
there  being  made  to  invade  England  and  place  this  scion  of  the  house 
of  Stuart  upon  the  throne.  Great  excitement  followed.  War  was 
declared  against  France,  the  coast  was  watched  with  the  utmost  care, 
all  the  military  forces  were  ordered  to  the  posts  of  duty,  the  Habeas 
Corjpiis  act  was  suspended,  and  a  proclamation  was  issued  for  a  general 
fast. 

All  papists  and  reputed  papists  were  forbidden  to  remain  within 
ten  miles  of  the  cities  of  Westminster  and  London.  Loyal  addresses 
were  presented  to  the  King  by  the  Universities  of  Oxford  and  Cam- 
bridge, by  the  merchants  of  London,  by  the  convocation  of  the  prov- 
ince of  Canterbury,  by  the  Quakers,  by  the  Protestant  Dissenters,  and 
by  many  others;  but  there  is  no  account  of  any  loyal  address  being 
presented  by  the  Methodists ;  they  being  so  small  a  body  as  yet,  such 
an  action  would  have  seemed  ridiculous.  For  this  or  some  other 
equally  foolish  reason  rumors  began  to  prevail  that  the  Methodist 
preachers  were  plotting  to  aid  the  house  of  Stuart,  and  all  sorts  of 
calumnies  against  them  Hew  over  the  land.  It  was  reported  that 
Wesley  had  held  an  interview  with  the  Pretender  in  France ;  that  he 
had  been  taken  up  for  high  treason ;  that  he  was  safe  in  prison  awaiting 
execution.  It  was  also  declared  that  he  was  a  Jesuit,  and  kept  a  sort 
of  head-quarters  for  Romish  priests  in  his  house  at  London,  Spain, 
being  a  papist  country,  was  expected  to  aid  the  fortunes  of  the  house 
of  Stuart,  and  Wesley  was  said  to  have  received  large  remittances  of 
money  from  thence,  in  order  to  raise  a  body  of  twenty  thousand  men 
to  aid  the  expected  Spanish  invasion.  Other  slanders  followed,  which 
accused  him  of  being  an  Anabaptist,  a  Quaker,  a  malefactor  who  had 
been  prosecuted  for  selling  gin,  and  finally,  it  was  alleged  that  the 
genuine  John  Wesley  had  hanged  himself  and  was  dead  and  buried, 
and  the  "  John  Wesley "  who  was  figuring  in  politics  was  merely  a 
pretender :  all  of  which  reports  found  ready  believers  among  people 
who  desired  a  reason  for  hating  the  Methodists. 

The  favorite  accusation  against  Wesley  was  that  he  was  a  disguised 
papist,  and  an  agent  of  the  Pretender;  and  when  the  proclamation 
was  made  requiring  all  Roman  Catholics  to  leave  London,  Wesley  was- 


Stoemt  Days  foe  Methodism.  213 

-aoluaUy  summoned  by  the  Justices  of  Surrey  to  appear  before  tbeir 
court  Ld  required  to  take  the  oath  of  aUegianee  to  the  Kmg,  and  to 
:^  he  declaration  against  popery.  His  brother  Charies  wa.  hear^ 
on  a  certain  occasion,  in  a  pubUc  prayer,  to  beseech  the  Lord  'o  c^ 
home  Hs  banished  ones,"  which,  it  wa.  insi^ed,  must  mean  the  h^^ 
of  the  Stuarts.  On  this  account  he  was  indicted,  and  brought  before 
he  mjtrates  in  Yorkshire,  where  he  succeeded  in  expla.mng  the 
i^efy  Lptural  meaning  of  the  phrase,  and  was  aUowed  to  go  about 

his  business.  ,  .  ,  ^„^ 

These  were  carnival  days  for  the  rabble:  ahnost  any  violence  was 
excusable  if  it  were  done  under  the  pretense  of  fighting  the  f nends  of 
the  Stuarts-a  convenient  pretense,  and  certain  to  be  misused.    In 
Staffordshire  the  Methodists  were  assailed  on  this  ground,  not  only  in 
their  preaching  places,  but  in  the  streets  and  at  their  homes     Houses 
trbroken  fnto,  furniture  destroyed  and  thrown  intoth«  streets, 
and  women  and  children  were  abused  in  a  manner  which,  Wesley 
says  wa.  too  horrible  to  be  related.     Sometimes  the  Methodist  houses 
wer;  torn  down,  and  every  thing  which  they  contained  wa.  cai-ned 
away,  the  mob  helping  themselves  to  the  things  which  pleased  them 
best  no  one  offering  the  shghtest  resistance.    Men  and  women  fled 
for  their  Hves;  in'some  eases  leaving  their  children  behind  them 
Many  of  the  townspeople,  too,  were  in  such  terror  of  the  mob  that 
-they  were  actually  afraid  to  receive  these  Uttle  homeless  wanderers 
into'  their  houses  because  they  were  Methodist  children.     The  mob 
divided  into  several  bands,  and  marched  from  viUage  to  village,  and 
the  whole  region  was  in  a  state  little  short  of  cml  war. 

Some  of  the  "gentlemen"  who  had  incited  these  outrages  threat- 
ened to  turn  away  the  colUers  and  miners  in  their  service  if  they 
showed  any  sympathy  for  the  Methodists,  and  finally  drew  up  a  paper 
for  the  members  of  the  Societies  to  sign,  pledging  themselves  never  to 
invite  or  receive  a  Methodist  preacher  again,  on  which  condition  it 
was  promised  that  the  mob  should  be  checked  at  once ;  otherwise  they 
were  given  to  understand  that  they  must  take  their  own  toes. 
This  Mamous  pledge  was  offered  to  several  members  of  Societies, 
but   the  faithful  believers  declared  that,  having  lost  their  goods, 
nothing  else  could  follow  but  the  loss  of  their  lives,  which  they  were 
willing  to  lose  rather  than  to  wrong  their  consciences. 


214  Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 

1Ve§ley  Faces  hi§  £iieiiiies. — What  was  the  surprise  and 
indignation  of  Mr.  Wesley  to  find  these  outrages  described  in  the 
London  newspapers  as  perpetrated  by  the  Methodists,  who,  "  upon 
some  pretended  insults  from  the  Church  party,  had  risen  in  insurrec- 
tion against  the  Government !"  He  at  once  hastened  from  London  to 
sustain  the  persecuted  Societies  in  the  riotous  districts,  for  it  was  his 
rule  "  always  to  face  the  mob."  At  Dudley,  one  of  the  mining  towns, 
he  learned  that  the  lay  preacher  of  the  station  had  been  greatly  abused 
at  the  instigation  of  the  parish  minister,  and  would  probably  have 
been  murdered  had  not  an  honest  Quaker  loaned  him  his  broad- 
brimmed  hat  and  plain  coat,  in  which  disguise  he  managed  to  escape. 
One  of  the  magistrates  refused  to  hear  a  Methodist  who  came  to  take 
oath  that  his  life  was  in  danger.  Another  delivered  a  member  of  the 
Society  up  to  the  mob,  and,  waving  his  hand  over  his  head,  shouted : 
"  Hurrah,  boys !  well  done  !  stand  up  for  the  Church !  " 

On  this  memorable  tour  Wesley  cheered  and  steadied  the  Socie- 
ties, and,  taking  his  stand  in  the  public  squares  of  those  towns  where 
there  had  been  the  greatest  violence,  he  boldly  preached  the  tnith  to 
them.  These  services,  performed  in  the  immediate  danger  of  his  life, 
he  describes  in  his  Journal  as  "  taming  the  mobs."  "  The  rocks,"  he 
says,  "  were  melted  on  every  side,  and  the  very  ringleaders  declared 
that  they  would  make  no  more  disturbance." 

At  Ei^worth,  where  the  old  persecuting  sj)irit  still  raged,  he  found 
his  preacher,  Thomas  Westall,  who  had  been  driven  away  from  Not- 
tingham by  the  mob  and  the  Mayor.  As  he  passed  through  the  town 
of  Birstal,  in  Yorkshire,  he  came  upon  the  mob  as  they  were  tearing 
down  the  house  of  John  Nelson,  the  sturdy  Methodist  preacher,  of 
whom  we  shall  see  more  in  due  time.  The  cowardly  rabble  fled  on 
the  approach  of  Wesley  and  his  companions,  who  advanced  upon  them 
with  no  other  weapons  than  some  Methodist  hymns,  which  they  were 
singing  right  lustily. 

The  storm,  meanwhile,  had  reached  Cornwall,  also.  The  chapel  at 
St.  Ives  was  entirely  destroyed,  and  on  his  arrival  there  Wesley  was 
saluted  with  shouts,  and  stones,  and  rubbish.  Concerning  the  Meth- 
odists of  St.  Just,  another  Cornwall  parish,  he  says :  "  They  were  the 
chief  of  the  whole  country  for  hurling,  fighting,  drinking,  and  all 
manner  of  wickedness :   but  many  of  the  lions  have  become  lambs. 


Stormy  Days  for  Methodism.  215 

and  are  contimially  praising  God,  and  calling  their  old  companions  in 
sin  to  come  and  magnify  tlie  Lord  together."  Thus  was  illustrated, 
over  and  over  again,  the  truth  of  the  apostle's  words, ' "  Where  sin 
abounded  grace  did  much  more  abound."  * 

These  are  but  a  few  of  the  outrages  endured  by  the  Methodists 
dming  this  British  craze  over  the  expected  invasion  of  the  papist 
Pretender ;  but  to  their  everlasting  honor  be  it  spoken,  none  of  these 
things  moved  them ;  and,  what  is  more  a  matter  of  wonder,  this 
senseless  persecution,  instigated  by  the  clergy  and  winied  at  by  the 
magistrates,  did  not  drive  them  from  their  loyalty  either  to  the  Church 
or  the  King.  If  they  had  only  been  wilhng  to  become  Dissenters 
they  would  have  been  at  peace ;  but  they  were  continually  urged  by 
the  Wesleys  to  continue  faithful  to  the  Estabhshment,  and  there 
was  no  redress  for  them,  in  view  of  their  irregularities,  except  under 
the  common  law,  which,  in  those  days  as  well  as  in  these,  was  a  luxury 
that  poor  people  could  ill  afford,  and  which  then,  as  now,  was  apt  to 
cost  a  great  deal  more  than  it  was  worth. 

As  a  specimen  of  the  justice  administered  in  England  in  those 
times  take  the  following :  One  Edward  Greenfield,  a  tinner  of  the 
parish  of  St.  Just,  in  Cornwall,  was  arrested  under  a  warrant  issued 
by  Dr.  Borlase,  one  of  the  clerical  magistrates,  and  Mr.  Wesley, 
hearing  thereof,  presented  himself  before  the  court  and  demanded  of 
what  offense  the  man  had  been  guilty. 

"  The  man  is  well  enough  in  other  things,"  was  the  reply  ;  "  but 
j^entlemen  cannot  bear  his  impudence.  Why,  sir,  he  says  he  knows 
his  sins  are  forgiven !  " 

Such  "  impudence  "  as  this  in  a  poor  workingman  was  doubtless  a 
sore  offense  in  the  eyes  of  the  "  gentlemen,"  who  had  good  reason  to 
know  their  sins  were  not  forgiven ;  but  for  a  magistrate  and  a  clergy- 
man to  throw  a  poor  man  into  prison  on  such  a  charge  indicates  a 
degree  of  bigotry  and  tyranny  of  which,  in  these  days,  it  is  almost 
impossible  to  conceive. 

The  Press-§^aiig. — Among  the  beauties  of  the  British  govern- 
ment in  those  times  was  the  "  press-gang,"  by  which  His  Majesty's 
army  and  navy  were  forcibly  recruited  in  times  of  war — and  there 
used  to  be  war  almost  all  the  time.     It  was  lawful  to  seize,  for  service 

*  See  Stevens's  "  History  of  Methodism,"  voL  L 


216  Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 

in  the  navy,  any  able-bodied  seaman  between  the  ages  of  eighteen  and 
forty-live  :  and  for  this  purpose  small  detachments  of  trusty  tars,  with 
an  officer  at  their  head,  were  accustomed  to  prowl  around  the  haunts 
of  the  sailors  on  shore,  and  carry  o£E  their  prisoners  to  the  man-of-war 
lying  at  anchor  in  the  river  or  bay.  A  modified  form  of  this  indignity 
was  sometimes  practiced  to  capture  recruits  for  the  army.  A  vagrant 
might  be  impressed  for  a  soldier,  if  he  could  not  give  a  satisfactory 
account  of  himself,  and  under  this  pretext  it  became  a  favorite  means 
of  persecuting  the  Methodist  lay  preachers  to  arrest  them  as  strolling 
vagabonds,  having  no  visible  means  of  support,  and  thrust  them  into 
the,  vilest  dungeon  to  be  foimd,  to  await  the  arrival  of  some  regiment, 
into  which  they  were  impressed  to  serve  in  the  rank  and  file.  An 
officer,  with  his  posse,  would  even  break  through  an  out-door  con- 
gregation, seize  the  preacher,  drag  him  off  to  prison,  and  hold  him  as 
a  pressed  man,  from  which  durance  vile  he  could  only  escape  by  the 
payment  of  a  fine,  or  ransom  of  forty  pounds. 

The  "  "Westminster  Journal "  for  June  8,  1Y45,  narrates  that  a 
noted  Methodist  preacher  named  Tolly  had  been  pressed  for  a  soldier 
in  Staffordsliire,  and  had  appeared  before  the  magistrates,  attended  by 
many  of  his  "  deluded  followers  of  both  sexes,  who  pretended  he  was 
a  learned  and  holy  man ;  and  yet  it  appeared  he  was  only  a  journey- 
man joiner,  and  had  done  great  mischief  among  the  colliers."  The 
poor,  luckless  joiner  was,  therefore,  coupled  to  a  sturdy  tinker, 
and  sent  off  to  Stafford  jail.  He  had  already  been  impressed  once 
before,  and  the  Methodists  had  subscribed  £40  to  obtain  his  free- 
dom, and  were  intending  to  repeat  the  kindness ;  but  the  editor 
of  the  "Westminster  Journal"  hopes  that  the  magistrates  will 
be  proof  against,  golden  bribes ;  for  "  such  wretches  are  incendiaries 
in  a  nation." 

Caug^lit  in  his  Own  Trap.— One  of  Wesley's  preachers 
named  Drew  was,  however,  of  a  less  placid  temper  than  his  leader. 
While  traveling  his  circuit,  in  Devonshire,  he  was  interrupted  in  one 
of  his  open-air  sermons  in  the  hamlet  of  Saddiport  by  the  appear- 
ance of  a  rabble  headed  by  a  magistrate  ngimed  Stevens,  who  ordered 
the  parish  clerk  to  pull  the  preacher  down  from  the  chair  which 
served  him  for  a  pulpit.  The  clerk,  more  sensible  than  the  magis- 
trate, was  unwilling  to  obey  the  order,  and  said:   "Let  him  alone, 


Stormy  Days  for  Methodism. 


217 


eir;  let  him  preach  it  out."  But  Stevens's  churchly  blood  was  up, 
and,  finding  the  clerk  would  not  serve  him,  he  executed  the  order 
himself,  and  dragged  the  preacher  to  the  ground. 

The  poor  man  was  now  at  the  mercy  of  the  m^h,  who  began  to 
^ush  him  toward  the  mouth 
of  an  old  quarry  pit  near 
by,  the  magistrate  all  the 
while  urging  them  on;  and 
when  they  came  to  the  pit. 
Drew,  finding  that  he  must 
inevitably  be  flung  into  it, 
seized  the  magistrate  by  the 
sMrt  of  his  coat  just  as  he 
was  pushed  over  the  edge, 
and  both  were  precipitated 
into  the  depths  below ;  from 
which  they  scrambled  out 
49cratched  and  bruised,  the 
magistrate  having  received 
his  full  share  of  the  punish- 
ment. 

An  attempt  was  even 
made  by  the  Cornwall  par- 
son.    Dr.    Borlase,   already 

mentioned,  to  impress  the  leader  of  all  the  Methodists,  and  make 
him  fight  the  battles  of  King  George.  One  day,  as  Wesley  was 
preaching  at  Gwennap,  two  men,  raging  like  maniacs,  rode  into  the 
midst  of  the  congregation,  and  began  to  lay  hold  upon  the  people.  In 
the  midst  of  the  disturbance  Wesley  and  his  friends  commenced  sing- 
ing ;  when  Dr.  B.  lost  his  patience,  and  bawled  to  his  attendants : 
"  Seize  him !  seize  him !  I  say,  seize  the  preacher  for  His  Majesty's 
service."  The  attendants  not  moving,  he  cursed  them  with  the  great- 
est bitterness,  leaped  off  his  horse,  caught  hold  of  Wesley's  cassock, 
crying,  "  I  take  you  to  serve  His  Majesty."  Wesley  made  no  resist- 
ance, but  walked  with  him  for  three  quarters  of  a  mile ;  by  which  time 
the  courage  of  the  valorous  parson  failed  him,  and   he  was  glad  to 

let  the  arch-Methodist  go. 
14 


218 


Illusteated  History  of  Methodism. 


Joliu  Nelson,  the  Birstal  preaclier  wliose  name  has  already 
been  mentioned  was  one  of  the  notable  men  who  in  the  early  days  of 
the  Methodist  movement  were  called  out  by  Mr.  Wesley  as  helpers ; 
or  who,  under  the  inspiration  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  offered  themselves 


JOHN    NELSON. 


to  TiiTTi  of  their  own  accord  to  serve  as  "  sons  in  the  gospel."  He  was 
a  stone-mason  of  Birstal,  in  Yorkshire,  the  son  of  a  godly  father,  well 
instructed  in  the  Scriptures,  and  master  of  his  trade,  the  husband  of  a 
good  wife,  and  blessed  with  outward  comforts ;  nevertheless,  he  says 
he  lived  a  life  of  intolerable  misery  on  account  of  his  intense  convic- 
tions of  sin.  For  years  he  was  tormented  with  awful  dreams  by  night 
and  gloomy  forebodings  by  day,  till,  in  the  bitterness  of  his  spirit,  he 
declared  that  he  would  rather  be  strangled  than  to  live  thirty  more 
such  years  as  the  thirty  he  had  just  passed.  He  sought  e"\ery- 
wherc  for  religious  instniction,  but  neither  the  Episcopalians,  the 
Presbyterians,  Independents,  Koman  Catholics,  nor  Quakers,  could 
point  him  the  way  to  pardon  and  peace. 


Stokmy  Days  for  Methodism.  219 

"  I  had  now,"  he  says,  "  tried  all  but  the  Jews,  and  I  thought  it 
was  to  no  purpose  to  go  to  them."  He  now  began  to  wander  about 
from  place  to  place,  working  a  short  time  at  his  trade,  and  putting 
himself  in  the  way  of  all  the  help  he  could  hear  of  for  his  wretched 
state  of  mind ;  but  nowhere  could  he  find  rest  for  his  miserable  soul. 
When  Mr,  "Whitefield  commenced  his  preaching  at  Moorfields  he 
went  to  hear  him.  "He  was  to  me,"  says  Nelson,  "as  a  man  that 
could  play  well  on  an  instrument,  for  his  preaching  was  pleasant  to 
me ;  and  I  loved  the  man  so  that  if  any  one  had  offered  to  disturb 
him  I  was  ready  to  fight  for  him.  I  got  some  hope  of  mercy,  so  that 
I  was  encouraged  to  pray  on  and  spend  my  leisure  hours  in  read- 
ing the  Scriptures." 

The  first  time  that  John  Wesley  preached  at  Moorfields  Nelson 
wafi  present,  and  in  his  account  of  his  conversion  he  says : — 

"  0,  that  was  a  blessed  morning  to  my  soul ! 

"  As  soon  as  he  got  upon  the  stand  he  stroked  back  his  hair,  and 
turned  his  face  toward  where  I  stood,  and  I  thought  he  fixed  his  eyes 
upon  me.  His  countenance  struck  such  an  awful  dread  upon  me 
before  I  heard  him  speak  that  it  made  my  heart  beat  like  the  pendu- 
lum of  a  clock,  and  when  he  did  speak,  I  thought  his  whole  discourse 
was  aimed  at  me."  * 

Nelson  might  well  think  this,  for  it  was  one  of  Wesley's  pecuHar 
characteristics  to  wind  up  his  discourses  and  drive  home  the  doctrine 
thereof  with  the  most  pointed  and  personal  exhortations.  At  such 
times  he  spoke  as  if  he  were  addressing  himseK  to  an  individual,  so 
that  every  one  whose  condition  he  might  describe  felt  as  if  he  were 
singled  out  from  all  the  rest,  and  the  preacher's  words,  hke  the  eyes 
of  a  portrait,  seemed  to  look  at  every  beholder. 

"  Who  art  thou,"  he  cried,  "  that  now  f eelest  both  thine  inward 
and  outward  ungodliness  ?  Thou  art  the  man !  I  want  thee  for  my 
Lord ;  I  challenge  thee  for  a  child  of  God  by  faith ;  the  Lord  hath 
need  of  thee.  Thou  who  feelest  that  thou  art  just  fit  for  hell,  art  just 
fit  to  advance  his  glory — ^the  glory  of  his  free  grace. 

"  Look  unto  Jesus !  There  is  the  Lamb  of  God  who  taketh  away 
thy  sins !  Plead  thou  no  works,  no  righteousness  of  thine  own ;  that 
were  in  very  deed  to  deny  the  Lord  that  bought  thee.     No.     Plead 

*  Nklson's  Journal 


220  Illustkated  Histoey  of  Methodism. 

thou  singly  the  blood  of  the  covenant,  the  ransom  paid  for  thy  proud, 
stubborn,  sinful  soul."  No  wonder  John  Nelson  imagined  that  tbo 
preacher  had  him  in  his  eye. 

Soon  after  this  he  found  rest  in  Christ,  and  so  completely  did  he 
resign  himself  to  the  Lord  that  he  straightway  began  to  declare  it  to 
be  his  "  great  business  in  this  world  to  get  well  out  of  it."  Upon 
this  some  of  his  London  friends  became  exceeding  angry  at  the 
preacher  who  had  "  turned  John  Nelson's  head ;"  some  of  them  even 
Towed  tliat  they  would  be  glad  to  knock  Wdsley's  brains  out,  for  ho 
would  be  the  ruin  of  many  families  if  he  were  allowed  to  hve  and  go 
on  converting  people  after  this  fashion. 

Nelson  was  now  employed  on  some  work  for  the  Govermncnt, 
and  the  foreman  wished  him  to  work  on  Sunday,  on  the  plea  that  the 
"  King's  business  required  haste,"  and  that  it  was  customary  to  work 
on  Sunday  for  His  Majesty  when  they  were  pressed  for  time ;  but 
Nelson  stoutly  declared  that  he  would  not  work  on  Sunday  for  any 
man  in  England,  unless  to  put  out  a  fire  or  some  such  work  of  neces- 
sity or  mercy. 

"  Tour  rehgion  has  made  you  a  rebel  against  the  King,"  said  the 
foreman. 

"  No,"  said  Nelson,  "  it  has  made  me  a  better  subject  than  ever  1 
was.  The  greatest  enemies  the  King  has  are  the  Sabbath-breakers, 
the  swearers,  the  drunkards,  and  such  like,  for  these  pull  down  judg- 
ments upon  both  King  and  country."  Thus  the. sturdy  Methodist 
won  the  day,  and  lost  nothing ;  for  his  reputation  for  integrity  \vas  all 
the  more  firmly  established,  and  his  employer  had  now  a  higher  regard 
for  him  than  ever. 

The  straightforwardness  of  the  man  appears  in  the  following 
incident,  related  at  the  time,  in  a  letter  to  Mr.  Wesley,  in  wliich  lie 
gives  an  account  of  his  arrest  at  Nottingham,  and  of  his  being  brought 
before  the  alderman  for  examination : — 

"  I  wonder  you  cannot  stay  at  home,"  said  his  honor.  "  Y"ou  sec 
the  mob  wont  suffer  you  to  preach  in  this  town." 

"  I  did  not  know  this  town  was  governed  by  the  mob ;  most  towns 
are  governed  by  the  magistrates,"  he  replied. 

"  "What !  do  you  expect  us  to  take  your  part,  when  you  take  the 
people  from  their  work  ? "  said  the  alderman. 


Stormy  Days  for  Methodism.  221 

"  Sir,  you  are  wrongly  informed,"  said  Nelson  ;  "  we  preach  at  five 
in  the  morning  and  at  seven  at  night,  and  these  are  the  hours  when 
most  people  are  in  their  beds  in  the  morning,  and  at  night  either  at 
the  play  or  at  the  ale-house." 

"  I  beheve  you  are  the  cause  of  all  the  evil  that  has  fallen  upon 
the  nation,"  said  the  alderman, 

"  What  reason  have  you  to  beheve  so  ?  Can  you  prove  that  one 
Methodist  in  England  did  assist  the  rebels  with  either  men,  money,  or 
arms  ? " 

"  No,"  was  the  reply ;  "  but  it  has  been  observed  that  there  has 
always  been  such  a  people  before  any  great  evil  fell  on  the  land." 

"  It  hath  been  as  you  say,"  answered  John ;  "  but  that  people  was 
not  the  cause  of  the  evil  any  more  than  we  are  at  this  time.  But 
these  mobbers,  and  swearers,  and  drunkards,  and  whoremongers,  and 
extortioners,  and  lovers  of  pleasure  more  than  lovers  of  God — these 
are  the  cause  why  God  afilicteth  both  man  and  beast,  not  we.  We 
are  sent  to  persuade  them  to  break  off  their  sins  by  repentance,  that 
the  heavy  judgments  of  God  may  not  consume  such  a  people.  And 
if  there  be  not  a  general  refoi-mation,  God  will  be  avenged  of  such  a 
nation  as  this." 

The  remainder  of  his  remarks  he  does  not  record.  But  he  says, 
"I  opened  my  mouth,  and  I  did  not  cease  to  set  hfe  and  death 
before  him ;"  at  which  the  poor  magistrate  began  to  shake,  and  the 
constable,  seeing  the  pass  to  which  things  were  hkely  to  come,  began 
to  be  uneasy,  and  inquired  what  he  should  do  with  him. 

"  I  think  you  must  take  him  to  your  house,"  said  the  alderman, 
who  was  now  intent  on  saving  ISTelson  from  further  violence.  But 
when  the  constable  decKned  the  honor,  the  justice  said,  "  You  may 
go  where  you  came  from ;"  whereupon  he  ordered  the  constable  to 
take  the  preacher  to  the  house  from  which  he  had  taken  him,  and  to 
see  that  the  mob  did  him  no  harm ;  which  was  a  great  mortification 
to  the  constable  and  a  great  dehght  to  the  preacher. 

This  stalwart  Methodist  was  the  comrade  of  Wesley  in  one  of  his 
preaching  tours  through  the  county  of  Cornwall,  of  which  he  gives 
the  following  lively  account : — 

"All  this  time  Mr.  Wesley  and  I  lay  on  the  floor;  he  had  my 
great-coat  for  his  pillow,  and  I  had  Burkitt's  'Notes  on  the  New 


999 


Illustrated  Histoky  of  Methodism. 


Testament'  for  mine.  After  l)eing  here  nearly  three  weeks,  one 
morning,  ahout  tliree  oV-hjck,  Mr.  Wesley  turned  over,  and  finding  me 
awake,  clapped  me  on  the  side,  saying,  '  Brother  Nelson,  let  lis  he  of 
<rood  cheer ;  I  have  one  whole  side  yet,  for  the  skin  is  off  but  one 
side.'  We  usually  preached  on  the  commons,  going  from  one  common 
to  another,  and  it  was  but  seldom  any  one  asked  us  to  eat  or  drink. 
One  day  we  had  been  at  St.  Hilary  Downs,  where  Mr.  "Wesley 
preached  from  EzekieFs  vision  of  diy  bones,  and  there  was  a  shaking 
among  the  people  while  he  j^reached.     As  we  returned  Mr.  Wesley 


AN    INHOSPITABLE    COUNTRY. 


stopped  his  horse  to  pick  the  blackberries,  saying,  '  Brother  Nelson, 
we  ought  to  be  thankful  that  there  are  plenty  of  blackberries,  for  this 
is  the  best  country  I  ever  saw  for  getting  a  stomach,  but  the  worst 
that  ever  I  saw  for  getting  food.'  " 

After  this  Nelson  traveled  about  the  country,  working  at  his  trade 
by  day  and  preaching  by  night,  and  by  his  tact  and  spirit  proving 
himself  more  than  a  match  for  his  adversaries,  who  often  became  his 
admiring  friends.     His  adventures  form  a  delightful  little  historv  of 


Storimt  Days  for  Methodism.  223 

themselves,  and  his  published  Journal  shows  him  to  have  been  a  man 
of  extraordinary  power.  On  one  occasion  he  preached  at  Grimsby, 
where  the  parish  clergyman  had  hired  a  man  to  beat  the  town  drum, 
and  the  drummer  and  the  parson  marched  the  streets,  gathering  the 
rabble  together,  and  treating  them  to  liquor,  the  better  to  prepare 
them  to  go  and  "fight  for  the  Church,"  which  meant,  to  break  up 
the  Methodist  meetings;  but  the  preacliing  of  Nelson  was  so  unex- 
pectedly pleasing  to  the  mob  that  it  kept  them  in  decent  behavior 
until  the  sermon  was  over,  and  then,  instead  of  damaging  the  people 
as  they  came  out  of  the  chapel,  the  mob  began  to  fight  with  one 
another ;  thus  the  preacher  and  his  hearers  got  safely  off. 

The  next  day  the  clergyman,  with  his  noisy  Keutenant,  repeated 
the  experiment,  but  when  the  man  of  the  drum  came  within  the 
sound  of  Nelson's  eloquence  it  had  such  a  wonderful  effect  upon  him 
that,  instead  of  drowning  the  sermon  with  noise,  the  sermon  was  likely 
to  drown  him  with  tears,  for  the  poor  fellow  stood  listening  while  the 
tears  ran  down  his  cheeks,  and  forgot  all  about  the  purpose  for  which 
his  reverend  ally  had  brought  him  to  the  preaching. 

At  a  place  called  Pudsey,  where  the  people  were  afraid  to  admit 
him  to  their  houses,  having  heard  that  the  constables  were  searching 
for  him,  Nelson  preached  sitting  upon  his  horse  in  the  street.  From 
this  he  passed  on  to  Leeds,  where  he  remained  for  some  time,  hewing 
stone  by  day  and  preaching  every  night ;  a  double  work  at  which  his 
labors  were  so  blessed  that  the  Methodists  of  Leeds  boast  of  him  as 
their  special  founder  and  apostle. 

Nelson  Impressed  for  a  Soldier. — On  reaching  home  at 
Birstal,  after  this  notable  preaching  tour,  he  was  warned  of  a  plot 
against  him.  The  ale-house  keepers  had  complained  of  a  loss  of  their 
customers  in  consequence  of  his  preaching,  and  the  parish  clergyman 
was  jealous  of  his  eloquence ;  these  two,  therefore,  joined  together 
to  have  Nelson  arrested  as  a  vagrant,  on  which  charge,  if  sustained,  he 
might  be  forced  into  the  King's  service.  His  examination  before  the 
magistrate  at  Halifax,  who  was  himself  the  Yicar  of  the  parish,  was 
the  very  height  of  absurdity  considered  as  a  process  of  law;  and, 
refusing  to  hear  any  evidence  in  his  defense,  this  clerical  court 
ordered  him  to  a  vile  and  filthy  dungeon  at  Bradford,  in  which 
^serable   place,   with  no    food    except   such    as   was    brought  him 


224  Illusteated  History  of  Methodism. 

in  charity,  and  with  no  other  bed  than  a  heap  of  straw,  the  brave- 
fellow  was  held  a  prisoner  in  the  King's  name  for  no  other  offense 
than  that  of  being  too  good  a  preacher  to  suit  the  cupidity  of  the 
publican  and  the  jealousy  of  the  parson. 

Nelson's  wife  came  to  see  him  in  this  wretched  den,  and  through 
a  hole  in  the  door  she  exhorted  him  thus : — 

"  Fear  not ;  the  cause  is  God's  for  which  you  are  here,  and  he  will 
plead  it  himseK.  Be  not  concerned  about  me  and  the  children,  for  he 
that  feeds  the  young  ravens  will  take  care  of  us." 

"  I  cannot  fear  either  man  or  the  devil,"  answered  the  brave 
fellow,  "  so  long  as  I  find  the  love  of  God  as  I  now  do." 

The  next  day  he  was  sent  to  Leeds,  where  multitudes  flocked  to- 
see  him,  and  hundreds  of  people  stood  in  the  streets  and  looked  at  him 
through  the  iron  gate  of  his  prison,  where  at  night  a  hundred  persons 
met  him  and  joined  him  in  the  worship  of  God.  From  Leeds  he  was 
marched  off  to  York,  a  violent  auti-Methodist  region,  and  as  he  was 
brought  into  the  town  under  a  guard  of  soldiers  the  streets  and  the 
windows  were  filled  with  people,  who  shouted  after  him  as  if  he  had 
been  a  pirate.  But  he  says,  in  his  account  of  the  occasion,  "  The 
Lord  made  my  brow  like  brass,  so  that  I  could  look  upon  them  aa 
grasshoppers,  and  pass  through  the  street  as  if  there  had  been  none  in- 
it  but  God  and  me." 

"While  waiting  at  York  for  a  chance  of  active  soldiering  Nelson 
was  put  on  his  course  of  training  for  that  new  profession ;  but  when  he 
was  ordered  to  parade,  the  corporal  who  was  commanded  to  gird  him 
with  his  military  trappings  trembled  as  if  he  had  the  palsy.  Nelson 
said  he  would  wear  these  things  as  a  cross,  but  would  not  fight,  as  it 
was  not  agreeable  to  his  conscience,  and  he  would  not  harm  his  con- 
science for  any  man  on  earth.  Whenever  he  had  an  opportunity  he 
was  sure  to  exercise  his  gifts  as  a  preacher,  and  so  great  became  the 
terror  of  his  word  among  the  officers  and  soldiers  that  they  feared  to 
continue  the  abusive  treatment  which  he  had  at  first  received,  and 
before  long  he  was  allowed  the  same  privileges  as  any  other  soldier, 
which  he  straightway  began  to  use  by  preaching  in  the  streets  and 
fields.  He  was  at  last  released  by  the  influence  of  Lady  Hunt- 
ingdon, after  having  been  marched  about  the  country  -with  his 
regiment  for  about  three  months,  during  which  time  he  had  endured 


Stormy  Days  for  Methodism.  225 

hardness  as  a  good  soldier  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  though  as  a 
soldier  of  His  Majesty,  King  George,  he  was  a  most  conspicuous 
failure. 

Maxfield  also  had  a  taste  of  soldiering  the  following  year,  but 
Wesley  was  always  on  the  watch,  and  if  any  harm  came  to  his  helpers 
he  was  speedily  making  efforts  in  their  behalf,  and  thus  the  King's 
armies  gained  very  little  from  the  Methodist  preachers.  These  men 
would  not  fight,  but  no  terror  could  prevent  them  from  preaching  and 
praying.  No  wonder  that  "Wesley  was  proud  of  such  helpers.  They 
were  men  after  his  own  heart ;  so  full  of  the  fear  of  God  that  they 
had  no  room  in  them  for  any  other  kind  of  fear. 

The  item  of  legal  expense  is  a  large  one  in  Mr.  Wesley's  accounts 
for  not  only  did  he  invoke  the  law  for  the  protection  of  himseK,  his 
preachers,  and  his  people,  at  his  own  cost,  but  he  also  caused  large 
sums  of  money  to  be  raised  in  the  Societies  to  pay  the  infamous  fines 
and  ransoms  which  were  laid  on  the  heads  of  his  co-laborers,  thus 
giving  the  people  a  sense  of  partnership  in  the  hardships  as  well  as  in 
the  ministry  of  the  itinerants,  and  adding  not  a  little  to  their  dignity 
and  power ;  since  he  must  be  a  very  poor  preacher  indeed  who  could 
not  command  the  attention  of  a  congregation,  when,  for  the  sake 
of  preaching  the  Gospel  to  them,  he  had  suffered  the  loss  of  all  things, 
and  was  actually  carrying  his  life  in  his  hands. 


"parson"  butler's   attack   on  the  METHODIST  CHAPEL   AT  CORK. 


CHAPTER  X 


"FIGHTINGS  WITHOUT  AND  FEARS  WITHIN." 


The  First  Methodist  Conference. — It  was  in  the  midst 
of  these  stormy  times,  perhaps  because  of  them,  that  "Wesley  convened 
his  first  Conference  at  the  Old  Foundry,  in  London,  on  the  25th  of 
/  June,  1744.  It  was  simply  a  meeting  of  the  two  "Wesleys  with  four 
of  their  friends  from  among  the  English  clergy,  and  four  lay 
preachers,  who  came  together  at  Mr.  "Wesley's  invitation  to  give  him 
their  advice  "  respecting  the  best  method  of  carrying  on  the  work." 
The  following  is  the  conference  roll : — 

Rev.  John  Wesley,  A.M. 

Rev.  Charles  "Wesley. 

Rev.  John  Hodges,  Rector  of  "Wenvo. 

Rev.  Henry  Piers,  Yicar  of  Bexley. 

Rev.  Samuel  Taylor,  Vicar  of  Quinton. 


First  Methodist  Confeeence.  227 

Rev,  John  Meriton,  a  clergyman  from  the  Isle  of  Man. 

Thomas  Maxfield,  Lay  Preacher. 

Thomas  Richards,     "  " 

John  Bennett,  "  " 

John  Downes,  "  " 

Of  the  four  clerical  members  of  this  small  but  memorable  council 
who  ventured  to  accept  Mr.  "Wesley's  invitation,  Hodges  was  a  Welsh 
minister  who  had  often  accompanied  the  Wesleys  in  their  preaching 
tour  thi-ough  that  principahty.  Piers  was  a  convert  and  fellow-laborer 
of  Charles  Wesley.  Taylor,  the  Yicar  of  Quinton,  in  Gloucestershire, 
was  himself  a  notable  evangehst,  with  some  of  the  old  English  mar- 
tyr blood  in  him,  who,  hke  Wesley,  was  accustomed  to  go  out  into 
the  highways  and  hedges  in  the  name  of  the  Lord,  and  who  also 
bore  his  share  of  persecution,  Meriton  had  been  educated  in  one  of 
the  Universities,  and  was  now  a  clergyman  in  the  Isle  of  Man.  The 
last  years  of  his  life  seem  to  have  been  .chiefly  spent  in  accompanying 
the  Wesleys  on  their  preaching  excursions,  and  in  assisting  them  in 
the  chapels  they  had  built.  Of  the  four  lay  members  of  this  first 
Conference  three  afterward  left  Mr.  Wesley  and  became  ministers  of 
other  Churches ;  Jolm  Downes  being  the  only  one  who  Kved  and  died 
a  Methodist. 

The  day  before  the  Conference  commenced  was  a  memorable  one. 
Besides  the  ordinary  preaching  service,  a  love-feast  was  held  at  the  Old 
Foundry,  and  the  sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper  was  administered  to 
the  whole  of  the  London  Society,  now  numbering  between  two  and 
three  thousand  members ;  at  which  sacramental  service  five  clergy meu 
assisted.  On  the  day  following  the  Conference  was  opened  with 
prayer,  a  sermon  by  Charles  Wesley,  and  the  baptism  of  an  adult, 
who  then  and  there  found  peace  with  God. 

No  mere  dogmatic  questions  were  raised,  but  the  Conference 
•  confined  its  attention  to  these  three  points,  namely:  1.  What  to 
teach.  2.  How  to  teach.  3.  How  to  regulate  doctrine,  disciphne, 
.and  practice.  "It  is  desired,"  said  these  good  men,  "that  every 
thing  be  considered  as  in  the  immediate  presence  of  God;  that 
we  may  meet  with  a  single  eye,  and  as  Httle  children  who  have  every 
thing  to  learn ;  that  every  point  may  be  examined  from  the  f ounda- 
■  tion ;  that  every  person  may  speak  freely  what  is  in  his  heart,  and 


228  Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 

that  every  question  proposed  may  be  freely  debated,  and  '  bolted  to- 
the  bran.' " 

The  form  of  question,  which  has  ever  since  been  retained  in  the 
Minutes  of  the  British  Conference,  because  of  its  manifest  simplicity 
and  directness,  was  here  first  used.  Some  of  these  questions  and 
answers  are  worthy  of  frequent  repetition,  as,  for  instance : — 

Q.  "  How  far  does  each  agree  to  submit  to  the  unanimous  judg- 
ment of  the  rest  ? 

A.  "  In  speculative  things  each  can  only  submit  so  far  as  his  judg- 
ment shall  be  convinced ;  in  every  practical  point,  so  far  as  we  can 
without  wounding  our  several  consciences." 

Q.  "  Should  we  be  fearful  of  thoroughly  debating  every  question 
which  may  arise  ? 

A.  "  What  are  we  afraid  of  ?  Of  overturning  our  first  principles  ? 
If  they  are  false,  the  sooner  they  are  overturned  the  better.  If  they 
are  true,  they  will  bear  the  strictest  examination.  Let  us  all  pray  for 
a  willingness  to  receive  light  to  know  every  doctrine  whether  it  be  of 
God." 

Q.  "  How  far  is  it  our  duty  to  obey  the  Bishops  ? 

A.  "In  all  things  indifferent,  and  on  this  ground  of  obeying 
them  we  should  observe  the  canons  as  far  as  we  can  with  a  safe 
conscience." 

The  general  answer  to  the  question  of  "  How  to  preach  ? "  was  : — 

"1.  To  invite.  2.  To  convince.  3.  To  offer  Christ.  Lastly,  to 
build  up.     And  to  do  this  in  some  measure  in  every  sermon." 

It  was  also  agreed  that  lay  assistants,  of  which  there  were  now 
about  forty,  were  allowable  only  in  cases  of  necessity.  They  were  to 
expound  every  morning  and  evening ;  to  meet  the  united  bands,  or 
private  societies  within  Societies,  and  the  penitents  once  a  week  ;  to 
visit  the  classes  once  a  quarter ;  to  hear  and  decide  all  controversies ; 
to  put  the  disorderly  back  on  trial,  and  to  receive  on  trial  for  the 
bands  of  Society ;  to  see  that  the  stewards,  the  leaders,  school-masters, 
and  house-keepers,  faithfully  discharged  their  several  offices  ;  and  to 
meet  the  leaders  and  stewards  weekly,  and  to  examine  their  accounts. 
They  were  to  be  serious ;  to  converse  sparingly  and  cautiously  with 
women,  taking  no  step  toward  marriage  without  first  acquainting  Mr. 
Wesley  or  liis  brother  clergymen,  and  to  do  nothing  "  as  a  gentleman,"' 


First  Methodist  Coistfekence.  229 

for  they  had  "  no  more  to  do  with  this  character  than  with  that  of  a 
dancing-m  aster. ' ' 

They  were  to  be  ashamed  of  nothing  but  sin.  They  were  to  take 
no  money  of  any  one,  and  were  to  contract  no  debts  without  Wesley's 
knowledge  ;  they  were  not  to  mend  the  rules,  but  to  keep  them  ;  they 
were  to  employ  their  time  as  "Wesley  directed,  and  to  keep  journals,  as 
well  for  Wesley's  satisfaction  as  for  their  own  profit. 

It  was  agreed,  also,  that  it  was  lawful  for  Methodists  to  bear  aims, 
and  they  might  use  the  law  as  defendants,  and  perhaps  in  some  cases 
as  plaintiffs.  They  were  to  meet  the  children  in  every  place,  and 
give  them  suitable  exhortations ;  they  were  to  preach  expressly  and 
strongly  against  Sabbath-breaking,  dram-drinking,  evil  speaking,  un- 
profitable conversation,  lightness,  expensiveness  or  gayety  of  apparel, 
and  against  contracting  debts  without  suflicient  care  to  discharge  them. 
They  were  to  recommend  to  every  Society,  frequently  and  earnestly, 
the  books  of  Wesley  as  being  preferable  to  any  other ;  they  were  also 
to  use  their  best  endeavors  to  extirpate  smuggling,  and  by  all  means 
to  prove  themselves  loyal  subjects  both  of  the  Church  and  of  the  King. 
As  often  as  possible  they  were  to  rise  at  four  o'clock ;  to  spend  two 
or  three  minutes  every  hour  in  earnest  prayer ;  to  observe  strictly  the 
morning  and  evening  hour  of  retirement ;  to  rarely  employ  above  an 
hour  at  a  time  in  conversation  ;  to  use  all  the  means  of  grace ;  to  keep 
watch-nights  once  a  month ;  to  take  a  regular  catalogue  of  the  Societies 
once  a  year ;  to  speak  freely  to  each  other,  and  never  to  part  without, 
prayer.  They  were  never  to  preach  more  than  twice  a  day  unless 
on  Sundays  or  extraordinary  occasions ;  to  begin  and  end  the  service 
precisely  at  the  time  appointed ;  to  always  suit  their  subject  to  their 
congregations ;  to  choose  the  plainest  texts  possible,  and  to  beware  of 
allegorizing  and  rambling  from  their  texts.  They  were  to  avoid 
every  thing  awkward  or  affected,  either  in  phrase,  gesture,  or  pronun- 
ciation ;  to  sing  no  hymns  of  their  own  composing ;  to  choose  hymns 
proper  for  the  congregation;  not  to  sing  more  than  five  or  six  verses 
at  a  time,  to  suit  the  tune  to  the  nature  of  the  hymns.  After  preach- 
ing, they  were  recommended  to  take  lemonade,  candied  orange  peel, 
or  a  little  soft  warm  ale ;  and  to  avoid  late  suppers,  and  egg  and  wine, 
as  downright  poison. 

Some  of  these  directions  are  sufficiently  famihar  to  those  who  have 


230  Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 

had  tlie  good  fortune  to  be  present  at  a  conference  dui'ing  the  recep 
tion  of  ministers  into  the  traveling  connection.  The  "  warm  ale  "  and 
"  orange  peel "  have,  indeed,  disappeared,  but  the  weightier  matters  of 
advice  in  doctrine  and  practice  still  stand  in  the  Discipline  which 
governs,  or  is  supposed  to  govern,  nearly  twenty-five  thousand 
Methodist  clergy. 

The  body  of  lay  Methodist  preachers  for  whose  benefit  these  reg- 
ulations were  laid  down  were  good  and  true  men,  soundly  converted, 
who  believed  with  all  their  hearts  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  in 
their  individual  call  to  his  ministry.  In  those  days  there  was  enough 
hardship  in  the  life  of  a  Methodist  preacher  to  keep  all  common  men 
aivay ;  nevertheless  there  were  streaks  of  human  nature,  rather  broad 
ones  sometimes,  in  the  character  of  these  heroes,  on  account  of  which 
many  of  them  fell  out  of  the  ranks  after  a  short  period  of  service. 
A  few  of  them,  from  time  to  time,  succeeded  in  attaining  their 
darling  ambition,  an  ordination  and  a  parish  in  the  Established 
Church ;  others  were  silenced  by  the  pressure  of  prosperity,  others  by 
insufferable  trials  and  privations  ;  some  drifted  away  into  the  Moravian 
Church ;  some  found  a  snug  situation  in  Lady  Huntingdon's  Connec- 
tion along  with  their  old  friend  Whitefield ;  and  others  still,  chafing 
under  the  severity  of  the  rules,  and  of  the  almost  military  strictness 
with  which  Mr.  Wesley  enforced  them,  quarreled  with  their  great 
leader,  and  set  up  preaching  for  themselves.  But  their  places  were 
more  than  filled  by  new  recruits,  and  the  great  revival  movement 
progressed  with  wonderful  rapidity. 

Wesley's  Chiirchinansliip. — The  number  of  friends  and 
helpers  among  the  English  clergy  was  always  very  small,  nor  did  it 
increase  in  the  ratio  of  the  increase  of  the  popular  success  of  the 
Methodist  movement.  This  was  a  source  of  great  anxiety  to 
Mr.  Wesley,  who  had  not  yet  been  delivered  from  the  bondage 
of  ecclesiastical  traditions,  and  who,  by  the  pecuharity  of  his 
position,  was  sometimes  led  to  look  narrowly  at  the  bars  of  his 
churchly  prison  to  see  if  some  of  them  were  not  loose  in  their  sockets, 
and  so  might  be  removed  to  give  him  egress  when  he  would  go  out, 
and  ingress  when  he  desired  to  be  found  within  ;  for  on  no  account 
would  he  make  use  of  the  door  of  dissent,  which  would  have  opened 
M'idely  enough  to  let  him  out,  but  which  would  be  barred  and  bolted 


Wesley  on  Episcopacy.  231 

against  his  return.  The  state  of  his  mind  at  this  time  is  indicated  in 
one  of  his  letters,  in  which  he  says,  "  We  will  obey  all  the  laws  of  that 
Chm-ch  (such  as  we  allow  the  rubrics  to  be,  but  not  the  customs  of  the 
ecclesiastical  courts)  so  far  as  we  can  with  a  safe  conscience ;  and  with 
the  same  restriction  we  will  obey  the  Bishops,  as  executors  of  those 
laws ;  but  their  bare  will,  distinct  from  those  laws,  we  do  not  profess 
to  obey  at  all.  Field  preaching  is  contrary  to  no  law  which  we 
profess  to  obey ;  nor  are  we  clear  that  the  allowing  lay  preachers  is 
contrary  to  any  such  law.  But  if  it  is,  this  is  one  of  the  exempt 
cases :  one  wherein  we  cannot  obey  with  a  safe  conscience." 

The'  question,  "Shall  we  leave  the  Established  Church?"  contin- 
ually occurs  in  the  Minutes  of  his  Annual  Conferences,  as  if  to  indicate 
that  it  was  constantly  pressed  upon  his  attention  as  a  means  of  reliev- 
ing himself  and  his  friends  from  the  difficulties  of  their  situation. 
But  the  oft-repeated  answer  is,  No,  iVb,  ^^"0  !  given  with  more  or  less 
of  argument  and  explanation,  and  sometimes  with  a  leaning  toward  a 
larger  liberty.  Thus  at  the  third  day's  session  of  the  Conference 
of  1745  the  question  was  asked : 

"Is  Episcopahan,  Presbyterian,  or  Independent  Church  govern- 
ment most  agreeable  to  reason  ? " 

The  answer  was,  "  A  preacher  preaches  and  forms  an  independent 
congregation ;  he  then  forms  another  and  another  in  the  immediate 
vicinity  of  the  first ;  this  obliges  him  to  appoint  deacons,  who  look  on 
the  first  pastor  as  their  common  father ;  and  as  these  congregations 
increase,  and  as  their  deacons  grow  in  years  and  grace,  they  need  other 
subordinate  deacons,  or  helpers ;  in  respect  of  whom  they  are  called 
presbyters,  or  elders ;  as  their  father  in  the  Lord  may  be  called  the 
bishop,  or  overseer  of  them  all." 

The  next  year  the  famous  work  of  Lord  King,  afterward  Lord 
High  Chancellor  of  England,  fell  into  his  hands,  entitled,  "  An 
Inquiry  into  the  Constitution,  Discipline,  Unity,  and  Worship  of  the 
Primitive  Church,  that  fiourished  Three  Hundred  Tears  after  Christ ; 
Faithfully  Collected  out  of  the  extant  Writings  of  those  Ages." 

King  was  a  Dissenter ;  and  the  chief  object  of  his  learned  work 
was  to  prepare  the  way  for  that  comprehension  of  the  Dissenter& 
within  the  pale  of  the  Estabhshed  Church  which  the  Kevolution  of 
1688  was  supposed  likely  to  accomphah.     The  effect  upon  Wesley'a 


232  Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 

mind  of  this  learned  attack  on  the  ecclesiastical  pretensions  of  the 
clergy  of  the  Church  of  Rome  and  of  England  was  to  demoHsh  the 
fiction  of  an  unbroken  succession  of  bishops  as  a  third  order  of  the 
ministry  ordained  by  Christ  and  descended  from  the  apostles.  After 
reading  it  he  says :  "  In  spite  of  the  vehement  prejudice  of  my  educa- 
tion, I  was  ready  to  believe  that  this  was  a  fair  and  impartial  draught ; 
but  if  so,  it  would  follow  that  bishops  and  presbyters  are  (essentially) 
of  one  order,  and  that  originally  every  Christian  congregation  was  a 
Church  independent  of  all  others." 

He  further  expresses  his  modified  views  in  the  Minutes  of  the  Con- 
ference of  1747,  in  wliich  the  following  questions  and  answers  occur : — 

Q.  Does  a  Church  in  the  New  Testament  always  mean  a  single  congregation  ? 

A.  We  believe  it  does.     "We  do  not  recollect  any  instance  to  the  contrary. 

Q.  What  instance  or  ground  is  there,  then,  in  the  New  Testament,  for  a 
national  Church  ? 

A.  We  know  none  at  all.  We  apprehend  it  to  be  a  merely  political  insti- 
tution. 

Q.  Are  the  three  orders  of  bishops,  priests,  and  deacons  plainly  described  in 
the  New  Testament  ? 

A.  We  think  they  are;  and  believe  they  generally  obtained  in  the  Churches 
of  the  apostolic  age. 

Q.  But  are  you  assured  that  God  designed  the  same  plan  should  obtain  in  all 
Churches,  throughout  all  ages  ? 

A.  We  are  not  assured  of  thio  ;  because  we  do  not  know  that  it  is  asserted 
in  Holy  Writ. 

Q.  If  this  plan  were  essential  to  a  Christian  Church,  what  must  become  of 
all  the  foreign  Reformed  Churches? 

A.  It  would  follow,  that  they  are  no  parts  of  the  Church  of  Christ — a  con- 
sequence full  of  shocking  absurdity. 

Q.  In  what  age  was  the  divine  right  of  episcopacy  first  asserted  in  England  ? 

A.  About  the  middle  of  Queen  Elizabeth's  reign.  Till  then  all  the  bishops 
and  clergy  in  England  continually  allowed,  and  joined  in,  the  ministrations  of 
those  who  were  not  specially  ordained. 

Q.  Must  there  not  be  numberless  accidental  varieties  in  the  government  oi 
various  Churches  ? 

A.  There  must,  in  the  nature  of  things.  For,  as  God  variously  dispenses  hit 
gifts  of  nature,  providence,  and  grace,  both  the  oflBces  themselves  and  the 
officers  in  each,  ought  to  be  varied  from  time  to  time.  . 

Q.  Why  is  it  that  there  is  no  determinate  plan  of  Church  governmeit 
appointed  in  Scripture  ? 


Eakly  Methodist  Preaching  Places.  233 

A.  Without  doubt,  because  the  wisdom  of  God  had  a  regard  to  this  neces- 

flary  variety. 

Q.  Was  there  any  thought  of  uniformity  in  the  government  of  all  Churches 

until  the  time  of  Constantine  ? 

A.  It  is  certain  that  there  was  not;  and  would  not  have  been  then  had  men 

consulted  the  word  of  God  only. 

Early  Methodist  Preaching-Houses.  —  The  original 
Methodists  were  not  fastidious  in  their  architectural  tastes.  A  large 
barn  was,  in  their  judgment,  preferable  to  a  smaU  parlor  or  chapel ;  and 
rather  than  measure  their  labors  by  the  capacity  of  a  fine  church,  they 
preferred  to  address  the  multitude  in  the  marke^place  or  in  the  fields. 
On  the  Tth  of  May,  1747,  Mr.  Wesley  paid  his  first  visit  to  Man- 
chester, where  a  few  young  men  had  formed  themselves  into  a 
Society,  rented  a  room,  and  written  a  letter  desiring  to  be  admitted  to 
the  Methodist  fraternity.  This  preaching-room  was  in  the  garret  of  a 
three-story  house  which  overhung  the  river,  and  whose  ground  floor 
was  a  joiner's  shop.  The  middle  story  was  occupied  as  a  residence, 
and  a  part  of  the  garret  was  also  the  home  of  a  poor  woman  who  plied 
her  spinning-wheel  in  one  corner  while  her  husband  worked  his  loom 
in  another.  A  third  corner  was  occupied  as  a  bunker  for  coals,  and  in 
the  fourth  the  young  men  held  their  services. 

The  Nottingham  Society  for  many  years  held  its  meetings  in  the 
residence  of  one  of  its  members  named  Matthew  Bagshaw,  which 
place  was  ingeniously  fitted  up  to  serve  this  double  purpose.  The 
largest  room  on  the  first  floor  being  too  smaU  for  the  congregation,  the 
bed-room  overhead  was  made  to  connect  with  it  by  means  of  a  large 
trap-door  in  the  ceihng,  and  the  preacher,  mounted  on  a  chair  which 
was  perched  on  a  table,  could  command  his  hearers  above  as  weU  as 
below.  But  this  was  elegant  compared  with  some  of  the  regular 
churches  in  Wales,  one  of  which  Mr.  Wesley  mentions  as  not  having 
a  glass  window  belonging  to  it,  but  only  boards  with  holes  bored  here 
and  there,  through  which  the  dim  light  glimmered ;  while  some  of  the 
Irish  sanctuaries  were  even  more  simple,  being  wholly  built  of  mud 
and  straw,  with  the  exception  of  a  few  rough  beams  required  to 
support  the  thatch. 

Hethodism  Carried  into  Ireland.— In  the  summer  of 
1746  Thomas  Williams,  one  of   Wesley's  itinerant  preachers,  made 
16 


2:u 


Illustiiated  History  of  Metiiouis^i. 


his  appearance  in  the  city  of  Dnljlin,  where,  by  his  pleasing  manners 
and  good  address,  as  M'ell  as  by  liis  sound  doctrine  and  zeal  for  God, 
he  gathered  a  little  Society,  and  then  sent  for  his  chief  to  come  and 


A    DOUBLE-DECKED    MEETING-HOUSE. 


visit  it.     "Wesley  complied  at  his  earliest  conveiiioncc,  and  landed  in 
Dublin  on  Sunday  morning,  August  0th,  of  the  same  year. 


Methodism  in  Ikeland.  235 

The  welcome  lie  received  from  all  sorts  and  conditions  of  men, 
including  even  His  Grace  the  Archbishop,  led  Mr.  Wesley  to  write  : — 

"  For  natural  sweetness  of  temper,  for  courtesy  and  hospitality,  I 
have  never  seen  any  people  like  the  Irish.  Indeed,  all  I  conversed  with 
were  only  English  transplanted  into  another  soil,  and  they  are  much 
mended  by  the  removal,  having  left  all  their  roughness  and  surliness 
behind  them. 

"  At  least  ninety-nine  in  a  hundi'ed  of  the  native  Irish  remain  in  the 
rehgion  of  their  forefathers.  The  Protestants,  whether  in  Dublin  or 
elsewhere,  are  almost  all  transplanted  from  England.  Nor  is  it  any 
wonder  that  those  who  are  born  Papists  generally  Kve  and  die  such, 
when  the  Protestants  can  find  no  better  ways  to  convert  them  than 
penal  laws  and  acts  of  Parliament." 

It  is  proverbially  dangerous  to  form  a  judgment  from  first  appear- 
ances. To  the  end  of  his  hfe  Mr.  Wesley  exceedingly  delighted  in 
Ireland  and  the  Irish,  among  whom  he  was  always  received  on  his 
numerous  visits  with  the  greatest  cordiality  and  honor ;  but  many  of 
his  preachers  had  a  very  different  story  to  teU  concerning  their  experi- 
ences in  preaching  the  Gospel  to  these  "transplanted  Enghsh,"  who, 
as  they  discovered,  had  not  left  all  their  "  roughness  and  surliness " 
behind  them. 

On  Wesley's  return  to  England  his  brother  Charles,  with  Charles 
Perronet,  one  of  Wesley's  clerical  helpers,  took  charge  of  the  Dublin 
Society,  for  whose  use  their  chief  had  secured  a  chapel  in  Marlborough- 
street ;  but  in  an  evil  day  the  uncomfortable  John  Cennick,  who  had 
now  become  as  weary  of  Whitefield  as  he  formerly  was  of  Wesley, 
and  had  gone  over  to  the  Moravians,  made  his  appearance  in  the  Irish 
capital,  and  by  his  wild  attacks  on  the  doctrine  of  the  Papists  brought 
all  the  Methodists  into  disrepute.  "  The  courtesy  and  natural  sweet- 
ness "  of  the  Irish  temper  had  been  overborne  by  their  zeal  for  the 
Papist  religion,  and  Charles  Wesley  found  that  the  chapel  had  been 
destroyed  by  the  mob,  whose  shillalahs  had  not  spared  the  heads  of 
the  congregation,  and  for  a  time  there  was  no  one  to  be  found  in 
Dublin  who  dared  to  seU  or  rent  the  Methodists  a  place  of  worship. 

But  the  Irish  temper  is  like  Irish  weather,  stormy  and  sunny 
within  the  same  hour.  For  awhile  Charles  Wesley  preached  at  the 
risk    of    his  life   on  Oxmanton  Green ;  but  the  wrath  of  the  mob 


236 


Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 


quickly  cooled  down,  and  in  a  few  weeks  he  was  able  to  buy  a  house 
and  lit  it  up  for  a  preaching  place,  whose  location,  with  almost  Hiber- 
nian aptness,  he  describes  in  a  letter  to  his  brother  as  "  a  house  near 
Dolphin's  barn." 

The  results  of  this  were  vastly  important.  Forty-two  times 
Wesley  crossed  the  Irish  Channel,  and  sj^ent,  in  his  different  visits,  at 
least  half  a  dozen  years  of  his  laborious  life  in  the  Emerald  Isle.     Ire- 


HEALEY    ON"    THE    ATHLONE    CIRCUIT. 


land  yielded  him  some  of  the  most  eminent  of  liis  coadjutors :  Thomas 
"Walsh,  Adam  Clarke,  Henry  Moore,  and  others ;  and  Irish  men  and 
women  were  ordained  by  Providence  to  carry  Methodism  into  almost 
every  quarter  of  the  globe. 

For  six  months  Charles  Wesley,  Perronet,  Healey,  and  other 
itinerants,  kept  the  Gospel  trumpet  sounding,  not  only  in  the  streets 
and  lanes,  but  also  among  the  bogs  and  mountains. 

They    made   an   excursion   to   Tyrrell's   Pass,    and   from    among 


Methodism  est  Ireland.  237 

proverbial  swearers,  drunkards,  tWeves,  and  Sabbath-breakers,  formed 
a  Society  of  nearly  one  hundred  persons.  At  Athlone  a  gang  of 
ruffians  knocked  Jonathan  Healey  off  his  horse,  beat  him  with  a  club, 
and  were  about  to  murder  him  with  a  knife,  when  a  poor  woman 
from  a  hut  came  to  his  assistance,  and  for  her  interference  was  half 
kiUed  with  a  blow  from  a  heavy  whip.  The  hedges  were  aU  lined 
with  Papists,  but  the  dragoons  came  out,  the  mob  fled,  Healey  was 
rescued,  and  taken  into  the  woman's  cabin,  where  Charles  Wesley 
found  him  in  his  blood,  and  attended  to  his  wounds.  A  crowd  of 
above  two  thousand  having  assembled  in  ^.he  market,  Charles  Wesley 
preached  to  them  from  the  window  of  a  ruined  house  with  good  effect, 
and  then  the  knot  of  brave-hearted  Methodists  marched  to  the  field 
of  battle,  stained  with  Healey's  blood,  and  sang  a  song  of  triumph  and 
of  praise  to  God. 

On  the  return  of  the  elder  Wesley  to  Ireland  in  the  spring  of 
1T48  he  found  a  Society  in  Dublin  of  nearly  four  hundred  members. 
A  wide  circuit  had  been  organized,  including  Athlone,  Tullamore, 
Birr,  Aughrim,  Ballymote,  Castlebar,  Sligo,  and  Cooleylough ;  the  last- 
named  being  the  cathedral  town,  only  there  was  no  cathedral  there, 
the  quarterly  meetings  being  held  under  the  hospitable  roof  of  Mr. 
Handy,  an  Irish  Methodist  gentleman  of  the  olden  time,  while  preach- 
ino-  might  be  done  in  any  convenient  place  under  the  shelter  of  the  sky. 
For  four  or  five  years  the  Dublin  Methodists  worshiped  in  "  the 
house  near  Dolphin's  barn,"  till  an  elegant  chapel  was  erected  for 
them  in  Whitefriar-street,  in  the  year  1752. 

Jf  etliodism  in  Cork.— The  city  of  Cork,  especially  at  that 
day,  was  not  a  very  safe  place  for  a  Methodist  preacher ;  but  when 
John  Wesley  was  planned  the  element  of  fear  was  left  out  of  his 
composition,  and  therefore  he  was  not  afraid  to  invade  that  wild 
Irish  city.  As  he  rode  through  the  town  he  found  that  his  fame  had 
preceded  him,  for  the  people  crowded  to  the  doors  and  windows  of 
their  houses  to  catch  a  glimpse  of  the  arch-Methodist  as  he  passed. 
Their  evident  temper  was  such  that  he  judged  it  best  not  to  call  such 
a  crowd  together  until  he  had  further  studied  the  situation  ;  so  he  rode 
straight  through  the  city,  and  preached  first  at  the  Protestant  town  of 
Bandon,  and  afterward  at  Blarney,  where  the  ridiculous  report  was 
spread  abroad  that  the  Methodists  beheved  that  rehgion  consisted  in 


238  Illustkated  History  of  Methodism. 

wearing  long  whiskers !     "What  the  Methodist  women  did  to  be  saved 
they  did  not  undertake  to  explain. 

A  small  Society  had  already  been  formed  in  Cork,  which  went  on 
peaceably  enough  till  the  clergy  and  the  town  corporation  started  a 
persecution  against  them.  A  strolling  ballad-singer,  named  Butler, 
was  engaged  to  lead  the  anti-Methodist  mob,  and  tliis  despicable  fellow, 
dressed  in  a  parson's  gown  and  bands,  with  a  Bible  in  one  hand,  and  a 
collection  of  lampooning  rhymes  in  the  other,  paraded  the  streets, 
singing  and  peddling  the  most  outrageous  and  ridiculous  slanders 
against  Wesley  and  his  followers.  The  next  step  was  to  attack  the 
Society  as  they  were  coming  out  of  their  place  of  meeting.  Mud, 
stones,  and  clubs  were  used  against  them  with  genuine  Irish  freedom 
and  vigor,  and  when  some  of  the  wounded  ones  fled  back  into  the 
preaching-house  for  shelter,  two  sheriffs  of  the  city  came  upon  the 
scene,  turned  them  out  again  into  the  midst  of  their  assailants,  and 
locked  the  doors  of  their  own  chapel  against  them. 

Butler  and  his  gang  amused  themselves  daily  and  nightly  by  mal- 
treating the  Methodists,  breaking  their  windows,  and  spoiling  their 
goods,  the  Mayor  of  the  city  himself  being  sopaetimes  a  silent  spec- 
tator, and  refusing  to  interfere  to  preserve  the  peace.  Every  day 
for  a  fortnight  the  mob  gathered  in  front  of  the  house  of  David  Sulh- 
van,  and  threatened  to  pull  it  down,  and  he  at  length  applied  to  the 
Mayor  for  protection. 

"  It  is  your  own  fault  for  entertaining  those  preachers,"  answered 
the  Mayor ;  whereupon  the  mob  set  up  a  loud  huzza,  and  threw  stones 
faster  than  ever. 

"  This  is  fine  usage  under  a  Protestant  government,"  said  Sulli- 
van. "If  I  had  a  priest  saying  mass  in  my  house  it  would  not  be 
touched." 

The  Mayor  replied,  "  The  priests  are  tolerated,  but  you  are  not ;  " 
and  the  crowd,  thus  encouraged,  continued  throwing  stones  till  mid- 
night. 

On  May  31, 1749,  the  day  that  Wesley  passed  through  Cork,  Butler 
and  his  friends  assembled  at  the  chapel,  and  beat  and  bruised  and  cut 
the  congregation  most  fearfully.  The  rioters  burst  open  the  chapel 
doors ;  tore  up  the  pews,  the  benches,  and  the  floor,  and  burned  them 
in  the  open   street.     Having  demolished  the  chapel,  Butler  and  his 


239 
Methodism  m  Ireland. 

gang  of  ruffians  went  from  street  to  street,  and  from  house  to  house 
rusing,  threatening,  and  maltreating  the  Methodists  at  ^^^^V^^^' 
some  of  the  women  narrowly  escaping  with  their  h^es.  [See  headmg 
of  Chapter  X.]  For  two  months  these  horrible  outrages  were  eon- 
Wand  a  the  end  of  that  period  Wesley  writes:  "It  was  not 
rle  who  had  any  regard  either  to  their  P-ons^f  ^ood«  » 
oppose  Mr.  Butler  after  this.  So  the  poor  people  pa  lently  suffe.ed 
whatever  he  and  his  mob  were  pleased  to  infliet  upon  them 

Twenty-eight  presentments  were  made  agamst  Butle.    and  hi 
crew  before  L  Grand  Jury  of  the  Cork  Assi.es,  but  they  were  ^ 
Lown  out,  while  the  same  jury  made  a  presentment  declanng  that 
Chls  Wesley,  and  seven  other  Methodist  preachers  therem  named, 
"r  with  Saniel  Sullivan,  were  all  persons  of  iU  f-, jag— , 
and  common  disturbers  of  His  Majesty's  peace  and  ought  to  be  tra^ 
ported     This,  of  course,  gave  Butler  greater  hcense  than  ever.    H« 
fienlsh  persecutions  had  now  received  a  semi-official  sanction    and 
were  carried  on  with  the  greatest  gusto.    The  fai-ce  of  a  trial  of  six 
r„  h  Meldist  itinerants  for  vagabondage,  and  disturbing  the  peace 

wafafto-ward  attempted  at  Cork,  with  the  infamous  Butler  as  chief 
was  alteiwara  p  ^^^  .^  ^^  ^^  ^^^^  ^^ 

witness  against  them,  but  tne  juugo  u  ,    -       v- 

the  court  to  brmg  such  a  case  and  such  a  witness  before  him 

One  of  the  rabble  died  shortly  afterward,  and  was  buned  in  a 
coffin  made  of  two  of  the  benches  which  he  ^^  ^^^'^^^^^ 
Methodist  meeting-house;  while  the  notorious  ^-''" J^'^^^^^ 
ffaterford,  where,  in  another  riot,  he  lost  an  arm,  nd  the^  fled 
to  Dublin,  where  he  dragged  out  the  remainder  of  his  fe  in  mi^e^, 
and  was  actually  saved  from  staiwing  by  the  chanty  of  the  Dubbn 

""'Thflt  year  Wesley  again  risked  life  and  Hmb  among  these 
selavales  of'cork,  who  bufned  him  in  effigy,  and  broke  the  windows 
as  weU  as  the  heads,  of  quite  a  number  of  his  congregation.  On  this 
^casion  one  of  the  leaders  of  the  mob  was  a  drunken  d^^^^il'd 
when  Wesley  wa^  preaching  at  Bandon,  got  up  beside  him,  flourished 
S  shillalah,'and  ga've  the  signal  for  an  attack  ;  but  l-^--- J^ 
too  drunk  to  be  an  effective  leader,  and  three  women  of  *e^™- 
tion  puUed  him  down  and  carried  him  off,  leaving  the  preacher  to  go 
on  with  liis  discourse  in  peace. 


240  Illusteated  History  of  Methodism. 

In  spite  of  the  dangers  which  he  and  his  friends  encountered 
among  them,  "Wesley  still  loved  the  Irish  people,  and  visited  their 
Societies  almost  every  year.  In  his  Journal  he  relates  some  of  ]u& 
most  striking  experiences  among  them.     For  instance  : — 

At  Aymo,  where  he  wished  to  sleep,  the  woman  who  kept  the  inn 
refused  him  admittance,  and,  moreover,  let  loose  four  dogs  to  worry 
him. 

At  Portarlington  he  had  the  unthankful  task  of  reconciling  the- 
differences  of  two  termagant  women,  who  talked  for  three  hours,  and 
grew  warmer  and  warmer,  till  they  were  almost  distracted.  Wesley 
says  :  "  I  perceived  there  was  no  remedy  but  prayer  ;  so  a  few  of  u& 
wrestled  with  God  for  above  two  hours."  The  result  was,  after  three 
hours  of  scolding  and  two  hours  of  praying,  anger  gave  place  to  love, 
and  the  quarrelsome  ladies  fell  upon  each  other's  neck  and  wept. 

At  TuUamore  many  of  his  congregation  were  drunk  ;  but  the  bulk 
paid  great  attention.  He  rebuked  the  Society  for  their  lukewarmnes& 
and  covetousness  ;  and  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing  them  evince  signs  of 
penitence. 

At  Tyrrell's  Pass  he  found  a  great  part  of  the  Society  "  walking  in 
the  light,  and  praising  God  all  the  day  long." 

At  Cooleylough  he  preached  to  backsliders.  In  the  midst  of  the 
service  at  Athlone  a  man  passed  by  on  a  fine  prancing  horse,  which 
drew  off  a  large  part  of  the  congregation.  Wesley  paused,  and  then, 
raising  his  voice,  said,  "  If  there  are  any  more  of  you  who  think  it  is 
of  more  concern  to  see  a  dancing  horse  than  to  hear  the  Gospel  of 
Christ,  pray  go  after  them."  The  renegades  heard  the  rebuke,  and 
the  majority  at  once  returned. 

It  so  happened  that  at  the  time  of  Wesley's  visit  to  Kathcormuck 
there  was  an  Irish  funeral.  An  immense  crowd  of  people  had  assem- 
bled to  do  honor  to  the  dead  ;  a  part  of  the  burial  service  was  read  in 
the  church,  after  which  Wesley  preached ;  and,  as  soon  as  his  dis- 
course was  ended,  the  customary  Irish  howl  was  given.  Wesley  writes : 
"  It  was  not  a  song,  but  a  dismal,  inarticulate  yell,  set  up  at  the  grave 
by  four  shrill-voiced  women,  who  were  hired  for  that  purpose.  But  I 
saw  not  one  that  shed  a  tear;  for  that,  it  seems,  was  not  in  their 
bargain." 

In  1752  Wesley  paid  another  visit  to  the  Green  Isle,  accompar 


FmsT  Irish  Conference.  241 

nied  by  Thomas  Walsh,  who  was  possessed  of  the  rare  accomplish 
ment  of  being  able  to  preach  in  the  Irish  language.     At  this  time 
steps  were  taken  to  erect  a  Methodist  house  in  Cork,  and  four  years 
later  "Wesley,  after  preaching  in  it,  says  it  was  in  every  way  the  equal 
of  the  Dublin  house,  and  built  for  two  hundred  pounds  less  money. 

The  first  Irish  Conference  was  held  at  Limerick,  on  the  14th  and 
15th  of  August,  1752,  at  which  there  were  ten  preachers  in  attend- 
ance, and  where  six  others  were  admitted ;  among  whom  was  Philip 
Guier,  one  of  a  company  of  German  refugees  called  Palatines,*  which 
had  settled  in  the  neighborhood  of  Ballingran  about  forty  years 
before.  He  was  the  master  of  the  German  school  at  Ballingran  ;  and 
it  was  in  his  school  that  Philip  Embury  (subsequently  the  founder  of 
Methodism  in  the  United  States,  now  a  young  man  thirty-two  years  of 
age)  had  been  taught  to  read  and  write.  By  means  of  Guier,  also,  the 
devoted  Thomas  Walsh,  of  the  same  age  as  Embury,  had  been  enlight- 
ened and  prepared  to  receive  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus,  Philip  Guier 
was  made  the  leader  of  the  infant  Society  at  Limerick,  and  now,  in 
lY52,.was  appointed  to  act  as  a  local  preacher  among  the  Palatines. 
He  still  kept  his  school,  but  devoted  his  spare  hours  to  preaching. 
The  people  loved  the  man,  and  sent  him  flour,  oatmeal,  bacon,  and 
potatoes,  so  that  Philip,  if  not  rich,  was  not  in  want. 

The  Irish  itinerants  were  to  be  allowed  £8  at  least,  and  if  possible 
£10  a  year  for  clothing ;  and  £10  a  year  were  to  be  allowed  for  the 
support  of  each  preacher's  wife.  The  preachers  were  to  preach  fre- 
quently and  strongly  on  fasting ;  and  were  to  practice  it  every  Friday,, 
health  permitting.  Next  to  luxury  they  were  to  avoid  idleness,  and 
to  spend  one  hour  every  day  in  private  prayer. 

It  is  a  remarkable  fact  that  after  the  lapse  of  a  hundred  years  the 
name  of  Philip  Guier  is  as  fresh  in  Ballingran  as  it  ever  was ;  and 
still  the  Papists,  as  well  as  Protestants,  are  accustomed  to  salute  the 
Methodist  minister  as  he  jogs  along  on  his  circuit  horse,  and  say, 
"  There  goes  Philip  Guier,  who  drove  the  devil  out  of  Ballingran  ! " 

*  The  Palatinate,  now  included  in  Bavaria,  was  a  small  section  of  country  governed  by  a 
"  Court  Palatine,"  a  title  signifying  "  officer  of  the  palace."  These  petty  princes  date  back  to 
the  fifteenth  century,  when  the  first  of  their  hereditary  line,  who  was  an  officer  in  the  pal- 
ace of  one  of  the  German  Emperors,  received  the  gift  of  this  little  duchy  from  his  imperial 
master.  The  Irish  Palatines  were  exiles  for  the  sake  of  their  Reformed  faith,  having  fled 
from  their  native  country  to  escape  from  Papal  pcsecution. 


^42  Illustrated  Histoey  of  Methodism. 

Wesley  as  a  Disciplinarian. — Perhaps  no  single  utterance 
of  Jolin  Wesley  so  well  serves  to  set  forth  his  idea  of  his  power  over 
the  itinerant  preachers,  as  the  following  extract  from  one  of  his  letters 
to  Edward  Perronet,  in  1750.  He  was  evidently  in  a  disturbed  frame 
of  mind  over  the  action  of  the  Society  at  Cork,  to  which  he  refers ; 
for  one  of  the  things  he  especially  hated  was  the  idea  of  separation 
from  the  Estabhshed  Church.  Edward  Perronet  had  a  brother, 
Charles.    The  italics  are  Wesley's  own : — 

"  I  have  abundance  of  complaints  to  make,  as  well  as  to  hear.  1 
have  scarce  any  one  on  whom  I  can  depend  when  I  am  a  hundred 
miles  off.  'Tis  well  if  I  do  not  run  away  soon,  and  leave  them  to  cut 
and  shuffle  for  themselves.  Here  [in  Ireland]  is  a  glorious  people ; 
but  O !  where  are  the  shepherds  ?  The  Society  at  Cork  have  fairly 
sent  me  word  that  they  will  take  care  of  themselves,  and  erect  them- 
■selves  into  a  Dissenting  congregation.     I  am  weary  of  these  sons  of 


^eruiah :  they  are  too  hard  for  me.  Charles  and  you  lehcme  as  I  want 
you  to  do ;  but  you  cannot,  or  will  not,  preach  where  I  desire.  Others 
<;an  and  wiU  preach  where  I  desire,  but  they  do  not  hehave  as  I  want 
them  to  do.  I  have  a  fine  time  between  the  one  and  the  other.  I 
think  both  Charles  and  you  have,  in  the  general,  a  right  sense  of  what 
it  is  to  serve  as  sons  in  the  gospel ;  and  if  aU  our  helpers  had  had  the 
same  the  work  of  God  would  have  prospered  better,  both  in  England 
and  Ireland.  I  have  not  one  preacher  with  me,  and  not  six  in 
England,  whose  wiUs  are  broken  to  serve  me  thus." 

"  Whose  wills  are  broken  to  serve  me."  Surely  no  ecclesiastical 
superior  ever  expressed  himself  with  more  clearness  and  force. 
Though  not  claiming  now  to  be  a  bishop,  John  Wesley  was  an  apt 
scholar  in  the  use  of  the  crosier,  and  it  was  not  long  before  he  also 
learned  how  to  handle  the  ecclesiastical  sword. 


Wesley's  Income.  243 

Wesley's  Jfloney  Matters.— An  account  of  Mr.  Wesley's 
labors  and  productions  as  Editor,  Author,  and  Publisher  will  be  given 
elsewhere,  but  it  is  well  to  notice  here  his  defense  of  himseK  against 
the  charge  that  he  was  carrying  on  his  great  work  with  a  view  to 
making  money.  This  defense  was  published  in  1Y43,  in  reply  to  a 
report  which  had  been  circulated  that  he  enjoyed  an  income  from  the 
Foundry  Society  alone  of  thirteen  hundi'ed  pounds  a  year  over  and 
above  what  he  received  from  the  Societies  at  Bristol,  Kingswood, 
Newcastle,  and  other  places.  He  declares  that  the  money  given  by 
the  Methodists  never  comes  into  his  hands  at  all,  but  is  received  and 
expended  by  the  stewards  in  the  relief  of  the  poor,  the  purchase, 
■erection,  and  repair  of  chapels ;  and  that  so  far  from  there  being  any 
overplus  left  for  himself,  he  had  borrowed  and  contributed  on  his  own 
account  some  six  hundred  and  fifty  pounds  for  the  preaching  houses 
in  London,  Bristol,  and  JSTewcastle.  Then,  addi-essing  himself  to  his 
clerical  brethren,  he  asks : — 

"  For  what  price  will  you  preach  eighteen  or  nineteen  times  every 
week  ;  and  this  throughout  the  year  ?  What  shall  I  give  you  to  travel 
seven  or  eight  hundred  miles,  in  all  weathers,  every  two  or  three 
months  ?  For  what  salary  will  you  abstain  from  all  other  diversions 
than  the  doing  good  and  the  praising  God  ?  I  am  mistaken  if  you 
would  not  prefer  strangling  to  such  a  life,  even  with  thousands  of 
gold  and  silver.  As  to  gold  and  silver,  I  count  it  dung  and  dross ;  I 
trample  it  under  my  feet ;  I  esteem  it  just  as  the  mire  of  the  streets. 
I  desire  it  not ;  I  seek  it  not ;  I  only  fear  lest  any  of  it  should  cleave 
to  me,  and  I  should  not  be  able  to  shake  it  off  before  my  spirit  returns 
to  God.  I  will  take  care  (God  being  my  helper)  that  none  of  the 
accursed  thing  shall  be  found  in  my  tents  when  the  Lord  calleth  me 
hence.  Hear  ye  this,  all  you  who  have  discovered  the  treasures  which 
I  am  to  leave  behind  me  ;  if  I  leave  behind  me  ten  pounds — above  my 
debts  and  my  books,  or  what  may  happen  to  be  due  on  account  of 
them — you  and  all  mankind  bear  witness  against  me,  that  I  lived  and 
died  a  thief  and  a  robber." 

Many  years  afterward  Wesley  "  became  rich  unawares,"  by  the 
immense  circulation  of  his  books  and  tracts  among  the  ever-increasing 
multitudes  of  his  followers  and  friends ;  but  he  treated  himself  as  a 
iBervant  of  his  own  establishment,  and  only  allowed  himself  "  thirty 


244  Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 

pounds  a  year,  and  an  occasional  suit  of  clothes  "  out  of  the  income  of 
his  London  Publishing  House ;  the  rest,  above  his  traveling  expenses, 
he  gave  away — some  to  the  support  of  his  brother  Charles,  in  addition 
to  his  proper  share  of  the  income  from  the  sale  of  the  hymn  books;. 
some  to  relieve  the  necessities  of  his  widowed  or  unhappily  married 
sisters;  some  to  help  his  lay  preachers,  who  without  his  aid  could 
have  hardly  kept  soul  and  body  together;  a  large  amount  to  build  the 
London  school  and  preaching-houses ;  and  the  rest  he  poured  out  in  a 
ceaseless  stream  of  alms  and  benefactions  to  the  poor  and  unfortunate - 
whom  he  met  day  by  day. 

The  Foundry  Bank. — In  1747  Mr.  Wesley  established  a 
kind  of  bank  at  the  Foundry,  which  he  called  a  "  Lending  Society." 
This  institution  commenced  business  on  a  capital  of  fifty  pounds, 
which  Mr.  Wesley  had  begged  among  his  friends  in  London,  and 
lodged  in  the  hands  of  the  stewards,  who  held  a  meeting  every 
Tuesday  morning  for  the  purpose  of  loaning  to  approved  persons 
small  amounts  not  to  exceed  twenty  shillings,  on  condition  that  the 
loan  should  be  repaid  within  three  months.  This  charitable  loan  fund 
soon  became  popular :  the  capital  was  increased  to  one  hundred  and 
twenty  pounds,  and  the  maximum  loan  to  five  pounds;  and  by  its 
means  hundreds  of  honest  poor  people  were  aided  in  times  of  special 
distress,  and  some  who  were  on  the  verge  of  ruin  were  by  this  small 
assistance  saved  from  bankruptcy,  and  placed  again  on  the  road  to 
fortune. 

Wesley  as  a  medical  Han. — In  the  year  1746  Mr.  Wesley 
opened  his  notable  Medical  Dispensary  in  London.  Having  already 
provided  a  loan  fund  for  the  relief  of  the  poor,  his  attention  was  now 
called  to  the  fact  that  medicines  were  expensive,  and  doctors  still  more 
expensive,  and  having  himself  some  considerable  knowledge  of  the 
healing  art,  he  offered  his  services,  without  money  or  price,  as  a  curer 
of  the  bodies  as  well  as  of  the  souls  of  people  who  were  too  poor  to 
be  killed  or  cured  in  the  regular  professional  way. 

"  For   six   or   seven   and  twenty  years,"  says  he,  "  I  had  made 
anatomy  and  physic  the  diversion  of  my  leisure  hours,  though  I  never 
properly  studied  them,  unless  for  a  few  months  when  I  was  going  to  ■ 
America."     He  now  took  up  the  study  again,  and  having  hired  him 
an  apothecary  to  take  charge  of  his  store  of  drugs,  and  an  experienced. 


Wesley  ln  a  New  Character.  245 

rsurgeou  to  attend  to  the  mechanical  part  of  the  business,  he  gave 
notice  thereof  to  the  Society  at  the  Foundry,  and  in  a  short  time  he 
had  a  medical  "  practice  "  of  over  a  hundred  patients  a  month. 

Of  course  he  was  branded  as  a  quack  by  the  regular  medical 
profession,  but  he  defended  himseK  by  his  success,  declaring  that 
during  the  first  four  months  he  had  cured  seventy-one  persons  of 
diseases  which  had  long  been  thought  to  be  incurable,  and  that  out  of 
all  his  five  hundred  patients  not  one  had  died  on  his  hands. 

In  a  letter  to  Archbishop  Seeker  in  1747  Mr.  "Wesley  thus  defends 
his  irregular  medical  enterprise  ;  an  extract  which  medical  readers  will 
do  well  to  omit,  as  they  will  be  sure  to  disagree  with  its  views : — 

"  For  more  than  twenty  years  I  have  had  numberless  proofs  that 
regular  physicians  do  exceeding  Kttle  good.  From  a  deep  conviction 
of  this,  I  have  believed  it  my  duty,  within  these  four  months  last  past, 
to  prescribe  such  medicines  to  six  or  seven  hundred  of  the  poor  as  I 
knew  were  proper  for  their  several  disorders.  Within  six  weeks  nine 
in  ten  of  them  who  had  taken  these  medicines  were  remarkably 
altered  for  the  better ;  and  many  were  cured  of  disorders  under  which 
they  had  labored  for  ten,  twenty,  forty  years.  Now,  ought  I  to  have 
let  one  of  these  poor  wretches  perish,  because  I  was  not  a  regular 
physician  ?  to  have  said,  '  I  know  what  will  cure  you ;  but  I  am  not  of 

the  college ;    you  must  send  for  Dr. ? '     Before  Dr. had 

come  in  his  chariot,  the  man  might  have  been  in  his  coffin.  And 
when  the  doctor  was  come,  where  was  his  fee  ?  What !  he  cannot  Hvc 
upon  nothing !  So,  instead  of  an  orderly  cure,  the  patient  dies,  and 
God  requires  his  blood  at  my  hands." 

The  success  of  the  London  dispensary  was  so  great  that  another 
was  opened  at  Bristol,  with  like  favorable  results.  Wesley  then  tried 
his  hand  at  medical  authorship,  and  published  his  book  entitled 
"Primitive  Physic,"  a  work  which  was  received  with  a  storm  of 
abuse  and  ridicule  by  the  medical  profession,  but  which  was  of  no 
small  service  in  its  day. 

Another  "Escape  from  Matrimony." — It  was  during 
this  period  that  Mr.  Wesley  passed  through  another  stormy  expe- 
rience similar  to  that  in  Savannah,  which  is  set  down  in  his  biography 
as  "  an  escape  from  matrimony."  The  woman  in  question — we  may 
AS  well  dismiss  this  bit  of  gossip  at  once — was  Grace  Murray,  a  sailor's 


246  Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 

widow,  wlio,  after  a  striking  conversion,  had  devoted  herself  to  a 
religious  life  in  connection  with  Mr.  Wesley's  Orphan  House  at  New- 
castle, where  she  occupied  herself  with  teaching,  visiting  the  sick, 
leading  classes  of  women,  and  making  occasional  excursions  for  a 
similar  purpose  among  the  Societies  in  the  country  round. 

The  Orphan  House  was  also  a  hospital  for  sick  preachers,  several 
of  whom  she  nursed,  and  who  were  greatly  charmed  with  her ;  espe- 
cially was  this  true  of  one,  John  Bennett,  whom  she  took  care  of  through 
a  fever  of  twenty-six  weeks'  duration.  What  could  be  more  natural 
than  that  these  two  pious  people  should  become  exceedingly  fond  of 
one  another  ?  But  Wesley  was  known  to  be  opposed  to  the  marriage 
of  his  preachers — married  preachers  were  more  expensive,  besides 
being  much  less  manageable,  than  single  ones;  and  when  that  great 
man  himself  began  to  pay  her  some  attentions  the  widow  was  too 
good  a  Methodist,  and  too  worldly-wise,  withal,  to  say  any  thing  to 
him  about  her  other  clerical  suitor. 

It  is  the  fashion  with  chroniclers  of  this  dehcate  affair  to  look  at 
the  matter  in  the  interest  of  the  great  Methodist  man,  but  this  record 
shall  stand  in  the  interest  of  that  charming  and  talented  Methodist 
woman,  who  must  have  been  possessed  of  remarkable  "gifts  and 
graces,"  otherwise  the  Rev.  John  Wesley,  A.M.,  Fellow  of  Lincoln 
College,  the  acknowledged  head  of  a  great  and  growing  religious 
body,  the  personal  friend  of  Lady  Hmitingdon  and  other  aristocratic 
persons,  would  not  have  been  willing  to  match  himself  with  a  person 
of  such  humble  extraction  and  condition. 

John  Bennett  was  of  a  very  respectable  family  in  Derbyshire,  and 
one  of  the  ablest  and  best  educated  men  in  the  Methodist  Connection, 
and  a  marriage  between  him  and  Grace  Murray  would  have  been 
eminently  proper  if  poverty  and  John  Wesley  had  not  stood  in  the 
way.  But  two  such  stubborn  obstacles  as  these  were  not  to  be  easily 
overcome. 

Bennett  was  so  devoted  to  the  charming  widow  that  she  de- 
clared if  she  were  to  refuse  him  she  believed  he  would  go  mad. 
Madame  Grace,  being  somewhat  experienced  in  such  things,  was,  like 
any  other  sensible  widow  of  a  matrimonial  turn,  intent  on  secm-ing 
for  herself  the  best  husband  she  could;  and  when  the  General, 
Bishop — Bennett  called  him  "  Pope  " — of  aU  the  Methodists  began  to 


Wesley  and  Grace  Murray.  24T 

make  love  to  her,  the  situation  was  an  exceedingly  interesting  one, 
and  withal  very  difficult  to  manage.  If  to  refuse  Bennett  would  drive 
him  mad,  the  same  treatment  might  make  the  other  suitor  "  mad  "  also. 
Already  the  two  men  had  come  to  hard  words  about  her,  and  she, 
like  a  careful  woman,  favored  the  addresses  of  each  in  turn. 

At  length,  when  the  matter  had  become  public,  and  was  likely  to 
do  no  small  damage  among  the  Societies,  Charles  Wesley,  who  was 
also  "  mad  "  at  the  idea  of  his  distinguished  brother  marrying  a  woman 
of  such  humble  antecedents,  took  the  matter  in  hand,  arranged  a 
meeting  between  the  widow  and  John  Bennett,  at  Bristol,  and  would 
not  leave  town  until  with  his  own  eyes  he  had  seen  this  dangerously 
lovely  woman  bound  hard  and  fast  to  Bennett  in  the  holy  bonds  of 
matrimony.     This  marriage  occurred  October  3,  1749, 

It  is  painfuUy  amusing  to  read  the  solemn  accounts  of  this  unsuc- 
cessful courtship  of  John  Wesley  which  appear  in  his  various  biogra- 
phies. Mr.  Tyerman  in  his  admirable  book  takes  up  the  rod  and  lay& 
it  heavily  upon  Bennett  and  Mrs.  Murray,  at  the  same  time  proffering 
a  handkerchief  with  which  to  diy  Mr.  Wesley's  tears.  Under  the 
heading  of  "  Who  was  blamable  ? "  he  says  : — 

"This  episode  in  Wesley's  history  has  been  a  puzzle  to  all  his 
biographers.  It  has  never  been  explained.  Mystery  has  enwrapped 
it.  Keaders  have  been  left  in  doubt  who  were  the  parties  to  be 
blamed.  ITow  there  can  be  no  great  difficulty  in  pronouncing  judg- 
ment. John  Wesley  was  a  dupe.  Grace  Murray  was  a  flirt.  John 
Bennett  was  a  cheat.  Charles  Wesley  was  a  sincere,  but  irritated, 
impetuous,  and  officious  friend." 

ISTow  all  this  may  be  very  kind  to  the  memory  of  John  Wesley, 
but  it  is  by  no  means  an  exhaustive  summing  up  of  the-  facts.  It  is 
also  true  that  John  Wesley  was  a  haH-way  lover,  halting  between  two 
opinions,  wanting  the  widow  very  much,  but  either  afraid  or  ashamed 
to  marry  her.  He  was  an  avowed  old  bachelor,  forty-six  years  of  age, 
who  had  already  loved  and  lost  one  woman,  whom  he  might  have 
married  if  he  would ;  or,  rather,  given  her  up  on  the  advice  of  his 
Moravian  friends  at  Savannah,  though  when  he  afterward  found  how 
strong  a  hold  this  love  had  taken  of  his  heart  he  appears  to  have  dis- 
carded his  officious  friends :  but  then  it  was  too  late. 

His  condition  now  was  greatly  changed.     He  was  no  longer  a  poor 


248  Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 

missionary  to  the  Indians,  among  whom  he  thought  to  spend  his  life, 
that  by  helping  to  save  their  souls  he  might  at  length  succeed  in  sav- 
ing his  own,  but  the  head  of  a  large  and  growing  religious  fraternity, 
whose  management  often  required  all  his  patience  and  sagacity,  though 
le  never  for  one  instant  lessened  his  hold  of  the  authority  which  his 
■rovidential  position  gave  him.  It  is  evident  that  in  this  matter,  also, 
e  thought  to  hold  the  affections  of  the  lady  subject  to  his  own  con- 
venience and  will ;  a  claim  which  no  man  has  a  right  to  set  up,  and 
which  any  woman  has  a  right  to  deny. 

Grace  Murray  was  a  woman  who  was  seeking  to  make  the  best 
possible  disposal  of  her  hand  and  heart,  and  who  very  much  desired 
to  marry  John  Bennett  if  she  could  not  have  John  Wesley.  She  had 
Bennett's  ardent  love  and  "Wesley's  promise  of  marriage.  After  the 
loss  of  much  valuable  time,  having  now  jeopardized  her  chances  of  a 
union  with  Bennett,  she  began  to  grow  anxious  at  Wesley's  hesita- 
tion, and  urged  immediate  marriage.  To  this  he  objected,  because  he 
wished — "  (1)  To  satisfy  John  Bennett ;  (2)  to  procure  his  brother's 
consent ;  (3)  to  send  an  account  of  his  reasons  for  Inarrying  to  all  his 
preachers  and  Societies,  and  to  desire  their  prayers."  When,  there- 
fore, it  became  evident  that  his  "  brother's  consent "  could  never  be 
obtained,  and  when  all  the  Methodist  Societies  were  in  an  uproar 
about  the  marriage  of  their  leader  with  "  that  woman ! "  she  did  the 
best  thing  possible  under  the  circumstances,  and  became  Mrs.  Bennett 
without  delay. 

And  now  to  call  Grace  Murray  "  a  flirt "  is  to  blame  her  for  not 
trusting  a  man  who  was  willing  to  sacrifice  her  to  his  convenience ; 
to  say  that  John  Bennett  was  "  a  cheat "  because  he  married  the 
woman  that  Wesley  wanted  but  dared  not  take,  is  hardly  the  cool,  his- 
toric judgment  which  might  be  looked  for  in  such  an  eminent  au- 
thority as  Tyerman ;  and  to  call  this  "  a  dishonorable  marriage " 
is  to  arraign  a  large  proportion  of  the  matrimony  of  this  imperfect 
world,  and  thereby  discourage  that  means  of  grace,  of  which  already 
there  is  very  much  too  little. 

Harriag^e  and  Reparation. — The  writer  of  this  volume 
gives  place  to  no  man  in  admiration  for  the  admirable  qualities  of  the 
arch-Methodist ;  but  it  is  painfully  evident  that  courtship  and  mar- 
riage are  among  the  few  subjects  which  John  Wesley  did  not  under- 


Wesley's  Mareiage.  249 


stand,  and  it  must  ever  remain  one  of  the  regrets  of  the  lovers  of 
Methodist  history  that  its  chiefest  character  makes  so  poor  a  figure  as 
a  lover  and  husband.  If  he  had  not  published  to  the  world  his  opin- 
ions in  favor  of  clerical  celibacy  the  world  would  have  been  far  more 
likely  to  allow  his  unhappy  loves  and  his  disastrous  marriage  to  pass 
into  the  realm  of  things  forgotten ;  but  now,  like  other  good  men, 
having  in  a  single  instance  set  up  his  own  opinion  against  the 
divine  appointment,  his  folly  as  well  as  his  wisdom  has  become 
immortal. 

To  the  words,  "  It  is  not  good  for  man  to  be  alone,"  he  ventured  to 
add — "  except  for  itinerant  preachers."  He  forbade  his  preachers  to 
marry  without  his  consent — a  stretch  of  spiritual  authority  which  even 
his  own  celibate  life  could  hardly  excuse ;  when,  therefore,  he  became 
the  acknowledged  suitor  for  the  hand  of  Grace  Murray  he  actually 
jeoparded  the  existence  of  the  Methodist  Connection.  His  preachers 
noticed  the  grave  inconsistency  of  his  course,  and  the  Methodist  sister- 
hood were  in  an  agony  of  jealous  wrath  at  the  possible  elevation  of 
one  of  their  common  selves  to  a  seat  on  the  Wesleyan  throne.  They 
might  have  welcomed  "  a  lady "  whose  rank  and  excellence  could 
have  given  her  a  just  pre-eminence ;  but  Wesley's  singular  ecclesiastical 
position  no  doubt  prevented  his  gaining  the  hand  of  any  well-born 
and  well-bred  daughter  of  the  Establishment :  he  would  not  marry  a 
Dissenter  on  any  terms :  and  among  the  Wesleyan  Methodists,  now 
that  Lady  Huntingdon  and  her  set  had  separated  from  them,  there 
were  few  women  to  be  found  who  were  personally  and  sociaEy  fitted 
to  be  his  wife. 

By  his  own  rule  he  had  made  the  question  of  the  marriage  of  a 
preacher  a  fit  subject  to  be  discussed  by  his  brethren,  therefore  he 
could  not  complain  if  his  own  private  love  affairs  were  the  gossip  of 
the  whole  Connection.  No  doubt  he  felt  wounded  at  the  loss  of  the 
woman  he  had  intended  to  marry,  but  he  had  no  claim  to  the  senti- 
mental condolence  of  his  friends  and  flatterers ;  and  he  proved  that 
his  affections  were  not  dangerously  damaged  by  rushing  into  matri- 
mony some  fourteen  months  afterward  with  the  widow  of  a  London 
merchant  named  Yazel,  or  Yazeille,  a  person  of  no  education,  and 
who,  before  her  marriage  to  the  merchant,  had  been  a  domestic 
servant. 

16 


250  Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 

On  Feb.  2,  1Y51,  Mr.  Wesley  makes  this  entry  in  his  Journal : — 

"  For  many  years  I  remained  single  because  I  believed  I  could  be 
more  useful  in  a  single  than  in  a  married  state.  And  I  praise  God, 
who  enabled  me  so  to  do.  I  now  as  fully  believe  that,  in  my  present 
circumstances,  I  might  be  more  useful  in  a  married  state."  On  the 
same  day  he  wrote  to  his  brother  Charles  that  he  was  "resolved  to 
marry ;  "  yet  four  days  after,  he  held  a  meeting  of  the  single  men  of 
the  London  Society,  and  showed  them  on  how  many  accounts  it  was 
good  for  those  who  had  received  that  gift  from  God  to  remain  "  single 
for  the  kingdom  of  heaven's  sake ;  unless  where  a  particular  case 
might  be  an  exception  to  the  general  rule." 

Four  days  after  tliis  remarkable  service,  just  before  he  was  about 
to  start  on  his  annual  preaching  tour  to  Newcastle  and  vicinity,  he 
slipped  on  the  ice  while  crossing  London  Bridge,  and  sprained  hi& 
ankle  quite  severely.  A  surgeon  bound  up  the  leg ;  and  with  great 
difficulty  he  proceeded  to  Seven  Dials,  where  he  preached.  He 
attempted  to  preach  •  again,  at  the  Foundry  at  night ;  but  his  sprain 
became  so  painful  that  he  was  obliged  to  relinquish  his  intention,  and  he 
at  once  removed  to  Threadneedle-street,  where  Mrs.  Yazeille  resided ; 
and  here  he  spent  the  next  seven  days,  "  partly,"  he  says,  "  in  prayer, 
reading,  and  cormersation,  and  partly  in  writing  a  Hebrew  grammar 
and  Lessons  for  Children." 

The  accident  occurred  on  Sunday,  February  10.  On  the  Sunday 
following  he  was  "  carried  to  the  Foundry,  and  preached  kneeling," 
not  being  yet  able  to  stand ;  and  on  the  next  day,  or  the  day  after, 
cripple  though  he  was,  he  succeeded  in  leading  Mrs.  Vazeille,  a  widow, 
seven  years  younger  than  himself,  to  the  hymeneal  altar.  On  Mon- 
day (February  18)  he  was  still  unable  to  set  his  foot  to  the  ground. 
On  the  Tuesday  evening  and  on  the  Wednesday  morning  he  preached 
kneeling,  and  a. fortnight  after  his  marriage,  being,  as  he  says,  "tolera- 
bly able  to  ride,  though  not  to  walk,"  he  set  out  for  Bristol,  leaving 
his  newly  married  wife  behind  him. 

It  was  not  long  before  this  hasty  marriage  was  followed  by  lei- 
surely repentance.  The  husband  possessed  in  a  high  degree  almost 
every  other  excellent  qualification  except  such  as  are  essential  to 
happiness  in  the  married  state  ;  while  the  wife,  of  whom  nobody 
seems  to  have  heard  any  ill    report  til]    she    became    Mrs.  Wesley, 


Wesley's  Marriage.  251 

was  accused  of  having  "  an  angry  and  bitter  spirit."  Mr.  Jackson, 
one  of  "Wesley's  biographers,  says  :  "  Neither  in  understanding  nor 
in  education  was  she  worthy  of  the  eminent  man  to  whom  she  was 
united,  and  her  temper  was  intolerably  bad.  During  the  lifetime 
of  her  first  husband  she  appears  to  have  enjoyed  every  indulgence ; 
and,  judging  from  some  of  his  letters  to  her,  wliich  have  been  pre- 
served, he  paid  an  entire  deference  to  her  will." 

John  Hampson,  who  was  one  of  "Wesley's  confidential  friends,  and 
sometimes  his  traveling  companion,  calls  it  a  "  preposterous  union." 

The  wretched  wife  was  made  almost  insane  with  jealousy  on 
account  of  her  husband's  official  relations  with  the  women  who  pre- 
sided over  his  orphanages  at  Bristol  and  I^ewcastle,  and  who  led 
his  classes  of  women  in  the  various  Societies  throughout  the  king- 
dom ;  some  of  whom  had  been  exceedingly  bad  characters  previous 
to  their  conversion.  For  about  two  years  she  traveled  with  him  on  his 
preaching  tours,  but,  not  being  received  with  all  the  honors  which  she 
thought  due  to  the  wife  of  John  "Wesley,  she  retired  from  the 
traveling  connection,  and  stayed  at  home  in  London,  nursing  her 
wrath  by  brooding  over  her  imaginary  wrongs.  Sometimes  she 
would  make  long  secret  journeys  for  the  purpose  of  watching  her 
husband's  behavior ;  and  becoming,  at  length,  utterly  reckless,  she 
publicly  attacked  his  character  by  publishing  certain  of  his  papers 
and  letters,  which  were  "  doctored,"  and  others  which  were  forged, 
to  suit  this  infamous  purpose.  She  even  laid  violent  hands  on  her 
husband,  who,  as  will  be  remembered,  was  physically  a  small,  light 
man,  and  whose  gentleness  and  patience  under  what  he  accepted 
as  his  providential  chastisement  is  a  feeble  and  pitiful  brightening  in 
this  dark  matrimonial  pictm'e. 

The  following  is  an  extract  from  one  of  his  letters  to  this 
virago : — 

"  It  might  be  an  unspeakable  blessing  that  you  have  a  husband  who 
knows  your  temper  and  can  bear  with  it ;  who,  after  you  have  tried 
him  numberless  ways,  laid  to  his  charge  things  that  he  knew  not, 
robbed  him,  betrayed  his  confidence,  revealed  his  secrets,  given  him 
a  thousand  treacherous  wounds,  purposely  aspersed  and  murdered  his 
character,  and  made  it  your  husiiiess  so  to  do,  under  the  poor  pretense 
of  vindicating  your  own  character — who,  I  say,  after  all  these  provo- 


252  Illusteated  Histoky  of  Methodism. 

cations  is  still  willing  to  forgive  you  all,  to  overlook  what  is  past,  as  if 
it  had  not  been,  and  to  receive  you  with  open  arms ;  only  not  while 
you  have  a  sword  in  your  hand,  with  which  you  are  continually  strik- 
ing at  me,  though  you  cannot  hurt  me.  If,  notwithstanding,  you  con- 
tinue striking,  what  can  I,  what  can  all  reasonable  men,  think,  but  that 
either  you  are  utterly  out  of  your  senses,  or  your  eye  is  not  single ; 
that  you  married  me  only  for  my  money ;  that,  being  disappointed, 
you  were  almost  always  out  of  humor ;  and  that  this  laid  you  open  to 
a  thousand  suspicions,  which,  once  awakened,  could  sleep  no  more  ? 

"  My  dear  Molly,  let  the  time  past  suffice.  As  yet  the  breach  may 
be  repaired.  You  have  wronged  me  much,  but  not  beyond  forgive- 
ness. I  love  you  still,  and  am  as  clear  from  all  other  women  as  the  day 
I  was  born.  At  length  know  me  and  know  yourself.  Tour  enemy  I 
cannot  be ;  but  let  me  be  your  friend.  Suspect  me  no  more,  asperse 
me  no  more,  provoke  me  no  more.  Do  not  any  longer  contend  for 
mastery,  for  power,  money,  or  praise.  Be  content  to  be  a  private  in- 
significant person,  known  and  loved  by  God  and  me.  Attempt  no 
more  to  abridge  me  of  my  liberty,  which  I  claim  by  the  laws  of  God 
and  man.  Leave  me  to'  be  governed  by  God  and  my  own  conscience. 
Then  shall  I  govern  you  with  gentle  sway,  and  show  that  I  do  indeed 
love  you,  even  as  Christ  the  Church." 

But  it  was  not  Madame  Wesley's  idea  to  be  governed,  even  with  a 
"  gentle  sway,"  and  at  length,  in  1Y71,  she  separated  from  him,  purpos- 
ing never  to  return.  The  next  year  a  peace  was  patched  up  between 
them,  but  it  was  only  of  brief  duration,  and  thereafter  they  dwelt 
apart  till  her  death,  which  occurred  in  1781. 

In  most  respects  the  great  leader  of  "the  people  called  Meth- 
odists "  was  an  excellent  model,  but  in  all  things  relative  to  love  and 
marriage  even  his  greatest  admirers  can  find  in  his  history  little  else 
to  praise  except  a  forgiving  spirit  and  patience  under  torture.  Great 
men  are  sure  to  have  some  weakness  which  in  humbler  lives  might 
pass  unnoticed,  but  which  the  very  brightness  of  their  virtues  throws 
out  into  dark  and  prominent  relief,  and  in  this  want  of  manliness  in 
his  relations  with  women  appears  the  one  inevitable  failing  which 
mars  the  life  and  career  of  John  "Wesley. 

In  this  connection  the  inquiry  will  naturally  arise :  What  became  of 
Bennett  and  .Grace  Murray  ? 


Charles  Wesley's  Marriage.  253 

So  far  as  is  known  their  union  was  a  happy  one.  Bennett  broke 
ofE  aU  connection  with  Wesley  soon  after  that  event ;  drew  away  some 
of  the  Bolton  Society,  and  set  up  a  chapel  for  himself  at  Warburton, 
where,  after  four  or  five  years  of  ministry,  during  which  he  preached 
the  Calvinistic  doctrine,  he  died  in  great  peace  May  24,  1Y59.  His 
wife  survived  him  over  forty  years.  Having  seen  her  children  settled 
m  Hfe,  she  rejoined  the  Methodists  at  Chapel-en-le-Frith,  had  a  class- 
meeting  in  her  house,  kept  a  journal  of  her  life  after  the  fashion  of 
Wesley" and  some  of  his  loving  imitators,  and  on  the  23d  of  February, 
1803,  departed  in  triumph,  in  the  eighty-seventh  year  of  her  age. 

More  Matrimony.— The  Wesleyan  matrimonial  chapter  may 

as  well  be  finished  here. 

The  wife  of  Charles  Wesley  was  Miss  Sarah  Gwynne,  daughter  of 
a  Welsh  magistrate,  whose  house,  at  Garth,  was  one  of  the  hospitable 
halting  places  of  the  early  itinerant  preachers,  and  where,  in  1743, 
the  younger  Wesley  formed  an  acquaintance  which  in  six  years  after- 
ward resulted  in  marriage. 

Under  date  of  April  8,  1Y49,   Mr.   Wesley  made  the  following 

entry  in  his  Journal : — 

'' Saturday,  8.  I  married  my  brother  and  Sarah  Gwynne.  It 
was    a   solemn   day,   such    as    became   the   dignity   of    a    Christian 

marriage." 

This  union  was  in  aU  respects  a  happy  one,  though  there  was  a 
considerable  disparity  in  age,  Charles  being  forty,  and  his  bride  only 
twenty-three.  The  change  from  her  father's  mansion  to  a  small 
house  in  Bristol  was  great ;  but  she  loved  her  husband,  and  was  never 
known  to  regret  the  comforts  she  had  left  behind.  Of  her  eight  chil- 
dren, most  of  whom  were  born  after  the  family  removed  to  London, 
five  died  in  infancy,  three  survived  their  parents,  and  by  their  distin- 
guished talent  in  music  added  luster  to  the  name  of  Wesley.     Mrs. 

Charles  Wesley  died  on  December  28,  1822,  at  the  age  of  ninety-six. 

Her  long  Hfe  was  an  unbroken  scene  of  devoted  piety  in  its  loveliest 

forms,  and  her  death  was  calm  and  beautiful. 

Marriage  of  George  Wliitefield.-While  the  theme  is 

before  us,  it  may  be  well  to  refer  to  the  marriage  of  the  other  great 

Methodist  leader,  George  Whitefield. 

When  the  great  preacher  visited  Northampton,  in  Massachusetts. 


254  Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 

the  wife  of  his  reverend  friend  Dr.  Jonathan  Edwards,  impressed 
him  deeply  by  her  solid  excellence  and  intelligent  piety,  and  he 
straightway  felt  impressed  that  marriage  was  at  once  his  privilege  and 
duty.  He  had,  no  doubt,  left  behind  him  in  England  the  lady  with 
whom  he  was  as  nearly  in  love  as  he  ever  was  with  any,  and  some  time 
afterward  he  sent  her  a  letter,  written  on  shipboard,  addressed  to 
''  My  dear  Miss  E.,"  in  which  he  gravely  plunges  at  once  into  the  ques- 
tion of  whether  she  thinks  herseK  fit  to  be  his  wife  and  the  mistress 
of  his  Orphan  House  in  Georgia.  He  advises  that  she  consult  the 
Lord  and  her  other  friends  about  the  matter ;  says  he  much  likes 
•'  the  manner  of  Isaac's  marrying  Eebekah ; "  calls  on  the  God  of  Abra- 
ham, Isaac,  and  Jacob  to  witness  that  he  desires  to  marry  her  up- 
rightly ;  says  he  thinks  it  his  duty  to  avoid  "  the  passionate  expres- 
sions which  carnal  courtiers  use ; "  and  then  remarks — "  If  you  think 
marriage  wiU  be  in  any  way  prejudicial  to  your  better  part,  be  so  kind 
as  to  send  me  a  denial.     I  would  not  be  a  snare  to  you  for  the  world." 

To  the  parents  of  the  lady  he  also  wrote  a  letter  in  the  same  relig- 
ious strain,  in  which,  among  other  pious  things,  he  says  :  "  You  need 
not  to  be  afraid  of  sending  me  a  refusal,  for,  I  bless  God,  if  I  know 
any  thing  of  my  own  heart  I  am  free  from  that  foolish  passion  which 
the  world  calls  loveP 

It  is  not  surprising  that  such  wooing  by  a  young  man  of  twenty- 
five  failed  of  its  half-hearted  purpose.  The  next  year  he  was  more 
successful,  if  success  it  might  be  called,  in  his  addresses  to  a  widow 
about  ten  years  older  than  himself,  whom  the  enthusiastic  young 
bridegroom  describes  as  "  neither  rich  in  fortune  nor  beautiful  as  to  her 
person,"  but  one  "  who  has  been  a  housekeeper  for  many  years,"  who 
is  "  a  true  child  of  God,  and  one  who  would  not  attempt  to  hinder  me 
in  his  work  for  the  world.  In  that  respect  I  am  just  the  same  as  be- 
fore marriage.  I  hope  God  will  never  suffer  me  to  say,  'I  have 
married  a  wife,  and  therefore  I  cannot  come.'  " 

Southey  asserts  that  Whitefield's  marriage  was  not  a  happy  one, 
and  another  of  his  biographers  coolly  remarks :  "  He  did  not  inten- 
tionally make  his  wife  unhappy.  He  always  preserved  great  decency 
and  decorum  in  his  conduct  toward  her.  Her  death  set  his  mind  much 
at  liberty." 

Such  particulars  as  these  in  the  biographies  of  great  men  are  some- 


George  AVhitefield's  Marriage. 


255 


times  set  forth  with  apologies,  as  if  their  memories  were  too  sacred  to 
be  handled  with  the  least  approach  to  familiarity ;  but  it  is  just  such 
touches  as  these  that  make  their  portraits  true  to  Hfe.  Without  some- 
thing of  this  kind  the  latent  hero-worship  in  human  nature,  which  is 
only  a  more  subtle  form  of  idolatry,  would  take  these  men  from  out  the 
realm  of  history  and  set  them  up  in  the  arcana  of  the  gods,  where 
they  would  as  effectually  rob  Jehovah  of  his  rightful  glory  as  do  the 
ancestral  shades  of  China,  the  classic  heroes  of  Greece,  or  the  patron 
€aints  whose  statues  grace  the  cathedrals  of  papal  Eome. 


,^_y^-^cLeo'v-tn.   -f  ^Styyn^^ 


CHAPTER  XL 

TWO  HISTORIC  IRISH  METHODISTS. 

Adam  Clarke. — This  immortal  man,  so  miglity  in  the  Script- 
ures, so  lovable  in  his  j^i'i'^^ate  character,  and  so  ardent  withal  in  his 
love  for,  and  loyalty  to,  the  leader  and  the  principles  of  the  Methodist 
revival,  was  born  in  the  village  of  Moybeg,  in  the  township  of  Coot- 
inaglugg,  in  the  parish  of  Kilchronaghan,  in  the  barony  of  Loughin- 
shaallin,  in  the  County  of  Londonderry,  in  the  province  of  Ulster, 
Ireland,  sometime  about  1760,  though,  as  the  parish  clerk  failed  to 
enter  him  in  the  register  of  the  Church,  the  exact  date  of  his  advent 
is  unknown. 


Adam  Clarke.  257 

He  was  a  Scotch-Irishman  of  English  descent ;  the  Clarkes  having 
crossed  over  from  England  in  the  seventeenth  century,  and  settled  in 
the  region  of  Carrickf ergus,  where  the  great-great-grandfather,  William 
Clarke,  was  an  estated  gentleman  as  well  as  a  sturdy  Quaker.  The 
father,  John  Clarke,  M.A.,  was  intended  for  the  Church,  but  before 
finishing  his  final  course  at  Trinity  College,  Dublin,  he  became  so 
charmed  with  a  young  Scotch  lassie  that  he  forsook  divinity  for  matri- 
mony, and  began  life  for  himseK  as  a  parish  school-master. 

The  mother  of  Adam  Clarke  was  a  descendant  of  the  Laird  of 
Dowart,  in  the  Hebrides,  the  chief  of  the  clan  of  the  Mac  Leans. 

In  his  youth  Adam  was  a  stout  lad,  full  of  life,  and  not  over  fond 
of  his  books.  He  delighted  in  the  wild  Irish  stories  of  ghosts  and 
fairies,  but  for  the  Latin  grammar,  and  more  especially  for  mathe- 
matics, he  had  a  thorough  abhorrence.  His  father  had  a  little  bit  of 
land  which  he  cultivated  according  to  the  rules  laid  down  by  Virgil  in 
the  Georgics ;  and  Adam  and  his  brother  were  employed  alternately 
in  work  on  the  farm  and  helping  one  another  along  in  the  rudiments 
of  classical  learning,  of  which  their  father  was  a  notable  master.  Hi& 
mother  was  a  rigid  Presbyterian,  and  taught  him  the  Catechism  of  the 
Westminster  Assembly,  while  his  father  was  an  Episcopalian,  and 
taught  him  the  Apostles'  Creed — a  mixture  of  doctrine  which  suited 
the  boy  well  enough,  for  he  was  of  a  religious  turn  of  mind ;  but  he 
was  in  great  danger  of  growing  up  a  dunce  in  other  respects ;  the  only 
studies  to  which  he  would  apply  himseK  being  the  Enghsh  translation 
of  the  Fables  of  JEsop,  Robinson  Crasoe,  the  native  fairy  litera- 
ture of  Ireland,  and  the  arts  of  magic,  which  latter  was  taught  him  by 
a  travehng  tinker  who  had  strayed  into  Cootinaglugg. 

One  day,  after  being  scolded  by  the  master  and  mocked  by  hi& 
fellow-pupils  for  his  slow  progress  in  his  tasks,  he  declares  that  in  his 
agony  of  shame  he  "  felt  as  if  something  had  broken  within  him,"  and^ 
seizing  his  book,  he  began  to  study  with  a  sense  of  power  which  was 
quite  a  revelation  to  him,  and  from  that  moment  he  became  the 
wonder  of  the  school.* 

During  the  year  1777  a  Methodist  preacher,  by  the  name  of  John 
Brettel,  began  preaching  in  the  neighborhood,  in  barns,  stables,  school- 
iouses,  and  in  the  open  air,  and  young  Clarke,  now  about  seventeea 

*  "  Life  of  Adam  Clarke,"  page  58. 


258  Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 

years  old,  was  among  liis  most  attentive  hearers.  His  father  approved 
the  teachings  of  the  itinerant  as  "  the  genuine  doctrine  of  the  Estab- 
lished Church,"  while  his  Presbyterian  mother,  with  equal  admiration, 
declared,  "This  is  the  doctrine  of  the  Reformers;  this  is  the  true, 
unadulterated  Christianity ;  "  therefore  the  preacher  was  made  doubly 
welcome  at  the  school-master's  little  farm-house,  which  thenceforth 
became  a  "  ministers'  tavern." 

After  an  awakening  and  conviction  of  sin,  which  was  intelligent, 
protracted,  and  at  the  last  marked  with  great  agonies  of  mind,  Adam 
was  soundly  converted.  He  was  already  a  well-learned  lad,  for, 
though  he  had  been  obliged  to  spend  liis  days  on  the  fami,  his  nights 
afforded  him  time  for  study ;  and  now  that  he  had  found  Christ  as  his 
personal  and  present  Saviour  he  straightway  began  to  show  him  to 
others.  He  would  often  toil  from  four  in  the  morning  till  six  in  the 
evening,  and  then  walk  three  or  four  miles  to  a  Methodist  meeting. 
He  also  began  in  earnest  to  study  the  Scriptures,  and  presently  to 
exhort  in  neighboring  villages,  sometimes  making  a  circuit  of  nine  or 
ten  hamlets  on  a  single  Sunday.  He  also  applied  himself  with  new 
diligence  to  the  study  of  mathematics,  philosophy,  and  the  languages, 
thus  laying  the  foundation  for  that  varied  and  extensive  learning  in 
which  he  ranks  with  the  most  eminent  of  British  scholars. 

Sometime  in  the  year  1782  one  of  the  preachers  of  the  London- 
derry Circuit  observing  the  promise  of  the  lad,  wrote  to  Mr.  Wesley 
about  him,  and  Wesley  invited  him  over  to  the  Kingswood  School. 
On  the  passage  from  Ireland  the  vessel  was  boarded  by  a  press-gang, 
and  young  Clarke  had  a  narrow  escape  from  being  dragged  into  His 
Majesty's  navy.  The  officer  seized  his  hand  to  feel  if  it  indicated 
hard  work,  but  found  it  too  white  and  soft  for  his  hking,  and  so 
passed  him  by  as  unfit  material  of  which  to  make  a  man-of-war's 
man,  and  Clarke  made  his  way  to  the  Methodist  school. 

At  this  time  the  Kingswood  School  was  at  its  worst.  In  the 
following  year,  1T83,  Mr.  Wesley  wrote  concerning  it :  "  It  must 
be  mended  or  ended,  for  no  school  is  better  than  the  present 
school."  Poor  Adam,  who  had  arrived  at  Kingswood  with  only 
three  half-pence  in  his  pocket,  found  to  his  dismay  that  his  coming 
had  not  been  expected,  nor  was  his  stay  desired;  and  so  far  fiom 
being  able  to  profit  by  the  course  of  instruction,  he   found  himself. 


Adam  Clarke.  259 

too  good  a  scholar  already  to  suit  the  convenience  of  his  tutor. 
Being  too  poor  to  pay  his  way  he  was  lodged  in  a  miserable  little 
closet  which  opened  off  the  chapel,  where  his  scanty  allowance  of 
bread  and  milk  was  brought  to  him  by  a  servant ;  and,  still  further 
to  his  torment,  he  was  compelled  by  the  stewardess  to  anoint  him- 
self all  over  with  sulphur  as  a  safeguard  to  the  institution  against  a 
certain  cutaneous  disease,  which,  coming  from  that  unknown  region 
called  Ireland,  it  was  presumed  the  young  man  might  have  brought 
over  with  him. 

"And  they  Scotch  people,  too!"  groans  out  poor  Adam,  who 
had  exhibited  a  cuticle  as  fair  as  a  baby's,  all  to  no  purpose ;  and  who 
was  enduring  this  treatment  as  patiently  as  possible  till  the  great 
Wesley  himself  should  come. 

A  piece  of  good  fortune,  however,  brightened  those  miserable 
weeks.  One  day  while  digging  in  the  school-house  garden — perhaps 
by  way  of  making  himseK  useful  in  return  for  the  charity  he  was 
receiving — he  turned  up  a  bright  half -guinea,  with  which,  after  vainly 
trying  to  find  the  rightful  owner,  he  bought  a  Hebrew  grammar, 
and  this  helped  him  to  lay  the  foundation  for  that  splendid  Oriental 
learning  in  which  he  surpassed  all  the  scholars  of  his  time. 

Ordination  of  Adam  Clarke. — At  length  Mr.  Wesley 
arrived  at  the  school — the  prison — the  house  of  torture,  and  having 
tested  the  quahty  of  the  young  Irishman,  he  said  to  him : — 

"  Do  you  wish  to  devote  yourself  entirely  to  the  work  of  God  ? " 

"  I  wish  to  be  and  do  whatever  God  pleases,"  was  the  reply. 

Mr.  "Wesley  then  laid  his  hand  on  the  young  man's  head,  and 
prayed  over  him ;  an  act  which  Clarke  called  liis  "  ordination,"  and 
with  which  he  was  so  fully  satisfied  that  he  never  sought  any  other. 

A  vacancy  presently  occurring  on  the  Bradford  Circuit,  he  was 
sent  to  that  work.  He  was  the  youngest  man  in  the  whole  itin- 
erant fraternity,  being  now  only  about  twenty-two  years  of  age,  and 
of  such  a  youthful  and  ruddy  appearance  that  he  was  generally 
called  "the  little  boy."  But  it  very  soon  transpired  that  "the 
little  boy"  had  the  making  of  a  great  man.  The  Bradford  Circuit 
was  a  four  weeks'  circuit,  comprising  thirty-three  preaching-places, 
in  as  many  different  towns  and  villages ;  wherefore  the  young  recruit 
was  obhged  to  spend  a  large  part  of  his  time  on  horseback,  and  to 


260  Illusteated  History  of  Methodism. 

preach  every  day,  each   tirae  to   a  new   congregation;    an   arrange- - 
ment  well-suited  to  the  condition  of  the  lad,  who  speedily  acquired 
the  Wesleyan  habit  of  reading  in  the  saddle;    and,  as  one  sermon 
would  go  a  long  way,  he  found  ample  time  for  pursuing  his  other- 
studies. 

His  success  was  immediate  and  brilliant,  and  at  the  next  Confer- 
ence, that  of  1Y83,  he  was  admitted  to  membership  without  the  cus- 
tomary probation.  His  next  field  of  labor  was  the  Norwich  Circuit, 
on  which  he  preached,  in  about  eleven  months,  four  hundred  and 
fifty  sermons,  besides  exhortations  innumerable ;  beginning  every 
day  at  five  o'clock  in  the  morning,  and  regularly  visiting  twenty-two  • 
towns  and  villages,  through  a  route  of  two  hundred  and  sixty  miles, 
much  of  which  had  to  be  traveled  on  foot,  with  his  saddle-bags  on 
his  back,  as  there  was  but  one  horse  on  the  circuit  for  four 
preachers,  and  he  was  the  youngest  of  them  all. 

His  next  circuit  was  that  of  St.  Austell,  in  Cornwall,  where - 
Methodism  now  had  general  sway,  and  where  his  talents  found  a 
befitting  field.  His  popularity  at  once  became  universal ;  his  con- 
gregations were  so  crowded  that  he  sometimes  had  to  cKmb  into  the 
chapel  by  a  window,  and  almost  every  week  in  the  year  he  was 
compelled  to  preach  in  the  open  air  to  crowds  which  no  chapel 
could  accommodate,  where  he  held  them  spell-bound  by  his  words 
under  pelting  rains  and  on  deep  snow.  A  general  revival  prevailed 
on  his  circuit,  and  from  this  time  forward  Adam  Clarke  was  one  of 
the  chiefs  of  the  Wesleyan  Connection. 

His  daily  travels  gave  him  daily  solitude  for  his  books,  and  his 
daily  preaching  was  an  invigorating  exercise  to  his  mind  and  body. 
Wesley  himself  studied  more  than  most  students,  and  did  it  on 
horseback.  He  says  that  by  his  rides  he  was  "  as  much  retired  ten 
hours  a  day  as  if  he  were  in  a  wilderness,"  and  thus  few  persons 
spent  so  many  hours  secluded  from  all  company  as  he.  Clarke 
admired  and  imitated  him,  and  at  length  mastered  the  Greek,  Latin, 
Hebrew,  Samaritan,  Chaldee,  and  Syriac  versions  of  the  Scriptures, 
as  well  as  most  of  the  languages  of  Western  Europe.  He  studied 
nearly  every  branch  of  literature  and  of  physical  science,  and  was 
honored  with  membership  in  the  London,  Asiatic,  Geological,  and 
other  learned  societies,  as  well  as  with  highly  honorable  positions- 


Adam  Claeke.  261 

,„nder  the  Goycrnment,  and  in   connection  with   the   British   and 

Foreisrn  Bible  Society. 

A  Narrow  Escape.-In  the  Ufe  of  Adam  Clarke,  written  by 
Mb  son,  an  incident  is  related  wHch  shows  how  nearly  th,s  great 
biblical  scholar  had  been  lost  to  the  Chnrch  and  the  world.  In  1782 
while  trayeUng  the  Bradford  Circnit,  he  chanced  to  find  a  Latm 
sentence  written  on  the  wall  of  Ms  chamber,  to  which  he  added  a. 
being  in  the  same  vein,  these  Hnes  of  Virgil,  changing  the  last  word 
to  suit  the  wanderings  of  the  preachers  rather  than  those  of  ^neas  :- 
"  Quo  fata  trahunt,  retrahuntque,  .eguarr^ur.  Per  rarws  casus, 
r,er  tot  discrimmarerum,Tendimm  in"  Caelum. 

The  next  preacher  who  saw  it,  by  way  of  reproving  the  pnde  of 

■the  young  scholar,  wrote  underneath  these  words:-  .^    ^   ... 

"Did  you  write  the  above  to  show  us  that  you  could  write  Latm? 

For  shame !    Do  send  pride  to  hell,  from  whence  it  came.     O  young 

man,  improve  your  time ;  eternity's  at  hand." 

On  his  next  round  the  "little  boy  preacher "  read  and  accepted 
the  reproof,  and,  falling  on  his  knees,  he  vowed  never  to  meddle  with 
Greek  or  Utin  again  as  long  as  he  lived!    A  long  time  af  erward 
coming  upon  a  French  essay  which  pleased  him  he  trandated  it,  and 
sent  it  to  Mr.  Wesley  for  his  Arv.mi<m  Magazu^e,  and  Wesley,  who 
knew  that  ignorance  and  pride  are  twins,  and  that  one  o    the  best 
ways  to  drive  out  thoughts  of  self  is  to  keep  the  mmd  full  of  sound 
knowledge,  wrote  to  the  young  preacher  accepting  the  piece,  and 
charging  him  to  cultivate  his  mind  as  far  as  circumstances  would 
allow,  and  "not  to  forget  any  thing  he  had  ever  learned. 

Alas'  through  the  counsel  of  an  ignorant,  ambitious,  and  peihaps 
envious  itinerant,  Clarke  had  not  looked  at  his  Greek  and  La^in 
for  nearly  four  years;  but  now  he  saw  .lis  error,  and  with  he 
same  teachable  spirit,  but  under  a  better  instructor,  he  begge^  th 
Lord  to  forgive  his  rash  vow,  and  at  once  set  about  the  task  of 
recovering  the  knowledge  he  had  nearly  lost. 

As  a  preacher  he  was  wonderfully  successful.  His  deep  devo- 
tion to  1  arning  won  for  him  the  admiration  of  scholars  and  he 
degrees  of  Master  of  Arts  and  Doctor  of  Laws  from  the  Scotdi 
University  of  Aberdeen,  while  his  warm  Irish  heart,  his  pohte  man- 
ners, and  his  Christian  temper  made  him  a  universal  favorite  with 


262  Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 

tlie  common  people,  who  throughout  the  history  of  Methodism  have 
shown  such  high  admiration  of  real  scholarship  as  to  disprove  the 
slander  which  charges  the  Wesleyan  revival  with  hostility  to  learning. 

The  records  of  its  ministry  abound  with  the  marvelous  successes 
of  unlearned  men,  whose  want  of  htcrary  training  was  quite  forgotten 
in  view  of  the  baptism  of  power  which  descended  upon  their  heads 
and  hearts.  In  view  of  such  successes  some,  both  among  the  min- 
istry and  the  laity,  have  rushed  to  the  conclusion  that  scholarship 
and  piety  did  not  agree  together,  and  the  loud,  empty  tone  in  which 
these  views  have  been  set  forth  have  by  some  superficial  observers 
been  mistaken  for  the  voice  of  Methodism  itself.  But,  so  far  from 
being  the  rule,  this  is  only  the  exception.  Methodist  preachers  have 
made  more  efforts  and  overcome  more  obstacles  to  acquire  sound 
learning  than  any  other  class  of  men  on  earth  of  equal  numbei'S ;  and 
Methodist  congregations,  though  at  first  chiefly  composed  of  people  to 
whom  ignorance  was  a  sad  necessity,  have  proved  their  appreciation  of 
"  book  learning "  by  adopting  as  their  prime  favorites,  in  the  pulpit 
and  on  the  platform,  the  most  largely  learned  and  the  most  thor- 
oughly accomplished  ministers  of  the  Connection.  In  the  highest 
circles  as  well  as  the  lowest,  native  genius  and  rougli  common  sense 
are  preferred  to  pretentious  exhibitions  of  the  polish  of  the  schools ; 
but  among  the  lowest,  not  less  than  among  the  highest,  as  these  social 
distinctions  go,  ignorance  is  and  always  was  regarded  as  contemptible 
in  those  who  assumed  to  teach  religion.  Courtly  manners  and 
splendid  powers,  along  with  genuine  Christian  manhood — the  want  of 
which  nothing  can  excuse — so  far  from  putting  the  common  people  of 
Methodism  in  an  unsympathetic  attitude,  always  warm  their  hearts 
and  call  forth  their  loving  admiration ;  and,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that 
so  large  a  proportion  of  the  approved  course  of  Hberal  learning  has 
been  above  their  comprehension,  and  ahnost  useless  from  their  point 
of  view,  still  the  instinct  of  Methodism  has  upheld  the  academy  and 
the  college,  and  some  of  the  brightest  ornaments  of  Methodist  pulpits 
and  professors'  chairs  have  been  the  cliildren  of  the  poor. 

"When  the  school  of  heraldry  shall  make  for  Methodist  preachers  a 
coat-of-arms,  it  will  surely  have  a  man  on  horseback  in  its  field ;  but, 
if  the  artist  would  be  true  to  history,  the  itinerant  must  have  an  open 
book  before  him  resting  on  the  horn  of  his  saddle. 


Adam  Claeke.  .  263 

Clarke's  Coniincutaf  y  is  tlio  chief  foundation  of  his  fame  ; 
and  few  scholars  since  the  world  began  have  had  one  broader  or 
deeper.  Certain  recent  critics  have  tried  to  superannuate  this  great 
Methodist  classic ;  but  it  still  remains  on  the  effective  list.  Never 
has  any  other  one  man  achieved  such  a  triumph  in  biblical  exposition^ 
especially  of  the  Old  Testament,  as  this  great  Irish  Methodist  preacher 
and  scholar.  Unaided  and  alone,  with  the  cares  of  great  societies 
])ressing  heavily  upon  him,  at  a  time  when  the  materials  for  the 
study  of  the  Oriental  tongues  were  far  from  perfect,  he  explored 
the  mysteries  of  the  original  Greek  and  Hebrew  Scriptures,  tracing 
them  through  their  translations  into  Arabic,  Persian,  Latin,  Anglo- 
Saxon,  French,  Danish,  etc.;  following  them  through  the  Chaldee  and 
Samaritan  versions,  and,  in  order  to  gather  up  the  fragments  that 
nothing  might  be  lost,  traversing  the  vast  ^vilderness  of  Tahnuds  and 
Targums,  as  well  as  the  cognate  literature  of  all  other  known  rehgions. 

"  In  this  arduous  work,"  he  writes,  "  I  have  had  no  assistants,  not 
even  a  single  week's  help  from  an  amanuensis,  the  help  excepted 
which  I  received  in  the  chronological  department  from  my  nephew, 
John  Edward  Clarke.  I  have  labored  alone  for  twenty-five  years 
previously  to  the  work  being  sent  to  press,  and  fifteen  years  have  been 
employed  in  bringing  it  through  the  press,  so  that  nearly  forty-five 
years  of  my  life  have  been  so  consumed."  The  first  part  of  his  com- 
mentary was  published  in  1810,  the  last  in  1825. 

While  preaching  in  London  he  was  called  into  the  committee  of 
the  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society,  and  for  several  years  its  publi- 
cations in  the  Oriental  languages  were  largely  under  his  direction. 
His  only  other  literary  work  of  any  magnitude  was  his  "  Biographical 
Dictionary"  in  six  volumes,  published  in  1802,  by  which  he  made  his 
first  fame  as  an  author. 

Adam  Clarke's  Tiews  of  Marriage. — The  wife  of  Adam 
Clarke  was  Miss  Mary  Cooke,  an  admirable  and  accomplished  English 
lady.  The  marriage  was  an  exceedingly  happy  one,  though  it  was  not 
brought  about  without  a  good  deal  of  opposition.  The  pride  of  the 
parents  was  shocked  at  the  thought  of  their  daughter  becoming  the 
wife  of  a  Methodist  itinerant,  and  Mr.  Wesley,  learning  the  state  of 
the  case,  declared  that  if  his  young  preacher  married  the  girl  without 
the  consent  of  her  friends  he  would  turn  him  out  of  the  Connection  j 


264  Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 

but  at  length  that  great  man,  becoming  aware  of  the  admirable  quali- 
ties of  Miss  Cooke,  made  intercession  with  her  parents  on  Adam's 
behalf,  and  they  were  married  in  the  Wanbridge  Church  on  the  17th 
of  April,  1Y88,  and  about  a  week  after  sailed  for  his  appointment 
m  the  Norman  Islands. 

Like  the  most  of  his  countrymen,  CJarke  was  a  great  admirer  of 
tine  women,  his  true  gallantry  appearing  on  all  occasions  ;  notably  :  n 
his  charming  pen  portrait  of  the  mother  of  the  Wesleys,  whom  he 
regarded  as  the  perfect  model  of  a  Christian  matron.  His  oft-quoted 
-•emark  in  defense  of  matrimony,  that  a  man  ought  to  be  grateful 
for  even  a  bad  wife,  because  she  was  so  much  better  than  none, 
shows  how  much  happier  he  was  than  his  great  chief  in  his  mar- 
ried life,  and  how  much  more  natural,  as  well  as  orthodox,  were 
his  views  of  this  first  sacrament,  this  oldest  means  of  grace.  Adam 
Clarke  and  his  wife  were  blessed  with  six  sons  and  six  daughters  ; 
three  sons  and  three  daughters  died  in  childhood,  the  rest,  in  the 
language  of  his  biographer,  being  "  respectably  and  comfortably 
settled  in  life."  Reference  has  already  been  made  to  the  singular 
Appointment  of  "  Adam  Clarke  and  his  wife  "  to  the  Dublin  Circuit ; 
a  sufficient  indication  of  the  esteem  in  which  that  lady  was  held 
by  Mr.  Wesley. 

Adam  Clarke's  Theology. — How  he  escaped  from  the 
Churchmanship  of  his  father,  or  the  Presbyterianism  instilled  into 
him  by  his  mother,  does  not  appear  in  his  biography.  The  whole 
family  seem  to  have  been  captivated  by  the  first  Methodist  preacher 
they  ever  heard,  and  it  may  be  that  the  elasticity  of  the  Irish  nature 
will  allow  the  indwelling  of  a  whole  brood  of  dogmatic  theologies  in 
a  single  Irish  soul. 

Dr.  Clarke,  with  his  generous  nature,  never  could  have  been 
any  thing  but  an  Arminian.  Free  grace  was  a  doctrinal  necessity  to 
him  :  no  predestination  could  stand  in  the  way  of  any  poor  sinner 
who  wanted  to  be  good  and  go  to  glory.  According  to  his  hospita- 
ble ideas,  the  front  door  of  heaven  stood  wide  open  day  and  night, 
and  he  was  almost  ready  to  believe  there  was  a  side  door,  or  a  back 
door,  also,  by  which  the  animal  creation  might  enter.  And  in  this 
latter  view  he  held  with  John  "Wesley,  who  regarded  it  as  highly 
probable,  from  the  visions  of    the  future  world    seen  and  recorded 


Adam  Clakke.  265 

hy  Scripture  writers,  that  the  redemption  of  Christ  extended  to  the 
whole  creation,  which,  Paul  declares,  had  groaned  and  travailed 
in  pain  together,  awaiting  this  very  event.  There  are  to  be  new 
heavens  and  a  new  earth,  and  Wesley,  Clarke,  and  other  equally  wise 
and  liberal  doctors  of  theology,  do  not  see  why  there  should  not  ■ 
be  on  that  new  earth,  made  of  the  old  one,  representatives  of  the 
animal  kingdom,  at  least  all  that  are  capable  of  domestication,  with 
powers  and  dispositions  as  much  improved  in  proportion  as  will  be 
•the  powers  and  dispositions  of  human  beings. 

There  was  one  difficult  point  in  the  orthodox  creed  which  Dr. 
Clarke  ventured  to  dispute,  and  for  which  he  was  severely  taken 
to  task  by  Kichard  Watson ;  namely.  The  Eternal  Sonship  of  the  Son 
of  God.  To  the  mind  of  the  great  Irish  divine  the  words  "Father" 
and  "  Son  "  necessarily  carried  with  them  the  idea  of  a  difference  of 
age,  which  opinion  it  is  the  especial  mission  of  "the  eternal  Son- 
ship  "  to  deny.  His  notion,  also,  that  the  creature  which  tempted 
our  first  parents  in  the  garden  of  Eden  was  not  a  serpent  at  all, 
but  something  of  a  humanish  shape— a  monkey  or  a  baboon,  per- 
liaps— was  received  with  small  respect ;  for  the  gorilla,  which,  from 
his  looks,  might  easily  be  the  devil,  had  not  yet  been  ,  discovered, 
nor  had  the  theory  been  much  mooted  that  through  this  class  of  ani- 
mals the  rise  and  not  the  fall  of  the  human  race  had  been  secured. 

The  commentary  of  Dr.  Clarke  and  the  hymns  of  Charles  Wes- 
ley are  the  Methodist  writings  which  have  had  the  widest  use  out- 
side of  the  Methodist  Connection.  The  skill,  the  care,  and  the 
catholicity  of  the  one  has  given  it  place  among  the  best  products 
of  Christian  scholarship,  while  the  deep  soul-knowledge  and  'the 
divine  inspiration  of  the  other  has  been  so  widely  felt  and  so 
highly  prized,  that  now  Charles  Wesley  belongs  not  only  to  the 
Methodists,  but  to  the  whole  English-speaking  world. 

In  1795,  and  again  in  1805,  the  Conference  conferred  on  Dr.  Clarke 
the  highest  honor  then  within  the  reach  of  the  itinerants,  by  appoint- 
ing him  to  the  London  Circuit,  whose  center  was  the  Methodist 
cathedral— the  City  Road  Chapel.  Three  times  was  he  elected  to 
the  presidency  of  the  British  Wesleyan  Conference,  and  at  length, 
having  won  imperishable  renown  for  himself,  and  worthily  main- 
tained the  Wesleyan  succession  as  a  Christian  scholar  and  author, 
17 


266  Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 

lie  sunk  under  the  weight  of  his  literary  labors,  retired  to  a  smaD 
estate  called  Hayden  Hall,  at  Bayswater,  then  a  Middlesex  village, 
now  a  part  of  London,  where,  after  nine  invalid  years,  he  departed 
this  life  on  the  26th  of  August,  1832,  at  about  the  age  of  seventy- 
two. 

Oideon  Ouseley. — The  annals  of  Irish  Methodism  afford  no 
more  characteristic  and  dehghtful  study  than  that  of  the  career  of 
Gideon  Ouseley.  Adam  Clarke  is  far  more  famous,  but  he  left  old 
Ireland  in  his  youth  to  become  an  Englishman  for  the  rest  of  his 
life ;  but  Ouseley  was  a  true  son  of  Erin,  to  the  manor  born  and 
bred,  and  in  all  respects,  from  first  to  last,  an  ideal  Irish  Methodist 
preacher. 

His  father  was  a  comfortable  farmer  in  the  village  of  Dunmore, 
in  the  county  of  Gal  way,  in  the  province  of  Connaught,  a  man  who 
pretended  to  despise  religion  on  account  of  the  dissolute  lives  of 
some  of  its  priests  and  ministers,  but  who,  nevertheless,  determined 
to  bring  up  his  son  Gideon  for  a  parson,  because  that  was  a  profit- 
able trade.  His  mother,  however,  was  a  godly  woman,  who  taught 
her  children  out  of  the  Bible,  and  such  other  good  books  as  Til- 
lotson's  "  Sermons,"  and  Young's  "  Night  Thoughts : "  rather  heavy 
material,  these  last,  for  an  Irishman  in  his  childhood,  but  Gideon 
throve  well  on  this  course  of  training,  inasmuch  as  the  Bible  always 
stood  first  on  the  list. 

When  he  was  a  well-grown  lad  he  was  placed  under  the  care  of 
one  of  the  old-time  country  school-masters,  to  be  fitted  for  that  literary 
Mecca  of  the  Irish  youth,  Trinity  College,  Dublin ;  but  before  he  was 
ready  to  enter  his  father  fell  heir  to  a  fine  farm  in  the  neighboring 
county  of  Roscommon,  which  led  him  to  change  his  views  for  his  son 
Gideon,  whom  he  now  thought  had  a  superior  opening  as  a  farmer. 

While  yet  a  boy  Gideon  married,  and  with  his  girhsh  bride  set  up 
housekeeping  on  a  small  estate  given  them  by  her  father.  He  was  a 
lively  lad,  of  a  powerful  frame,  a  leader  in  muscular  sports,  a  dashing 
horseman,  a  prime  favorite  at  fairs,  hurling  matches,  horse-races,  wakes 
and  weddings,  full  of  wit,  free  with  his  money  in  gift  or  wager,  and 
able  to  carry  off  his  full  share  of  punch  from  a  drinking  bout  Mdthout 
becoming  unsteady  in  the  legs :  a  list  of  accomplishments  which  soon 
brought  him  to  the  end  of  his  little  fortune,  and  compelled  him  to 


Gideon  Ouseley. 


267 


return  to  Dnnmore,  where,  in  a  drunken  row,  lie  was  sliot  in  the  face 
and  neck,  by  which  he  lost  one  of  his  eyes.  Upon  this  he  resolved 
to  live  a  better  life,  but  all  his  resolutions  failed,  and  at  length  even 
his  faithful  wife  despaired  of  his  reform. 


A  EOADSIDE   SERMOlSr  IN  THE  SADDLE, 

Sometime  about  the  year  1Y88,  when  Ouseley  was  twenty-six 
years  of  age— he  having  been  born  in  1762— a  detachment  of  the 
Fourth   Irish    Dragoons  was  stationed   at   Dunmore.     Among  them 


268  Illustrated  Histoey  of  Methodism. 

were  several  Methodists,  who  hired  a  large  room  at  the  village  inn 
where  thej  set  up  a  series  of  open  meetings  that  at  once  became  a 
wonder  among  the  people  ;  especially  the  singing  of  hymns,  the  pray- 
ing without  a  book,  and  the  talk  that  sounded  hke  preaching,  by  men 
who  did  not  claim  to  be  priests  or  ministers,  and  had  no  sign  of  a  man- 
uscript before  them. 

"  There  must  be  some  trick  about  it,"  said  Ouseley,  and  refused 
to  visit  the  meetings ;  but  at  last  he  determined  to  examine  into  it. 
The  result  was  that  he  discovered  more  than  he  had  dreamed  of, 
for  lie  found  out  from  the  Methodists  that  he  was  a  lost  sinner,  whose 
only  hope  of  salvation  was  through  faith  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ ; 
his  conviction  of  sin  became  intense,  and  after  a  desperate  struggle 
with  the  old  nature,  which  was  mightily  strong  in  him,  he  one  day 
fell  down  on  his  knees,  alone  in  his  house,  and  cried,  "  O  God,  I  will 
submit ! "  upon  which  these  words  of  Scripture  came  to  his  mind : 
"  When  the  wicked  man  turneth  away  from  his  wickedness,  .  .  .  and 
doeth  that  which  is  lawful  and  right,  he  shall  save  his  soul  alive." 
This  comforted  him  greatly,  and  he  at  once  began  to  break  off  his 
sins  by  righteousness,  but  it  was  some  time  before  he  found  peace  in 
beheving. 

The  poor  opinion  of  ministers  and  Churches  which  he  had  learned 
from  his  father  now  arose  to  trouble  him.  In  Rome  and  her  Church 
he  had  no  faith  whatever ;  the  Established  Church  of  England  and 
Ireland  he  regarded  as  cubs  of  the  same  wolf ;  and  as  for  the  Meth- 
odists, they  were  a  new  people  who  might  be  of  a  somewhat  better 
sort,  but  he  did  not  like  to  risk  himseK  so  far  as  to  become  a  member 
of  "  Society ;"  though,  feeling  lonesome  as  he  trudged  on  by  himself 
toward  the  kingdom  of  Heaven,  he  occasionally  ventured  to  attend 
the  Methodist  class. 

Ouseley's  Conversion,  after  long  and  deep  conviction 
and  many  fruitless  efforts  to  save  himself,  occurred  on  a  Sunday  morn- 
ing in  May,  in  the  year  1791.  It  was  a  thorough  and  radical  transfor- 
mation from  darkness  to  Hght;  a  clear  and  distinct  witness  of  the 
Spirit  to  the  pardon  of  his  sins  and  his  acceptance  with  God.  He 
never  wearied  of  telling  about  "  that  Sunday,"  and  how,  when  the 
blessing  came,  he  was  able  to  cry  out :  "  My  soul  doth  magnify  the 
Lord,  and  my  Spirit  doth  rejoice  in  God  my  Saviour." 


Gideon  Ouseley.  269 

It  was  a  mighty  aud  glorious  conversion,  and  he'  declared  it  with 
all  his  heart,  whereupon  his  old  companions,  hearing  that  Ouseley  had 
joined  the  Methodists,  made  sure  that  the  man  must  be  going  mad. 
Again  and  again  the  floods  of  grace  broke  over  him,  filhng  him  with 
unspeakable  joy,  and  great  hungering  after  more  righteousness ;  and 
after  fasting  and  praying  for  "  a  clean  heart,"  as  his  brethren  taught  him 
out  of  the  Scriptures,  he  came  into  the  enjoyment  of  the  blessing  of 
sanctification,  and  of  "the  peace  of  God  which  passeth  all  under- 
standing." 

His  was  just  the  transparent,  jubilant,  full-orbed  nature  for  grace 
to  do  its  grandest  work  upon — even  the  grace  of  God  does  not  make 
great  Christians  out  of  little  souls — and  straightway,  in  the  fullness  of 
salvation  promised  in  the  word  of  God  and  preached  by  the  old-time 
Methodists,  he  began  to  publish  how  great  things  the  Lord  had  done 
for  him  and  in  him.  His  deistical  father  regarded  all  this  as  only  a 
part  of  the  vagaries  naturally  to  be  looked  for  in  such  a  mind,  but  his 
wife,  though  for  a  time  she  was  actually  alarmed  at  his  extravagant 
demonstrations  of  religious  joy,  came  at  length  to  understand  the  mys- 
tery, and  accepted  his  Saviour  as  her  own. 

His  Call  to  the  Ministry,  of  wliich  he  gives  this  account, 
is  quite  in  harmony  with  all  the  rest  of  his  rehgious  experience  : — 

"  The  voice  said,  '  Gideon,  go  and  preach  the  Gospel.' 

"  '  How  can  I  go  ? '  says  I.  '  O  Lord  God,  I  cannot  speak,  for  I  am 
a  child." 

" '  Do  you  not  know  the  disease  ? ' 

" '  O,  yes.  Lord,  I  do ! '  says  I. 

" '  And  do  you  not  know  the  cure  ? ' 

"  '  Indeed  I  do,  glory  be  to  thy  holy  name ! '  says  I. 

" '  Go,  then,  and  tell  them  these  two  things,  the  disease  and  the 
cure.     All  the  rest  is  nothing  but  talk.' 

"  And  v,o  here  I  am,  these  forty  years  just  telling  of  the  disease 
and  the  cure."* 

Ouseley's  ministry  anion§^  the  Irish  Peasants.  - 
Although  the  Ouseleys  were  of  the  higher  class  of  Irish,  who 
speak  better  Enghsh  than  the  great  majority  of  Englishmen,  Gideon 
had  somehow  learned  the  old  Irish  tongue,  and  when  he  began  to 

*  Arthur's  "  Life  of  Ouseley." 


270  Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 

preach  in  it  to  the  peasants  in  the  highways  and  hedges,  and  especially 
in  the  grave-yards  at  funerals,  they  Kstened  with  wonder  and  delight. 

The  curate  of  his  parish,  who  was  not  very  well  spoken  of  for  sound 
morals,  let  alone  theology,  once  preached  a  hot  sermon  against  the 
Methodists,  and  Ouseley  stood  up  in  his  pew  after  it  was  over  and 
answered  him  out  of  the  Scripture,  for  which  offense  against  the  peace 
and  dignity  of  the  Church  he  was  near  being  sent  to  prison  :  the  high 
respectabihty  of  his  family  alone  saving  him  that  disgrace,  and  his 
father,  who  had  manifested  little  concern  about  his  son  when  he 
would  come  home  drunk  from  a  fair  or  a  fight,  now  set  vigorously  to 
work  to  reform  him  of  his  Methodism.  He  threatened  to  disown  him 
if  he  did  not  give  up  preaching ;  but  his  good  wife  stood  by  him,  and 
chose  with  him  to  suffer  the  loss  of  all  things  rather  than  be  false  to 
the  call  of  the  Lord :  thus  the  fanning  ceased  and  the  preacliing 
went  on. 

It  was  his  habit  to  attend  the  wakes  and  "  berrins  "  (buryings)  in 
all  the  country  round,  which  in  those  days  were  almost  always  the 
most  hilarious  revels  that  the  wild  Irish  nature  and  strong  Irish  whisky 
could  ]3roduce.  Every  one  was  exj)ected  to  do  his  best  to  make  the 
occasion  as  lively  as  possible,  by  way  of  favor  to  the  living  and  compli- 
ment to  the  dead,  and  when  the  liquor  was  over-plentiful,  and  the 
grief  was  over  strong,  the  wake  was  in  danger  of  ending  in  a  fight. 
In  the  midst  of  these  mortuary  carousals  Ouseley  would  come  in,  and 
with  the  utmost  friendhness,  and  that  courtesy  which  is  the  birthright 
of  every  genuine  son  of  Erin,  he  would  manage  somehow  or  other  to 
turn  the  revel  into  a  very  effective  religious  service. 

On  one  occasion  a  crowd  of  people  were  kneeling  around  a  grave 
where  the  priest  was  droning  tlie  mass  for  the  dead,  in  Celtic  Latin, 
when  a  stranger  rode  up  and  joined  the  mourners.  As  the  priest 
went  on  with  his  reading  in  a  tongue  of  which  the  poor  peasants  could 
not  understand  a  single  word,  the  stranger  caught  up  passage  after-  pas- 
sage, especially  such  as  contained  Scripture  allusions,  and  translated 
them  into  Irish ;  saying  to  the  people,  in  a  tone  of  the  utmost  tender- 
ness and  affection  :  "  Do  you  hear  that  ?  "     "  Listen  to  that  now  ! " 

The  people  were  completely  melted,  and  the  priest  was  over- 
whelmed with  amazement.  After  the  mass  was  over  Ouseley  gave 
them  a  little  exhortation,  pointed  them  to  Jesus  Christ,  by  the  faith 


Gideon  Ouseley. 


271 


of  whom  they  might  one  day  die  in  peace  and  go  to  heaven,  and  then 
mounted  his  horse  and  rode  away. 

"Who    is    it,   Father  ?"   asked  the  mourners,   as   he  was 

departing. 

"  I  don't  know  at  all,"  said  the  priest ;  "  I  think  he  must  be  an 
angel,  for  sure  no  mortal  man  could  do  the  likes  o'  that." 

Years  afterward  the  preacher  met  a  man  who  reminded  him  of  the 
scene,  saying : — 

"  Don't  ye  remimber  the  berrin',  an'  ye  explainin'  to  us  the  mass 
that  the  praste  was  radin'  ? " 

"  I  do,"  said  Ouseley. 


AN    IRISH    FUNEBAL. 


"  Ye  tould  us  that  day  how  to  find  the  Lord ;  and,  blessed  be  Ms 
howly  name !  I've  had  him  in  me  heart  iver  since." 

In  1797,  the  year  before  the  Irish  KebeUion,  Ouseley,  under  a  clear 
impression  of  a  divine  call,  removed  to  Ballymote  in  the  County  of 
Shgo,  and  commenced  a  tour  of  evangelistic  labor  on  his  own  account, 
and  was  soon  honored  with  a  place  in  the  Black  Hole  of  the  Sligo 
barracks  for  "  disturbing  the  peace  by  preaching."  At  the  same  time 
the  minister  of  the  Irish  Presbyterian  Church,  the  most  correct  of  al]. 
the  "  regular  Christians "  in  that  island,  was  accustomed  to  perform 


272  Illustrated  Histoey  of  Methodism. 

tlie  service  of  his  parisli  Church  on  a  Sunday  morning  with  a  surplice- 
over  his  shooting-jacketj  and  then  spend  the  afternoon  in  hunting;, 
and  no  one  made  any  complaint. 

Many  a  poor  "  rebel "  in  the  Eebellion  of  '98  did  Ouseley  visit  in 
prison,  and  help  to  prepare  for  death;  and  in  order  to  be,  like  his 
Master,  no  respecter  of  persons,  he  studied  the  Missal  and  Cate- 
chism of  the  Church  of  Rome,  as  well  as  the  theology  of  the  Presby- 
terians, Episcopalians,  and  Methodists,  and  thus  he  was  able  to  reach 
the  hearts  of  all  classes  of  sinners,  for  whom  there  is  only  one  way  to 
be  saved.  In  those  days  of  horror  and  blood  he  was  often  arrested, 
both  by  the  scouts  of  the  Government  and  the  rebels,  but  he  always 
preached  his  way  out  of  their  clutches,  for  it  was  evident  that  he  waa- 
nothing  less  or  more  than  a  minister  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

At  the  next  "Wesleyan  Conference  after  the  Irish  Rebellion 
Dr.  Coke  proposed  his  plan  for  a  mission  among  the  Irish-speaking 
people  of  that  country,  and  on  the  nomination  of  William  Hamilton, 
who  had  superintended  the  Sligo  Circuit,  Gideon  Ouseley  was 
appointed  to  the  work,  along  with  James  M'Quigg  and  Charles 
Graham.     He  was  then  thirty-six  years  of  age. 

A  Sacred  liangna^e. — It  was  firmly  believed  by  the  peo- 
ple among  whom  these  three  men  were  sent,  that  the  devil  could' 
not  speak  the. Irish  language,  and  when  these  three  singular  beings 
suddenly  appeared  on  horseback  at  a  fair,  or  a  wake,  or  a  festival 
of  some  local  patron  saint,  and  began  to  preach  the  Gospel  in  the  Irish 
tongue,  the  simple  peasants  accepted  their  words  as  a  revelation  from 
heaven,  and  sometimes  would  actually  fall  down  before  them  in 
adoration,  as  they  were  wont  to  do  before  the  shrine  of  St.  Patrick 
or  the  Virgin.  On  the  other  hand  they  were  often  assaulted  by  men 
who  claimed  to  be  "respectable,"  and  who  would  now  and  then  raise 
a  mob  of  those  same  peasants  against  them. 

One  day  a  handful  of  mud  was  thrown  into  Ouseley's  face  while  he 
was  preaching. 

"  Did  I  deserve  that,  boys  ? "  he  asked  of  the  crowd. 

"Indade  ye  didn't,"  answered  they;    and  when   the   ruffian   at- 
tempted to  repeat  the  insult  they  fell  to  beating  him  "  fit  to  knock 
a  score  of  devils  out  of  him :"  so  volatile  are  the  spirits  of  the  people . 
of  that  land. 


Gideon  Ouseley.  273 

A  Saddle  for  a  Palpit. — The  fame  of  tlie  Irish  preachers 
flew  like  wild-fire  all  over  the  country.  God  was  in  the  word,  and 
sinners  of  all  religions  and  of  no  religion  were  stricken  right  and  left. 
They  "  stormed  the  little  towns  as  they  rode  along,"  not  stopping  to 
dismount  and  look  for  a  pulpit,  but  preaching  and  praying  in  their 
saddles;  thus  "riding  their  circuits"  more  hterally  than  ever  was 
done  before.  Market  days  were  harvest  days  for  them.  They  would 
ride  into  the  midst  of  the  crowd,  start  a  Methodist  hymn  set  to  some 
well-known  Irish  air,  or  break  out  into  an  Irish  exhortation  at  the  top 
of  their  voices :  and,  be  it  known,  the  top  of  a  voice  like  Ouseley's 
was  something  to  remember;  ringing  out  high  and  clear  above  the 
rumble  of  carts  and  the  noises  of  cattle,  pigs,  and  poultry,  and  full 
often  rising  in  stentorian  shouts  to  assert  itseK  above  the  din  when 
some  crowd  of  bigots  or  besotted  ruffians  would  try  to  howl  him  down. 

There  was  no  lack  of  audiences;  the  great  question  was  how  to 
control  them.  Ouseley  was  as  full  of  Irish  wit  as  he  was  of  Meth- 
odist rehgion,  and  he  had  plenty  of  use  for  both.  "With  a  cath- 
olicity of  spirit  and  manner  which  was  so  successfully  imitated  by 
the  great  American  Evangehst  in  his  recent  revival  campaign  in 
Dublin,  this  Irish  missionary  was  ready  to  preach  the  Gospel  to 
Protestants  and  Papists  ahke,  and  from  first  to  last  through  his  forty 
years'  career  great  numbers  of  sinners  of  both  of  these  classes  were 
brought  to  a  saving  knowledge  of  Christ.  He  had  the  sense  to 
remember  that  there  was  a  great  deal  of  good  at  the  bottom  of  the 
papal  mummeries ;  for  names  he  did  not  care  a  pin ;  therefore  he 
would  talk  to  a  crowd  of  Romanists  about  the  blessed  Virgin  to  their 
hearts'  content,  and  then  wind  up  with  a  stirring  appeal  based  on 
some  of  the  words  of  "  her  Son."  He  was  once  set  upon  by  a  crowd 
of  the  peasantry  full  of  zeal  for  "  Howly  Rome,"  when  the  following 
dialogue  ensued: — 

"Clare  out  o'  this!  We  don't  want  ony  Methodis  prachin'  in 
these  parts." 

"  See  here,  my  dears ;  just  listen  a  bit,  and  I'U  teU  ye  something 
that  will  please  ye." 

"  We  wont  be  plased  wid  ony  thing  from  the  Hkes  o'  you." 

"  Try  me  and  see.  I  want  to  talk  to  ye  about  her  ye  love :  the 
blessed  Virgin  Mary,  the  mother  of  the  Lord." 


274  Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 

"  "Well,  what  do  you  know  about  the  Howly  Mother  ?  " 

Ouseley,  seizing  his  advantage,  began  to  tell  them  a  story  of  a 
wedding  to  which  the  blessed  Virgin  and  her  Son  were  invited ;  and 
how  she  induced  Him  to  work  a  miracle  for  them  by  turning  water 
into  wine.  He  came  presently  to  her  instmction  to  the  servants, 
"  Whatsoever  he  saith  unto  you,  do  it ;"  from  which  text,  with  this 
introduction,  he  was  permitted  to  preach  them  a  rousing  Gospel 
sermon. 

At  other  times  he  would  assault  their  bhnd  superstitions  with  the 
most  unanswerable  arguments,  as  thus  : — 

One  day  a  gang  of  furious  blackguards  attacked  his  congregation 
and  attempted  to  force  their  way  through  the  ranks  of  his  friends, 
who  strove  to  protect  their  preacher  by  keeping  a  solid  circle  round 
him.     Ouseley  stopped  at  once,  and  said : — 

"  Make  way  for  these  gentlemen.  I  have  important  business  with 
them." 

Every  body  was  surprised  at  this,  none  more  so  than  the  gang  of 
roughs  themselves.  Then,  turning  to  the  men  who  had  come  to  "  bate 
the  Hfe  out  of  him,"  he  said : — 

"  My  friends,  are  you  acquainted  with  the  priest  of  this  parish  ?  " 

"We  are." 

"  Will  you  take  a  message  to  him  for  me  ? " 

"  We  will.     What  is  it  ?  " 
. "  I  want  to  have  him  tell  me  if  he  can  make  a  fly ;  not  a  fishing 
fly,  ye  understand,  but  one  of  them  little  biting,  buzzing  fellows,  like 
that  one  sittin'  on  the  neck  of  my  horse.     Can  he  make  a  fly  out  of  a 
bit  of  clay  ? " 

"  Shure  what's  the  use  of  askin'  him  that  ?  Ony  body  knows  he 
can't  do  it." 

"  Well,  then,  my  dears,  if  the  priest  can't  make  a  little  fly  out  of  a 
bit  of  clay,  how  can  he  make  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  out  of  a  bit  of 
bread?" 

His  antagonists  were  not  smart  enough  to  meet  this  attack  on  the 
popish  doctrine  of  transubstantiation,  and,  feeling  that  they  had  been 
beaten  in  argument — a  wound  which  sometimes  hurts  an  Irishman  more 
than  a  broken  head — they  retired  from  the  field,  and  Ouseley  went  ou 
with  his  discourse. 


Gideon  Ouseley. 


'Zi.l 


Great  was  the  power  which  attended  their  word  as  Ouseley, 
Graham,  and  Hamilton  roamed  the  counties  of  Sligo,  Roscommon, 
Mayo,  Cavan,  Armagh,  Tyi'one,  and,  indeed,  over  almost  the  whole 
northern  half  of  Ireland ;  seeking  out  the  most  neglected  regions,  and 
preaching  of  sin  and  salvation,  "  the  disease  and  the  cure."  If  rhetoric 
be  "  the  art  of  persuasion,"  these  men  were  very  princes  in  rhetoric ; 
])esides,  in  what  is  called  oratory  they  might  have  been  distinguished, 
if  they  had  cared  to  be  so.  The  saddle  was  their  rostnim,  and  two 
peasants  in  a  bog,  or  by  a  roadside,  made  them  a  worthy  congregation : 
not  that  they  lacked  for  crowds ;  being  often  attended  by  great  nmlti- 
tudes  of  eager,  ignorant,  impressible  people,  who  listened  to  this  Irish 
version  of  the  Gospel  as  a  message  straight  from  heaven  to  their  own 
particular  selves,  and  to  whom  these  "  cavalry  preachers  "  were  httle 
less  than  angels  on  horseback. 

Conversions  multipUed,  many  of  them  of  the  same  pronounced 
and  demonstrative  type  as  that  of  Ouseley  himself,  and  their  holy 
ecstasies  were  sometimes  mistaken  by  the  priests  and  parsons  for 
demoniacal  possession.  One  Catholic  convert,  under  the  ministry  of 
Graham,  was  brought  to  the  priest  of  the  parish  to  be  cured  of  his 
"bad  religion,"  and  his  reverence,  it  is  said,  actually  attempted  the 
miracle  of  casting  the  "  Methodist  devil "  out  of  him :  using  forms  of 
prayer  appropriate  to  the  exorcism  of  evil  spirits,  and  pronouncing 
over  him,  with  all  solemnity,  these  words,  "Come  out,  Graham: 
come  out  of  him,  I  say ! "  But,  as  is  so  often  the  case  with  Romish 
miracles,  the  power  in  this  instance  utterly  failed  to  work. 

For  years  these  sturdy  men  carried  their  Hves  in  their  hands; 
preaching  sometimes  amid  showers  of  eggs,  potatoes,  bludgeons,  and 
stones,  and  at  other  times  surrounded  by  weeping,  praying,  loving 
multitudes,  who  knelt  at  their  feet,  ready  to  kiss  the  very  ground  on 
which  they  stood.  Again  and  again  they  were  set  upon  by  mobs  who 
were  bent  on  "  putting  them  out  of  the  way,"  but  the  Lord  always 
made  a  way  for  their  escape. 

They  frequently  enlivened  their  sermons  by  hymns  in  the  Irish 
language,  while  the  multitude  sobbed  aloud,  or  waved  to  and  fro, 
swayed  by  the  simple  music.  Some  of  the  hearers  would  be  weep- 
ing ;  others,  on  their  knees,  were  calling  upon  the  Yirgin  and  the 
-saints ;  others  still  were  shouting  questions  or  defiance  to  the  preachei"8, 


2T6 


Illustkated  History  of  Methodism. 


and  tlii'owing  sticks  or  stones  at  them ;  some  rolled  up  their  sleeves  to 
attack,  and  others  to  defend  them,  and  frequently  the  confusion  culmi- 
nated in  a  genuine  Hibernian  riot,  the  parties  rushing  pell-mell  upon 
each  other,  roaring,  brandishing  shillalahs,  and  breaking  heads,  till 
brought  to  order  at  last  by  the  intervention  of  the  magistrates  or  a 
platoon  of  troops  from  the  barracks. 

These  riots  were  charged  against  the  missionaries,  but  to  these 
criticisms  Ouseley  replied : — 

"You  have  riots  in  attempting  to  govern  this  people,  but  you 
do  not,  therefore,  abandon  your  efforts  to  govern  them  ;  we,  too, 
have  confusions  in  our  attempts  to  save  this  people,  but  that  is  no 
reason  for  abandoning  our  efforts  toward  their  salvation." 

In  this  wild  fash- 
ion thousands  of  this 
wretched  population 
were  converted,  set 
to  studying  the  Bible, 
and  brought  into  the 
fellowship  of  the 
Protestant  Churches. 
The  glorious  results 
overbalanced  all  ob- 
jections of  "irregu- 
larity," and  the  best 
people  of  the  island 
at  length  became  the 
admirers  and  supporters  of  "the  black  caps,"  as  they  were  called 
from  their  habit  of  wearing  black  velvet  caps  to  protect  their  heads 
from  the  weather  and  from  blows  when  they  took  off  their  hats  for 
preaching  or  prayer. 

A  minister  who  witnessed  their  labors  wrote  to  Dr.  Coke :  "  The 
mighty  power  of  God  accompanies  their  word  with  such  demon- 
strative evidence  as  I  have  never  known,  or  indeed  rarely  heard  of. 
I  have  been  present  in  fairs  and  markets  while  these  blessed  men  of 
God,  with  burning  zeal  and  apostolic  ardor,  pointed  hundreds  and 
thousands  to  the  Lamb  of  God  that  taketh  away  the  sin  of  the  world. 
And  I  have  seen  the  immediate  fruit  of  their  labor :   the  aged  and 


AN  IRISH  HOVEL. 


Gideon  Ouseley.  277 

the  young  falling  prostrate  in  the  most  public  places  of  concourse, 
cut  to  the  heart,  and  refusing  to  be  comforted  until  they  knew 
Jesus  and  the  power  of  his  resurrection.  I  have  known  scores  of 
these  poor  penitents  to  stand  up  and  witness  a  good  confession ;  and, 
blessed  be  God !   hundreds  of  them  now  adorn  the  Gospel  of  Christ 

Jesus." 

Irish  Methodist  Emigrants.— Of  the  results  of  the  labors 
of  these  Irish  Methodist  heroes  no  estimate  can  be  given.  To  the 
awful  horrors  of  the  EebeUion  in  '98  succeeded  the  rush  of  emigration 
to  America,  by  which  many  Societies  were  utterly  broken  up,  and 
many  others  were  so  reduced  in  membership  that  it  became  necessary 
for  the  Enghsh  Conference  to  take  a  large  share  of  the  support  of  the 
Irish  preachers  upon  their  own  hands.  During  the  fifteen  years  from 
1824  to  1839  it  is  estimated  that  ten  thousand  Irish  Methodists  emi- 
grated to  America,  being,  of  course,  the  very  flower  of  their  enterprise 
and  strength. 

Ouseley  as  an  Author. — Few  men  have  been  better  qualified 
to  deal  with  the  shaUow  doctrines  of  Popery  than  this  Irish  itinerant. 
He  knew  their  weakness  in  history  as  well  as  in  logic  and  Scripture, 
and  being,  hke  so  many  of  his  countrymen,  a  natural  master  of  de- 
bate, when  he  made  an  attack  on  a  Komish  dogma  there  was  but  Httle 
of  it  left.  If  errors  in  rehgion  would  only  remain  dead  when  they  are 
killed  the  truth  would  by  this  time  have  prevailed  the  world  over ;  but 
the  history  of  theology  bears  too  abundant  testimony  that  it  is  but  a 
small  part  of  the  work  of  destroying  a  dogma  to  prove  that  it  is  false. 
Do  not  even  sensible  people  sometimes  cherish  notions  in  rehgion 
which  they  know  are  not  true  ? 

Ouseley's  chief  pubHcation,  "  The  Defense  of  Old  Christianity,"  is 
a  fair-sized  volume,  full  and  running  over  with  wit,  wisdom,  argu- 
ment and  Scripture.  The  book  did  good  service  in'  its  day  in 
enhghtening  honest  inquirers  concerning  the  errors  of  Kome,  and 
many  are  the  souls  who  have  been  brought  to  Christ  by  its  means. 
Other  smaller  pubhcations  are  extant,  and  further  illustrate  the  contro- 
versial skill  of  this  Irish  Methodist  hero,  who  for  forty  years,  with 
tongue  and  pen,  preached  the  word  of  hfe  to  a  class  of  persons  who, 
it  has  been  thought  by  most  Protestant  behevers,  were  altogether 
^beyond  the  reach  of  evangehcal  truth. 


278  Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 

AI'Qui^^  and  the  Irish  Bible. — The  other  member  of 
the  first  trio  of  Irish  Methodist  itinerants,  James  M'Quigg,  rendered 
a  memorable  service  to  his  countrymen  by  editing  a  new  edition  of  the 
Bible  in  the  Irish  language,  which  the  British  and  Foreign  Bible 
Society  pubHshed,  under  his  direction.  By  his  influence  the  plan  of 
employing  Bible  readers  was  widely  adopted,  and  so  great  was  its  suc- 
cess that  in  one  district  it  was  announced  that  forty  thousand  persons 
were  being  taught  to  read  the  Irish  Bible,  and  more  than  double  that 
number  were  hearing  it  read  in  their  own  cabins.  As  a  result  there 
were  great  numbers  of  converts  from  Bomanism  ;  in  some  counties 
they  were  reported  by  the  hundred  at  a  time. 

M'Quigg,  who  was  a  scholar,  a  gentleman,  and  an  able  debater,  as 
well  as  preacher,  was  prevented  by  ill  health  from  sharing  long  in  the 
wild  missionary  life  of  his  brethren,  Ouseley,  Graham,  Hamilton,  and 
the  rest ;  and  after  his  invaluable  Bible  work  he  died  just  as  his 
grand  scheme  of  spreading  the  Irish  Scriptures  was  reaching  the  cli- 
max of  its  success. 

The  death  of  Gideon  Ouseley  occurred  on  the  14th  of  May,  1839, 
the  centennial  year  of  British  Methodism,  in  the  seventy-eighth  year 
of  his  age.  In  spite  of  the  weight  of  years  "  Father  Ouseley "  per- 
sisted to  the  last  in  his  work  of  preaching  "  the  disease  and  the  cure." 
The  singleness  of  his  heart  was  one  of  the  chief  characteristics  of 
his  career.  He  had  nothing  else  in  the  world  to  do  but  to  help  sin- 
ners to  be  saved,  and  whether  he  were  in  the  pulpit,  in  his  saddle,  at 
a  fair,  on  the  road,  or  sitting  in  a  peasant's  cabin  with  the  children 
climbing  all  over  him,  he  was  ever  finding  in  the  simple  sayings  or 
doings  of  the  people  a  guide  to  their  better  judgment,  or  the  shortest 
road  to  their  hearts.  Nor  was  it  only  among  the  peasantry  that  he 
was  beloved.  His  native  genius,  wide  knowledge,  and  transparent 
soul,  gained  him  multitudes  of  admirers  among  the  educated  and 
refined ;  biit  above  all  these  honors  was  the  oft-recurring  joy  he  felt 
as  some  stranger  would  grasp  his  hand  and  say : — 

"Do  you  remember  such  a  wake,  or  such  a  fair,  or  such  a  horseback 
sermon  ?     It  was  there  you  led  me  to  the  Lord." 

His  last  words  were  :  "  I  have  no  fear  of  death.  God's  Spirit  is 
my  support."  Graham,  his  early  comrade,  died  in  1824,  and  WiUiam 
Hamilton,  the  chief  collaborator  of  his  later  years,  in  1816. 


>%^^  /;  '.^7af, 


fS 


CHAPTER  XII. 

TRIALS  AND  TRIUMPHS:  FRIENDS  AND  FOES. 
Hethodi^iii  in  Scotlancl.-Tlie  theological  soil  and  climate- 
of  Scotland  ^vere  not  favorable  to  the  growth  of  Methodism.  John 
Calvin  and  John  Knox  had  so  strong  a  hold  npon  the  Scottish  mmd 
and  heart  that  there  was  little  room  therein  for  John  Wesley.  Some- 
time previous  to  1754  a  small  Society  h.d  heen  formed  at  Edmbnrgh 
and  in  that  year  Mr.  Wesley  paid  a  visit  to  the  General  Assembly  of 


280  Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 

the  Churcli  of  Scotland,  composed  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  ministers, 
of  whose  deliberations  he  makes  the  following  record : — 

"  A  single  question  took  up  the  whole  time,  which,  when  I  went 
away,  seemed  to  be  as  far  from  a  conclusion  as  ever,  namely,  '  Shall 
Mr.  Lindsay  be  removed  to  Kilmarnock  parish  or  not  ? '  The  argu- 
ment for  it  was,  '  He  has  a  large  family,  and  this  Living  is  twice  as 
good  as  his  own.'  The  argument  against  it  was,  'The  people  are 
resolved  not  to  hear  him,  and  will  leave  the  Kirk  if  he  comes.'  If, 
then,  the  real  point  in  view  had  been,  as  their  law  directs,  majus 
honum  Ecclesiod^  [the  greater  good  of  the  Church,]  instead  of  taking 
up  five  hours  the  debate  might  have  been  determined  in  five  minutes. 

"  I  rode  to  Dundee,  and  about  half  an  hour  after  six  preached  on 
the  side  of  a  meadow  near  the  town.  Poor  and  rich  attended. 
Indeed,  there  is  seldom  fear  of  wanting  a  congregation  in  Scotland. 
But  the  misfortune  is,  they  know  every  thing :  so  they  learn  nothing. 

"  Lodging  with  a  sensible  man,  I  inquired  particularly  into  the  pres- 
ent discipline  of  the  Scotch  parishes.  In  one  parish  it  seems  there  are 
twelve  ruHng  elders ;  in  another  there  are  fourteen.  And  what  are 
these  ?  Men  of  great  sense  and  deep  experience  ?  Neither  one  nor 
the  other.     But  they  are  the  richest  men  in  the  parish." 

At  Old  Aberdeen,  the  ancient  seat  of  King's  College,  "Wesley  was 
well  received  by  both  college  and  citizens,  and,  as  the  result  of  his 
labors,  he  left  there  a  Society  of  ninety  members.  A  Society  was 
also  formed  at  Glasgow,  which  "Wesley  visited  in  1YT4 ;  on  which  occa- 
sion, as  was  his  custom,  he  attended  the  regular  services  of  the  national 
Church,  but  was  not  very  much  edified.  "  My  spirit,"  he  says,  "  was 
moved  within  me  at  the  sermons  I  heard  both  morning  and  afternoon. 
They  contained  much  truth,  but  were  no  more  Kkely  to  awaken  one 
soul  than  an  Italian  opera." 

It  was  "Wesley's  opinion  that  Scotchmen  would  endure  the  plainest 
preaching  of  any  class  of  persons  he  had  met;  they  would  take  it 
stronger  and  more  of  it  than  any  other  people  on  earth ;  so  there  could 
have  been  no  excuse  for  the  flat  sermons  above  mentioned.  But  the 
preacher  of  them  was  not  alone  in  his  wicked  fashion  of  prophesying 
smooth  things,  as  appears  from  an  entry  in  his  Journal  in  1779  : — 

"  In  five  years  I  found  five  members  had  been  gained !  ninety-nine 
being    increased   to    a   hundred    and    four.      What,  then,  have    our 


Teials  and  Teiumphs  :   Friends  and  Foes. 


281 


preachers  been  doing  all  this  time?  1.  They  have  preached  four 
evenings  in  the  week,  and  on  Sunday  morning ;  the  other  mornings 
they  have  fairly  given  up.  2.  They  have  taken  great  care  not  to 
speak  too  plain,  lest  they  should  give  offense.  3.  When  Mr.  Bracken- 
bury  preached  the  old  Methodist  doctrine,  one  of  them  said,  '  You 
must  not  preach  such  doctrine  here.  The  doctrine  of  perfection  is 
not  calculated  for  the  meridian  of  Edinburgh.'  Waiving,  then,  all 
other  hinderances,  is  it  any  wonder  that  the  work  of  God  has  not 
prospered  here?" 

The  personal  qualifications   of   Mr.  Wesley  could  hardly  fail  to 
■command  respect  and  even  admiration  among  the  thoughtful  people 


DUNMORE    CASTLE,  COAST   OP   ATE,  SCOTLAND. 


•  of  Scotland ;  but  his  influence  was  not  sufficient  to  gain  for  his  people 
any  considerable  share  of  the  respect  which  was  paid  to  himself. 
After  his  death  Methodism  did  not  thrive  north  of  the  Tweed,  as 
appears  from  a  mention  made  of  it  in  1826  by  Dr.  Adam  Clarke,  who 
says:  "I  consider  Methodism  as  having  no  hold  of  Scotland  but  in 
(xlasgow  and  Edinburgh.  If  all  the  other  chapels  were  dispersed  it 
18      . 


282  Illustkated  Histoey  of  Methodism. 

would  be  little  loss  to  Methodism  and  a  great  saving  of  money,  which- 
might  be  better  employed." 

Early  Met hodi§t  Discipline. — To  those  who  question  the 
strict  personal  government  of  John  "Wesley  over  his  helpers  in  the 
work  of  the  gotspel,  this  may  be  a  sufficient  reply :  With  such 
preachers  and  such  people  this  was  a  prime  necessity,  not  only  for  the 
efficiency,  but  also  for  the  existence,  of  the  Methodist  Reformation. 
There  were  men  in  those  days,  as  well  as  in  these,  who  declared 
against  the  tyranny  of  their  chief,  but  they  were  not  the  best  men. 
A  good  soldier  is  obedient  as  well  as  brave. 

To  us  Americans  "  obedience  "  is  an  ugly  word,  and  any  vigorous- 
efforts  to  enforce  it  by  those  to  whom  it  is  due,  and  who  are  respon- 
sible for  its  results,  is  apt  to  bring  out  the  cry  of  tyranny.  As  well 
may  the  subaltern  in  the  army  cry  out  against  the  obedience  demanded 
by  his  general.  Power  to  command  is  the  safety  as  well  as  the  effi- 
ciency of  the  battalions  and  divisions  in  the  Church  militant,  and  so  it 
will  continue  to  be  as  long  as  any  organized  opposition  to  the  kingdom 
of  darkness  is  required.  And,  after  all,  does  not  the  much-mooted 
question  of  conflict  between  liberty  and  authority  in  the  Church, 
when  hunted  down  to  its  lowest  hiding-place  in  the  hearts  of  discon- 
tented men,  usually  resolve  itseK  into  another  question,  namely :  Who 
shall  rule  and  who  shall  obey  ?  Few  men  have  had  so  strong  a  con- 
science against  ecclesiastical  authority  as  not  to  be  willing  to  exercise  it 
themselves. 

In  the  Wesleyan  movement  there  was  no  occasion  for  this  latter 
question :  God  had  settled  it  himself.  There  was  no  man  except  John 
Wesley  in  the  whole  Connection  who  had  either  the  right  or  the 
capacity  to  lead  this  great  revival  movement ;  and  he  led  it  grandly 
and  successfully,  because,  among  other  things,  he  had  the  courage  as 
well  as  the  wisdom  to  demand  that  his  "  sons  in  the  ministry  "  should 
"  obey  "  him.  Between  him  and  the  lay  preachers  who  rallied  around 
him  there  was  a  vast  difference  and  distance  in  learning,  in  social  and 
clerical  position,  in  personal  abihty,  and,  above  all,  in  that  divine  right 
of  pre-eminence  which  came  of  his  call  to  his  great  mission.  He  was 
a  bishop  by  a  higher  authority  than  any  traditional  succession;  the 
prelates  of  Canterbury  and  York  were  vastly  his  inferiors  both  in 
talents  and  in  office ;  they  were  ecclesiastical  princes  in  the  Church  of 


Trials  and  Teiumphs:   Friends  and  Foes.         283 

Eugland,  while  "Wesley  was  a  bishop  by  the  grace  of  God.  He 
showed  the  true  signs  of  an  apostle ;  a  showing  which  few  primates 
have  made ;  and,  therefore,  he  had  a  right  to  exercise  apostolic  power ; 
however,  it  will  generally  appear  that  he  was  chiefly,  if  not  entirely, 
concerned  for  the  well-being  of  the  souls  committed  to  his  care,  and 
not  for  the  maintenance  of  his  own  dignity.  The  only  person  whom 
he  held  as  an  equal  was  his  brother  Charles,  who  was  both  a  clergy- 
man, a  hero,  and  a  poet;  but  he  was  so  full  of  High-Church  notions 
that  it  was  no  great  loss  to  the  Societies  when  he  settled  down  with 
his  family  in  London,  and  ceased  to  serve  the  cause  in  any  way  except 
by  writing  hymns. 

The  first  judicial  sentence  passed  upon  an  offending  itinerant 
preacher  was  in  the  case  of  James  Wheatley,  a  soft,  discourseful 
brother,  and  a  prime  favorite  with  the  people,  over  whom  Charles 
Wesley  makes  this  lamentation :  "  I  threw  away  some  advice  on  an 
obstinate  preacher,  James  Wheatley ;  for  I  could  make  no  impression 
■  on  him,  or  in  any  degree  bow  his  stiff  neck.  He  has  gone  to  the 
North  especially  contrary  to  my  advice.  Whither  will  his  willfulness 
lead  him  at  last  ? "  Two  years  afterward  John  Wesley  speaks  of  him 
as  a  "  wonderful  self-deceiver  and  a  hypocrite."  He  was  a  lewd  fel- 
low, given  also  to  lying ;  and  when  his  offenses  were  brought  to  hght 
the  two  Wesleys,  after  a  hearing  in  the  presence  of  ten  of  his  brethren, 
pronounced  sentence  of  suspension  upon  him,  in  a  document  which 
they  put  in  his  hands,  under  date  of  June  25,  1751,  and  which  closes 
as  follows : — 

"  We  can  in  no  wise  receive  you  as  a  fellow-laborer  till  we  see  clear 
proofs  of  your  real  and  deep  repentance.  Of  this  you  have  given  us 
no  proof  yet.  You  have  not  so  much  as  named  one  single  person,  in 
all  England  or  Ireland,  with  whom  you  have  behaved  ill,  except  those 
we  knew  before. 

"  The  least  and  lowest  proof  of  such  repentance  which  we  can 
receive  is  this — that  till  our  next  conference  (which  we  hope  will  be 
in  October)  you  abstain  both  from  preaching  and  from  practicing 
physic.  If  you  do  not,  we '  are  clear ;  we  cannot  answer  for  the 
consequences. 

"  John  Wesley, 
"Chakles  Wesley.' 


284 


Illusteated  History  of  Methodism. 


"  The  practice  of  physic,"  from  which  this  first  culprit  was  inter- 
dicted, was  a  frequent  function  of  Mr.  Wesley's  preachers ;  his  book- 
entitled  "  Primitive  Physic"  being  so  full  of  practical  information  that 
any  intelligent  man,  with  the  requisite  amount  of  sympathy  and  assur- 
ance, might,  with  its  help,  be  a  very  serviceable  doctor  among  the  igno- 
rant and  the  poor.  It  was  Methodist  physic  as  well  as  Methodist 
religion  which  the  itinerants  preached  and  practiced,  and  hence  the 
Wesleys  were  right  in  suspending  the  offender  from  administering,  by 
their  name  and  authority,  either  the  one  or  the  other. 

Conference  Roll  in  1751. — Soon  after  this  case  of  sus- 
pension there  was  a  general  examination,  conducted  by  Charles  Wes- 
ley, into  the  character  and  labors  of  all  the  preachers. 

"  It  was  now  twelve  years  since  Methodism  was  fairly  established. 
During  that  period  eighty-five  itinerants  had,  more  or  less,  preached 
and  acted  under  Wesley's  guidance.  Of  these,  one  (Wheatley)  had 
been  expelled  ;  six,  Thomas  Beard,  Enoch  WiUiams,  Samuel  Hitchens, 
Thomas  Hitchens,  John  Jane,  and  Henry  MiUard,  had  died  in  their 
Master's  work ;  ten,  for  various  reasons,  had  retired ;  and  sixty-eight 
were  stiU  employed,  namely : — 


Cornehus  Bastable, 
Wilham  Biggs, 
John  Bennet, 
Benjamin  Beanland, 
William  Crouch, 
Paul  Greenwood, 
John  Haiighton, 
Thomas  Hardwick, 
Wilham  Holmes, 
John  Haime, 
WiUiam  Hitchens, 
Christopher  Hopper, 
Herbert  Jenkins, 
Joseph  Jones, 
Samuel  Jones, 
John  Jones, 
Thomas  Kead, 


Jonathan  Catlow, 
Alexander  Coates, 
Joseph  Cownley, 
WiUian  Darney, 
John  Downes, 
James  Morris, 
Jonathan  Maskew, 
John  Morley, 
Samuel  Megget, 
Thomas  Mitchell, 
James  Morgan, 
James  Massiott, 
John  IS^elson, 
James  Oddie, 
Wilham  Prior, 
John  Pearce, 
Edward  Perronet, 


Edward  Duiistan, 
John  Edwards, 
John  Fisher, 
William  Fugill, 
Nicholas  Gilbert, 
Charles  Skelton, 
Robert  Swindells, 
Thomas  Seacombo, 
John  Trembath, 
David  Tratham, 
Joseph  Tucker, 
William  Tucker, 
John  Turner, 
Thomas  Tobias, 
Thomas  WestaU, 
Thomas  Walsh, 
Thomas  WiUiains, 


Life  of  Fletchee.  285 

Samuel  Larwood,  Charles  Perronet,  Francis  Walker, 

Henry  Lloyd,  Jacob  Rowell,  Eleazer  Webster, 

Thomas  Lee,  Thomas  Richards,  John  Whitford, 

Thomas  Maxfield,  Jonathan  Reeves,  Richard  Williamsony 

John  Maddern,  William  Roberts,  James  Wild. 

Richard  Moss,  William  Shent, 

"  Of  this  number  two  were  expelled,  namely :  Thomas  Williams  in 
1T55,  and  William  Fugill  in  1768  ;  and  forty-one  left  the  itinerancy ; 
thus  leaving  only  twenty-iive  of  the  sixty-eight  preachers  employed  in 

1751,  who  died  in  the  itinerant  work.  Several  of  those  who  left 
became  clergymen  of  the  Church  of  England,  some  Dissenting  minis- 
ters, and  some,  on  account  of  failing  health  or  for  domestic  reasons, 
entered  into  business,  but  lived  and  died  as  local  preachers." 

The  persecutions  which  had  kept  the  zeal  of  the  Methodists  ahve 
had  now  nearly  ceased,  leaving  them  in  the  peaceful  possession  of  their 
fields  of  labor,  with  no  other  contentions  than  such  as  arose  within 
their  own  circles.  Already  the  itinerants  began  to  be  at  ease  in  Zion. 
Wesley  complains  that  "  idleness  has  eaten  out  the  heart  of  half  our 
preachers,  particularly  those  in  Ireland ; "  and  he  requested  his  brother 
to  give  them  their  choice :  "  To  either  follow  your  trade,  or  resolve 
before  God  to  spend  the  same  hours  in  reading,  etc.,  which  you  used 
to  spend  in  working.  It  is  far  better  for  us  to  have  ten  or  six 
preachers  who  are  ahve  to  God,  sound  in  the  faith,  and  with  one  heart 
with  us  and  with  one  another,  than  fifty  of  whom  we  have  no  such 
assurance." 

The  Reverend  John  Fletcher. — The  name  and  fame  of 
this  saintly  man  is  among  the  most  precious  of  all  the  historic 
treasures  of  Methodism.    Mr.  Wesley's  acquaintance  with  him  began  in 

1752,  and  continued  uninterrupted  between  thirty  and  forty  years. 
"  We  were,"  says  Wesley,  "  of  one  heart  and  one  soul.  We  had  no 
secrets  between  us.  For  many  years  we  did  not  purposely  hide  any 
thing  from  each  other." 

John  William  de  la  Flechere,  the  youngest  son  of  an  ofiicer  of 
the  French  army,  was  born  at  Nyon,  in  Switzerland,  September  12, 
1729.  He  was  early  distinguished  by  his  brilliant  talents  in  the  school 
at  Geneva,  to  which  he  was  sent  for  a  classical  education,  and  no  less 


286 


Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 


for  his  tender  conscience  and  deeply  religious  nature.  He  was  learned 
in  the  German  as  well  as  in  the  French  language,  both  of  which  were 
spoken  in  the  French  cantons,  and  also  in  mathematics  and  Hebrew ; 
being,  next  to  "Wesley  and  Clarke,  the  most  scholarly  man  whose  name 
stands  connected  with  the  early  history  of  the  Methodist  revival. 

His  piety  and  learning  led  his  parents  to  mark  out  for  him  a  priestly 

career,  but  John  preferred  the  camp 
^w'°:\?:s^  to  the  Church,  giving  as  his  reason 

that  he  did  not  feel  hunseK  worthy 
to  enter  the  holy  oflSce.  Somehow, 
also,  he  had  conceived  a  hatred  of  the 
Geneva  doctrine  of  predestination,  as 
set  down  in  the  standards  of  the 
Swiss  Protestant  Church  by  its  great 
prince  and  prophet,  John  Calvin ; 
and  as  he  would  be  required  to  pro- 
fess his  faith  therein  before  he  would 
be  allowed  to  preach  the  Gospel,  he 
resolved  to  lay  down  the  Catechism 
and  take  up  the  sword. 

For  this  purpose  he  went  to  Lis- 
bon, where  he  gathered  a  company  of 
Swiss  adventurers,  accepted  a  captain's 
commission  from  the  King  of  Portu- 
gal, and  was  ordered  to  join  a  man- 
of-war,  which  was  just  about  to  sail 
for  Brazil;  but  a  painful  accident  befell 
him  at  his  hotel  on  the  day  before 
the  vessel's  departure,  which  kept 
him  in  bed  for  a  considerable  time. 
The  ship  sailed  away  without  him,  and 
never  was  heard  of  again.  His  next 
thought  was  to  visit  England,  where  he  studied  the  English  language, 
and  in  1752  he  engaged  as  a  private  tutor  in  the  family  of  Thomas 
Hall,  Esq.,  a  country  gentleman  of  Shropshire. 

Upon  one  occasion,  when  going  up  to  London  with  the  family, 
during  a  brief  halt  at  St.  Albans,  he  fell  in  with  an  old  woman  who 


AMONG  THE  SWISS  MOUNTAINS. 


Life  of  Fletcher.  287 

talked  to  him  so  sweetly  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  that  he  forgot 
all  about  his  party,  and  they  were  obliged  to  go  on  to  London  without 
him.  When  he  rejoined  them  at  the  capital,  and  gave  an  account  of 
his  detention,  Mrs.  Hall  said,  "  I  shall  wonder  if  our  tutor  does  not 
turn  Methodist  by  and  by." 

"  Methodist,  madam  :  pray  what  is  that  ? " 

"  Why,  the  Methodists  are  people  that  do  nothing  but  pray ;  they 
pray  all  day  and  night." 

"  Do  they,"  responded  the  tutor,  "  then,  by  the  help  of   God,  I 
will  find  them  out  if  they  be  above  ground." 

Mr.  Fletcher  was  as  good  as  his  word.  He  discovered,  and  was 
admitted  to,  the  Society  at  the  Foundry,  where  he  learned  the  true 
way  of  salvation  by  faith,  and  after  great  straggles  of  soul  he  began 
to  walk  therein.  He  had  always  been  counted  very  rehgious,  and 
received  the  "premium  for  piety"  at  the  Geneva  University  on 
account  of  his  admirable  essays  on  rehgious  subjects.  He  had  prac- 
<;iced  various  mortifications  of  the  body ;  as  fasting,  vigils,  sohtude,  and 
'jther  pious  practices ;  but  now  he  saw  himself  a  sinner,  and  cast  him- 
self wholly  on  Christ  for  salvation.  His  conversion  was  clear,  rad- 
ical and  complete.  Peace  took  the  place  of  anxiety,  and  his  efforts 
after  self -righteousness  gave  place  to  entire  consecration  to,  and  de- 
pendence upon,  the  work  and  the  merits  of  the  Saviour.  His  heart 
was  now  turned  to  the  ministry,  and  through  the  kindness  of  his  patron 
he  was  offered  the  living  of  Dunham,  a  small  parish  with  a  large  salary, 
amounting  to  four  hundred  pounds  a  year ;  but  Mr.  Fletcher  had  be- 
come interested  in  the  people  in  a  mining  region,  and  had  preached  at 
a  place  called  Madeley  to  a  few  wretched,  neglected  colliers,  whom  he 
with  considerable  efEort  had  succeeded  in  bringing  together,  and  there- 
fore hesitated  to  accept  the  brilliant  offer  of  his  friend.  Madeley  was 
a  poor  httle  parish,  with  a  miserable  little  old  church  and  a  salary  in 
proportion,  but  it  suited  Fletcher  better  than  Dunliam,  where,  he 
declared,  "  there  was  too  much  money  and  too  few  souls,"  while  the 
region  about  Madeley  swarmed  with  vicious  and  neglected  sinners. 
His  patron,  therefore,  arranged  with  the  Yicar  of  Madeley  to  exchange 
his  meager  living  for  the  fat  one  at  Dunham,  thus  leaving  a  vacancy 
at  the  former  place,  to  which  Fletcher  was  soon  appointed. 

His  zeal  and  faithfulness  soon  raised  a  persecution  against  him; 


288 


Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 


indeed,  in  tlie  estimation  of  these  easy-going  religionists  and  semi-in*- 
sensible  sinners,  lie  must  have  been  a  very  uncomfortable  man.  Find- 
ing the  people  did  not  come  to  church  he  went  to  seek  them  in  their 
homes ;  held  out-of-door  services  whenever  opportunity  offered ;  and* 
when  some  of  his  parishioners  excused  their  absence  from  pubHc 
worship  on  the  ground  that  they  were  tired  and  sleepy  on  Sunday 
morning  after  a  whole  week's  work,  and  could  not  wake  up  in  time  ta 
make  themselves  and  their  children  ready  for  church,  he  assumed  the 
office  of  bellman,  and  early  on  the  Sabbath  mornings  for  several 
months  he  tramped  the  Madeley  streets,  with  a  large  bell  in  hi   hand^ 


MADELEY     CHURCH. 

ringing  the  people  out  of    Sunday  morning  naps,  and  out  of   their 
excuse  for  staying  away  from  the  house  of  God. 

His  preaching  was  with  marvelous  eloquence,  and  as  pungent  as  it 
was  eloquent.  He  preached  against  drunkenness,  and  straightway  all  ■ 
the  ale-house  party  were  in  a  rage.  They  began  to  interrupt  his  serv- 
ices by  scurrilous  language  in  church.  A  "  bull-bait "  was  attempted 
on  one  occasion  near  the  place  where  he  had  announced  an  out-of-door 
service,  and  a  part  of  the  drunken  rabble  were  actually  plotting  to  set 
the  dogs  on  the  parson;  but  from  this  he  escaped  by  providential 
detention  at  a  funeral.       He  preached   against  worldhness,  and    the 


Life  of  Fletcher.  289 

magistrates  and  gentry  joined  the  cry  against  liim.  He  preached 
regeneration  and  salvation  by  faith,  and  the  neighboring  clergy  de- 
nounced him  as  a  schismatic. 

His  hberahty  to  the  poor  is  said  to  be  scarcely  credible.  He  led  a 
life  of  severe  abstinence  that  he  might  feed  the  hungry,  wore  coarse 
garments  that  he  might  clothe  the  naked,  and  sometimes  robbed  his 
own  house  of  necessary  articles  of  furniture  that  he  might  supply  the 
lack  of  suffering  families  about  him.  Thus,  in  spite  of  the  opposition 
to  his  zeal  and  his  theology,  his  enemies  were  forced  to  confess  him  a 
very  saint  in  matters  of  charity. 

In  1768  Mr.  Fletcher  was  appointed  by  Lady  Huntingdon  to  the 
presidency  of  her  Theological  School  at  Trevecca,  which  duties  he  as- 
sumed in  addition  to  his  Madeley  pastorate. 

Mr.  Benson,  who  was  the  head  master  of  the  school,  says  that  on  oc- 
casions of  his  visits  he  was  received  as  if  he  had  been  an  "  angel  of 
God."  Prayer,  praise,  love,  and  zeal,  all  ardent,  elevated  above  what 
one  would  think  attainable  in  this  state  of  frailty,  were  the  element* 
in  which  he  continually  lived.  Languages,  arts,  sciences,  grammar, 
rhetoric,  logic,  even  divinity  itseK,  as  it  is  called,  were  all  laid  aside 
when  he  appeared  in  the  school-room  among  the  students.  They  sel- 
dom hearkened  long  before  they  were  all  in  tears,  and  every  heart 
caught  fire  from  the  flame  that  burned  in  his  soul." 

Closing  these  addresses,  he  would  say :  "  As  many  of  you  as  are 
athirst  for  the  fullness  of  the  Spirit  of  God  follow  me  into  my  room." 
Many  usually  hastened  thither,  and  it  was  like  going  into  the  Holiest 
of  Holies.  Two  or  three  hours  were  spent  there  in  such  prevailing 
prayer  as  seemed  to  bring  heaven  down  to  earth.  "Indeed,"  say& 
Benson,  "  I  frequently  thought,  while  attending  to  his  heavenly  dis- 
course and  divine  spirit,  that  he  was  so  different  from,  and  superior  to, 
the  generality  of  mankind,  as  to  look  more  hke  Moses  or  Elijah,  or 
some  prophet  or  apostle  come  again  from  the  dead,  than  a  mortal  man 
dwelling  in  a  house  of  clay  !  " 

Such  was  the  man  who  was  forced  to  resign  his  presidency  of 
Trevecca  College  because  he  was  not  a  behever  in  the  Genevan  doc- 
trine of  election  and  predestination. 

Lady  Huntingdon  had  been  greatly  disturbed  on  account  of  some 
doctrinal  views  set  forth  by  her  old  friend  Wesley  in  the  Minutes  of 


290  Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 

his  Conference  in  lYYO,  and,  lest  the  "damnable  heresy"  of  free  grace 
should  creep  in  aipong  the  callow  young  theologues  at  Trevecca  she 
determined  to  test  the  soundness  of  her  teachers  and  pupils,  and  all 
who  did  not  disavow  Mr.  Wesley's  theology  were  warned  to  quit  the 
college.  This  action  led  to  the  immediate  resignation  of  President 
Fletcher  and  to  the  dismissal  of  Professor  Benson,  who  says :  "  I  had 
been  discharged  wholly  and  solely  because  I  did  not  believe  the 
doctrine  of  absolute  predestination." 

The  name  of  Fletcher  is  associated  in  the  minds  of  many  Method- 
ists with  the  doctrine  of  Christian  Perfection,  of  which  he  was,  and  is, 
one  of  the  ablest  defenders  ;  and,  what  was  better,  Mr.  Fletcher  was 
himself  an  example  of  the  theories  he  held. 

There  are  few  severer  tests  of  a  man's  temper  than  that  afforded 
by  religious  controversy ;  and  to  the  everlasting  praise  of  Fletcher  let 
it  be  remembered  that  he  maintained  for  years  one  of  the  sharpest  dis- 
cussions with  the  Calvinists,  involving  the  most  vital  points  in  practi- 
cal as  well  as  dogmatic  rehgion,  and,  though  treated  with  severity  and 
sometimes  scurrility  by  his  adversaries,  he  from  first  to  last  maintained 
the  manners  and  spirit  of  a  gentleman  and  a  Christian. 

"  Checks  to  Autiuoiniaiiisiii." — In  that  series  of  papers 
called  "  Checks  to  Antinomianism  " — which  have  ever  since  been  reck- 
oned among  the  Methodist  classics — ^he,  with  a  sharp  knife,. a  steady 
hand,  and  an  even  temper,  dissected  and  exposed  the  malformations 
and  Iiidden  corruptions  of  the  system  of  theology  set  forth  in  the 
"  Institutes  "  of  John  Calvin,  and  in  the  controversial  works  of  Top- 
lady,  Rowland  Hill,  and  other  divines  of  the  Calvinistic  school  in  the 
eighteenth  century.  He  was  a  terrible  adversary,  not  only  because  of 
the  relentless  vigor  with  which  he  hunted  down  the  false  doctrines, 
but  also  because  of  the  faultlessness  of  his  personal  character,  which 
gave  his  opponents  no  chance  to  evade  the  force  of  his  arguments  by 
raising  some  side  issue  concerning  the  conduct  of  their  author. 

The  word  "antinomianism,"  once  so  common  in  the  mouth  of 
Methodist  preachers,  is  now  so  seldom  heard  that  a  definition  of  it  may 
be  of  service.  It  is  composed  of  two  Greek  words,  anti,  against,  and 
nomos,  law,  and  was  used  to  describe  that  class  of  inferences  from  the 
doctrine  of  "  unconditional  election  "  whereby  sinners  were  led  to  excuse 
their  continuance  in  sin  until  God,  by  his  *'  effectual  calhng "  and 


Life  of  Fletcher.  291 

*'  irresistible  grace,"  should  come  and  bring  them  to  salvation.  Modern 
Calvinists  sometimes  become  angry  when  the  monstrous  and  legitimate 
conclusions  of  the  Geneva  theory  are  pointed  out,  and  modern  Meth- 
odists are  sometimes  accused  of  unfairness  for  so  doing ;  but  there  are 
old  men  in  the  Methodist  Church  who  can  still  remember  the  time 
when  the  battle  between  "  free  will "  and  "  bond  will  "  was  waged  with 
vigor  both  in  England  and  America,  and  when  the  great  obstacle 
in  the  way  of  bringing  sinners  to  repentance  was  the  fact  that 
they  had  become  Antinomians,  and  were  "waiting  for  God's  time." 
"  If  I  am  elected  I  shall  certainly  be  saved,  and  if  I  am  not  elected  there 
is  no  use  of  repenting,"  was  a  common  plea  on  the  part  of  those  who 
were  invited  to  seek  the  Lord ;  and  to  Fletcher  belongs  the  honor  of 
furnishing  the  best  armory  of  logical  weapons  with  which  that  strong 
delusion  has  now  been  driven  out  of  the  Church  and  almost  out  of  the 
world. 

Fletcher's  "  Appeal." — Among  Mr.  Fletcher's  parishioners  at 
Madeley  there  were  a  few  who  felt  themselves  too  highly  respectable  to 
need  the  plain  and  searching  words  in  which  the  good  vicar  was  accus- 
tomed to  instruct  the  larger  and  poorer  portion  of  his  flock,  and  who 
accordingly  would  leave  the  church  when  the  liturgical  part  of  the 
service  was  concluded,  thus  escaping  the  sermon  altogether.  In  order 
to  bring  to  the  attention  of  these  persons  the  unwelcome  truth  that 
rich  people  are  sinners  and  in  danger  of  going  to  hell  as  well  as 
poor  people,  unless  they  "repent  and  believe  the  Gospel,"  Fletcher 
published  a  series  of  five  sermons  with  the  title  of  "  An  Appeal  to 
Matter  of  Fact  and  Common  Sense ;  or,  A  Rational  Demonstration  of 
Man's  Corrupt  and  Lost  Estate,"  which  he  sent  forth  among  his  aris- 
tocratic parishioners,  with  the  following  characteristic  preface  — 

"  To  THE  Principal  Inhabitants  of  the  Pakish  or  Madeley,  m 
THE  County  of  Salop. 

"  Gentlemen  :  You  are  no  less  entitled  to  my  private  labors  than 
the  inferior  class  of  my  parishioners.  As  you  do  not  choose  to  partake 
with  them  of  my  evening  instruction,  I  take  the  liberty  to  present 
you  with  some  of  my  morning  meditations.  May  these  well-meant 
endeavors  of  my  pen  be  more  acceptable  to  you  than  those  of  my 
tongue ;  and  may  you  carefully  read  in  your  closets  what  you  have 
perhaps  inattentively  heard  in  the  church.    I  appeal  to  the  Searcher  of 


292  Illusteated  History  of  Methodism. 

hearts  that  I  had  rather  impart  truth  than  receive  tithes.  You  kindly 
bestow  the  latter  upon  me  :  grant  me,  I  pray,  the  satisfaction  of  seeing^ 
you  favorably  receive  the  former  from,  gentlemen,  your  affectionate- 
minister  and  obedient  servant, 

" Madeley,  1TY2."  "J.  Fletcher." 

Whatever  the  effect  of  this  "Appeal "  on  the  minds  of  his  high-caste- 
parishioners  may  have  been,  it  became  one  of  the  recognized  spiritual 
guides  among  the  Methodists,  and  still  holds  an  honorable  place  in  the 
hterature  of  the  Church  on  both  sides  of  the  sea. 

Mrs.  Mary  Fletcher. — In  1771  Mr.  Fletcher  was  united  in. 
marriage  with  Miss  Mary  Bosanquet,  a  woman  who  was  his  exact 
complement ;  and  the  two  became  one  according  to  the  evident  inten- 
tion of  Him  who  contrived  and  established  the  institution  of  marriage. 

This  lady,  who,  if  she  had  been  a  Papist,  would  now  be  venerated 
as  a  saint,  and  whose  name  stands  first  among  the  women  who  may  be 
called  the  deaconesses  of  Methodism,  was  born  at  Laytonstone,  in  Essex, 
in  1739.  Her  family  were  wealthy,  and  intended  her  to  shine  as  a 
lady  of  fashion  ;  but  while  yet  a  child  she  became  the  subject  of  rehg- 
ious  impressions,  through  the  influence  of  a  maid-servant  who  was  one 
of  "  the  people  called  Methodists,"  and  resolved  to  give  herself  to  a  hf  e 
of  devotion.  When  her  parents  discovered  that  she  was  in  danger 
of  becoming  a  Methodist,  for  which  class  of  persons  they  had  no 
small  disgust,  they  dismissed  the  maid-servant,  took  away  all  the 
books  she  had  given  the  young  lady,  and  afterward  moved  to  London, 
where  they  endeavored  to  entice  her  into  a  life  of  pleasure.  But  Mary 
somehow  found  out  the  Methodist  Society  at  the  Foundry,  and  be- 
came acquainted  with  that  eminent  Christian  woman,  Mary  Ryan,  one 
of  Wesley's  class-leaders,  by  whom  she  was  led  to  a  true  knowledge  of 
Christ. 

When  she  became  of  age  her  father  demanded  that  she  should 
promise  not  to  attempt  to  make  "  Christians  "  of  her  brothers,  or  else 
leave  his  house. 

The  young  lady  answered,  "I  think,  sir,  I  dare  not  consent  to 
that." 

"  Then  you  force  me  to  put  you  out  of  my  house,"  said  her  father;, 
and  accordingly  his  daughter  left  her  home  and  took  private  lodgings- 


Mks.  Mary  (Bosanquet)  Fletcher.  293 

for  herself  and  her  maid.  She  had  a  little  fortune  in  her  own  right, 
:and  now  devoted  herself  and  it  to  works  of  charity,  becoming  first  a 
class-leader  and  then  a  preacher.  In  1763  she  removed  from  London 
to  her  native  town  of  Laytonstone,  and  established  in  one  of  her  own 
houses  a  charity  school  for  orphans,  where  also  she  held  the  meetings 
of  her  Methodist  Society.  In  addition  to  her  home  duties  she  made 
short  preaching  tours  among  the  neglected  sinners  of  the  country 
round ;  and  so  great  was  her  success  and  so  excellent  her  influence 
that  even  Wesley  was  forced  to  admit  that  for  this  woman  to  speak  in 
the  congregation,  provided  she  did  not  "  intrude  into  the  pulpit,"  was 
manifestly  no  shame  at  all,  but  only  an  exception  to  the  general  rule, 
such  as  St.  Paul  himself  allowed  at  Corinth. 

Fletcher  had  become  acquainted  with  her  at  the  Old  Foundry, 
when  they  were  in  the  flower  of  their  youth,  and,  as  afterward  trans- 
pired, each  conceived  a  deep  and  tender  love  for  the  other;  but 
he  was  only  a  tutor  in  a  private  family  and  a  very  modest  young  man 
withal,  while  Miss  Bosanquet  was  a  lady  of  fortune;  therefore  he 
kept  his  passion  to  himself  for  twenty-five  years,  during  the  last  fifteen 
of  which  he  never  once  saw  the  lady  he  loved.  But  in  the  year  1781 
the  secret  came  out,  and  the  lady,  who  had  refused  all  offers  of  mar- 
riage, was  united  to  one  of  the  most  lovable  and  loving  men  in  all  the 
world.  The  bride  had  reached  the  mature  age  of  forty-two,  and  the 
bridegroom  that  of  fifty-two,  but  their  union  was  none  the  less  perfect 
on  that  account,  for  the  love  which  had  been  hidden  in  their  liearts 
had  all  these  years  been  fitting  them  for,  and  bringing  them  nearer  to 
each  other ;  and  thus  at  a  period  in  life  when  matrimony  is  counted  a 
dangerous  experiment,  these  two  souls  and  bodies  were  happily  (shall 
we  say,  eternally  ?)  united  in  one. 

During  the  brief  period  of  their  married  life  at  Madeley  Mrs. 
Fletcher  entered  heartily  into  the  labors  of  her  husband  ;  built  a  num- 
ber of  chapels  for  the  poor,  and  thus  established  a  little  diocese  or  cir- 
cuit of  their  own,  within  which  the  Gospel  so  fully  triumphed  that 
those  who  traveled  through  it  years  afterward  were  often  reminded 
of  the  labors  of  the  saintly  vicar  and  his  devoted  and  talented  wife.   ^ 

On  the  14:th  of  August,  1785,  less  than  five  years  after  his  mar- 
riage, this  almost  peerless  Christian  of  modern  times  died  of  pulmonary 
consumption ;  let  us  rather  say,  he  was  promoted  to  a  higher  hf  e.    But 


294 


Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 


his  work  was  left  in  competent  hands.  For  thirty  years  Mrs.  Fletcher 
continued  to  be  the  center  of  a  wide  circle  of  gospel  work,  in  which 
her  fortune,  her  talents,  and  her  piety  made  her  pre-eminent.  Next 
after  the  Countess  of  Huntingdon  she  was  doubtless  the  most  notable, 
ao  well  as  the  most  widely  useful  Christian  lady  of  her  time.  Her 
death  occurred  December  9,  1814. 

The  profound  love  and  admiration  in  which  Mr.  Wesley  held  lis 
friend  the  Yicar  of  Madeley  is  shown  in  his  intention  to  make  Mr. 


THE  FLETCHER   MEMORIAL    COLLEGE    AISTD    CHAPEL  AT  LAUSANTSTE, 

Fletcher  his  successor  as  head  of  the  United  Methodist  Societies.  This 
momentous  proposal  Fletcher  received  in  1773 ;  but  wanting  health 
for  so  grand  a  work,  and,  what  was  of  more  consequence,  wanting  a 
sense  of  a  divine  call  thereto,  he  declined  the  offer;  and  the  event 
proved  his  call  to  be  even  a  higher  one  tlian  that  of  Mr.  Wesley,  for, 
instead  of  succeeding  that  great  man,  he  preceded  him  by  six  years  ir» 
his  entrance  upon  the  minstrations  of  heaven. 


Revolt  of  the  American  Colonies. 


295- 


The     Fletcher     Memorial    €olle§^e    and    Chapel, 

erected  at  Lausanne,  in  Switzerland,  is  one  of  the  many  monuments 
to  the  name  and  fame  of  this  saintly  man.  The  Lausanne  Mission, 
which  was  commenced  in  1840,  although  afflicted  by  divisions  and  per- 
Becutions,  both  political  and  theological,  is  now  the  center  of  a  large 
and  growing  interest,  and.  the  seat  of  a  training  college  for  the  French 
Wesleyan  preachers. 

Revolt  of  the  American  Colonies.* — The  great  enthu- 
siasm with  which  the  Methodist  missions  to  America  had  been  com- 
menced was  shortly  chilled  by  the  mutterings  of  the  "War  of  the  Revo- 
lution. Mr.  Wesley,  with  whom  loyalty  to  the  King  was  a  part  of  his 
rehgion,  and  who  had  now  come  to  be 
one  of  the  most  influential  men  in  the 
kingdom,  was  at  first  understood  to  be 
in  sympathy  with  the  colonists,  and  it 
was  also  well  known  that  he  was  an  ar- 
dent advocate  of  peace.  In  two  powerful 
sermons  at  the  old  Foundry  he  pleaded 
for  amicable  settlement  with  the  rebels 
in  America ;  but  shortly  afterward  a 
pamphlet  written  by  the  famous  Dr. 
Johnson,  entitled  "Taxation  no  Tyran- 
ny," fell  into  his  hands,  and  turned  him 
80  completely  about  that  he  revised  the 
piece,  making  it  better  in  several  re- 
spects, as  shorter,  plainer,  and  less  spite- 
ful, and  then  published  it  in  his  own  dr.  johnson. 
name,  under  the  title  of  "  A  Calm  Address  to  our  American  Colo- 
nies." 

Johnson  and  Wesley  were  good  friends,  and  it  is  to  be  presumed 
that  the  above  piece  of  business  was  fully  understood  between  them. 
In  his  version  of  the  case,  Johnson  declared  the  colonists  to  be  "  a 
race  of  convicts,  who  ought  to  be  thankful  for  any  thing  we  allow 
them,  short  of  hanging."  Wesley's  own  recollections  of  Georgia 
were  much  to  the  same  purpose ;  therefore  it  is  not  to  be  wondered 
at  that  he  should  incline  to  the  opinion  that  these  persons,  who  had 
•  For  the  account  of  the  Methodist  missionaries  to  America,  see  Part  II.  of  this  volume. 


^96  Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 

for  many  years  enjoyed  tlie  clemency  as  well  as  the  bounty  of  the 
mother  country,  ought  now  to  be  willing  to  do  something  toward  pay- 
ing back  the  money  which  it  had  cost  to  estabhsh  and  defend  them 
in  their  new  homes  across  the  sea. 

Of  the  northern  colonies  Wesley  had  little  understanding,  and  what 
he  had  was  misunderstanding.  He  knew  that  they  were  sinners  and 
needed  the  Gospel ;  and  he  could  not  comprehend  how  Christian  people 
anywhere  could  get  along  without  a  king.  He  forgot  how  small  were 
the  thanks  which  the  sons  of  the  pilgrim  fathers  owed  the  Brit- 
ish crown,  and  that  instead  of  owing  money  to  King  George  and  his 
Lords  and  Commons,  the  money  debt  was  largely  on  the  other  side,  for 
the  costly  help  they  rendered  in  fighting  his  French  enemies  in  Canada, 
with  whom,  but  for  King  and  Parliament,  they  might  have  lived  in 
peace.  If  John  Wesley  could  have  made  a  preaching  tour  with  his 
old  friend  Whitefield  from  Savannah  to  Boston  he  would  have  saved 
himself  the  labor  of  rewriting  and  repubhshing  Dr.  Johnson's  plea, 
^nd  have  saved  his  friends  in  America  no  small  trouble  besides. 

The  Courtesies  of  Debate. — These  were  days  of  great 
plainness  of  speech.  Persons  calling  themselves  gentlemen  and  Chris- 
tians were  not  above  using  the  most  violent  and  scurrilous  language 
in  pamphlets  and  newspapers  against  those  who  differed  from  them 
in  opinion.  Mr.  Wesley  had  often  suffered  such  abuse  from  his  Cal- 
vinistic  and  High-Church  enemies,  though  his  own  courtesy  in  debate 
was  worthy  of  closer  imitation.  Perhaps  some  allowance  ought  to  be 
made  for  his  adversaries  on  account  of  their  sufferings  under  his  terri- 
ble logic ;  and  having  so  little  else  with  which  to  answer,  it  was  only 
natural  that  they  should  rave  and  scold.  But  now  the  arch-Meth- 
')dist  had  been  caught  in  his  own  trap.  He  had  at  first  committed 
himself  to  the  cause  of  the  colonists,  and  now  he  was  out  in  a  tract 
espousing  the  side  of  the  King ! 

Why  should  John  Wesley  change  his  opinions?     We  never  do. 

Thereupon  the  whole  pack,  with  the  pious  Toplady  at  their  head, 
rushed  after  their  dreaded  antagonist  in  full  cry.  They  called  him 
bad  names ;  they  charged  him  with  bad  motives ;  said  he  was  trying 
to  win  royal  favor  for  himself  and  for  his  friends, ;  charged  him 
with  "  stealing  the  thunder  "  of  the  Johnsonian  Jove ;  and,  not  con- 
tent with  hard  words,  the  Rev.  Toplady,  smarting  under   the   con- 


Revolt  of  the  Ameeican  Colonies. 


297 


GEORGE   III. 


troversial  wounds  lately  received  at  Wesley's  hand,  published  a  tract 
against  him  under  the  very  remarkable  title  of  "An  Old  Fox 
Tarred  and  Feathered!"  with  a  frontis- 
piece to  match,  representing  Mr.  Wesley 
as  Reynard  in  spectacles,  gown,  and  bands. 
It  is  not  easy  to  discern  the  exact  force 
of  the  figurative  language  used  in  the  title 
of  this  remarkable  piece,  since  foxes  in  i 
this  country  are  not  usually  tarred  and  ' 
feathered ;  but  perhaps  the  reverend 
gentleman's  spite  got  the  better  of  his 
rhetoric,  and  thereby  mixed  his  figures  a 
little.  Why  he  should  have  been  in- 
flamed with  such  a  sudden  fury  of  affec- 
tion for  the  rebellious  colonists  is  also  a  fair  question,  and  one  equally 
difficult  to  answer,  except  on  the  theory  that  he  did  not  love  his  King 
the  less,  but  hated  John  Wesley  more.  And  this  is  the  very  same 
Toplady  who  wrote  that  glorious  hymn — 

'*  Rock  of  ages,  cleft  for  me, 
Let  me  hide  myself  in  thee." 

Some  of  Mr.  Wesley's  friends,  as  well  as  his  enemies,  were 
inclined  to  censure  him  for  turning  politician.  This  is  a  point  upon 
which  opinions  must  differ ;  but  it  is  certain  that  the  part  which  he 
took  in  this  great  political  struggle  made  him  hosts  of  enemies. 
Within  three  weeks  forty  thousand  copies  of  his  "  Cahn  Address  " 
were  printed  and  put  into  circulation,  and  excited  so  much  anger 
among  the  English  friends  of  the  revolted  colonists  that  they  would 
willingly  have  burned  both  him  and  his  Address  together :  but,  on 
the  other  hand,  the  Government  were  so  weU  pleased  with  his  little 
tract  that  copies  were  ordered  to  be  distributed  at  the  doors  of  all  the 
metropolitan  churches ;  and  it  is  said  that  one  of  the  highest  officers 
of  Slate  waited  upon  him,  to  ask  whether  the  Government  could  in 
any  way  be  of  service  to  himself  or  his  people. 

Wesley  rephed  that  he  looked  for  no  favors,  and  only  desired  the 
continuance  of  civil  and  rehgious  privileges ;  but  he  afterward 
' expressed  himseK  as  sorry  that  he  had  not  requested  to  be  made  a 
19 


298  Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 

royal  missionary,  witli  the  privilege  of  preaching  in  all  the  English 
churches. 

It  should  not  be  forgotten  that  Wesley  hated  war  for  its  own  sake,, 
especially  civil  war,  in  which  sentiment  he  was  far  in  advance  of  his 
time ;  and  it  was  this  sense  of  the  wickedness  as  well  as  of  the  horrors 
of  wholesale  pohtical  murder  that  led  him  to  attempt,  in  the  first 
place,  to  secure  the  utmost  consideration  for  the  colonists,  and,  in  the 
second  place,  to  try  to  mollify  the  temper  of  the  Americans  by  point- 
ing out  to  them  what  he  regarded  as  the  undoubted  rights  of  the  Eang. 
If  this  Christian  statesman  could  have  had  his  way,  neither  party 
would  have  been  wholly  pleased,  but  there  would  have  been  no  war ; 
and  thus  the  history  of  Christendom  would  have  been  spared  the 
bloody  record  of  seven  years  of  outrage  on  the  one  hand,  and  sevea 
years  of  misery  on  the  other. 

In  his  charity  sermon  on  the  12th  of  November,  1775,  "  For  the- 
Benefit  of  the  Widows  and  Orphans  of  the  Soldiers  who  Lately  Fell 
near  Boston,  in  New  England,"  Wesley  speaks  of  the  terrible  distress 
from  which  the  nation  was  suffering.  He  declared  that  he  knew  fami- 
lies who  a  few  years  ago  lived  in  an  easy,  genteel  manner,  but  who 
were  now  driven  to  picking  up  the  turnips  which  the  cattle  had 
left  in  the  fields,  and  which  they  boiled  if  they  could  get  a  few  sticks 
for  that  purpose,  or  otherwise  ate  them  raw.  "  Thousands,"  said  he, 
"  have  screamed  for  hberty  until  they  are  utterly  distracted.  In  every 
town  are  men  who  were  once  of  a  calm,  mild,  friendly  temper,  who 
are  now  hot  with  party  zeal,  foaming  with  rage  against  their  quiet 
neighbors,  ready  to  tear  out  one  another's  throats,  and  plunge  swords 
into  each  other's  bowels."  He  then  proceeds  to  denounce  in  wither- 
ing terms  the  sins  of  the  nation — money-getting,  lying,  gluttony,  idle- 
ness, and  profanity:  to  which  now  threatened  to  be  added  the  final 
horror  of  civil  war. 

As  further  proof  of  Wesley's  good  faith  in  this  mixed  matter,  the 
following  letter  to  Lord  North  will  be  of  interest : — 

"Armagh,  June  15,  1775. 
"  My  Lord  :  Whether  my  writing  do  any  good  or  no,  it  need  do  no 
harm ;  for  it  rests  with  your  lordship  whether  any  eye  but  your  own 
shall  see  it. 


Revolt  of  the  Amekican  Colonies.  299 

''  I  do  not  enter  upon  the  question  whether  the  Americans  are  in 
tlie  right  or  in  the  wrong.  Here  all  my  prejudices  are  against  the 
Americans ;  for  I  am  a  High-churchman,  the  son  of  a  High-church- 
man, hred  up  from  my  childhood  in  the  highest  notions  of  passive 
obedience  and  non-resistance ;  and  yet,  in  spite  of  all  my  long-rooted 
prejudices,  I  cannot  avoid  thinking,  if  I  think  at  all,  that  an  oppressed 
people  asked  for  nothing  more  than  their  legal  rights,  and  that  in  the 
most  modest  and  inoffensive  manner  that  the  nature  of  the  thing 
would  allow.  But,  waiving  all  considerations  of  right  or  wi'ong,  I  ask, 
Is  it  common  sense  to  use  force  toward  the  Americans  ?  These  men 
will  not  be  frightened ;  and  it  seems  they  will  not  be  conquered  so 
easily  as  was  at  first  imagined.  They  will  probably  dispute  every  inch 
of  ground  ;  and  if  they  die,  die  sword  in  hand.  Indeed,  some  of  our 
valiant  officers  say,  '  Two  thousand  men  will  clear  America  of  these 
rebels.'  'No,  nor  twenty  thousand,  be  they  rebels  or  not,  nor  perhaps 
treble  that  number.  They  are  as  strong  men  as  you ;  they  are  as 
valiant  as  you,  if  not  abundantly  more  valiant,  for  they  are  one  and  all 
enthusiasts — enthusiasts  for  liberty.  They  are  cahn,  dehberate  enthu- 
siasts ;  and  we  know  how  this  principle  '  breathes  into  softer  souls 
stern  love  of  war,  and  thirst  of  vengeance,  and  contempt  of  death.' 
"We  know  men  animated  with  this  spirit  wiU  leap  into  a  fire  or  rush 
into  a  cannon's  mouth. 

" '  But  they  have  no  experience  in  war.'  And  how  much  more 
have  our  troops  ?  Yery  few  of  them  ever  saw  a  battle.  '  But  they 
have  no  discipline.'  That  is  an  entire  mistake.  Already  they  have 
near  as  much  as  our  army,  and  they  will  learn  more  of  it  every  day ; 
so  that  in  a  short  time,  if  the  fatal  occasion  continue,  they  will  under- 
stand it  as  well  as  their  assailants.  '  But  they  are  divided  among 
themselves.'  No,  my  lord,  they  are  terribly  united ;  not  in  the  prov- 
ince of  New  England  only,  but  down  as  low  as  the  Jerseys  and  Penn- 
sylvania. The  bulk  of  the  people  are  so  united  that  to  speak  a 
word  in  favor  of  the  present  English  measures  would  almost  endan- 
ger a  man's  life.  Those  who  informed  me  of  this  are  no  syco- 
phants; they  say  nothing  to  curry  favor;  they  have  nothing  to 
gain  or  lose  by  me.  But  they  speak  with  sorrow  of  heart  what 
they  have  seen  with  their  own  eyes  and  heard  with  their  own  ears. 

"  These  men  think,  one  and  aU,  be  it  right  or  wrong,  that  they 


300  Illustkated  History  of  Methodism. 

are  contending  jpro  a/ris  et  focis:  for  their  wives,  children,  and  lib- 
erty. What  an  advantage  have  they  herein  over  many  that  fight 
only  for  pay ! — none  of  whom  care  a  straw  for  the  cause  wherein  they 
are  engaged  ;  most  of  whom  strongly  disapprove  of  it.  Have  they  not 
another  considerable  advantage  ?  Is  there  occasion  to  recruit  troops  ? 
Their  supplies  are  at  hand,  and  all  round  about  them.  Ours  are  three 
thousand  miles  off.  Are  we,  then,  able  to  conquer  the  Americans,  sup- 
pose they  are  left  to  themselves,  suppose  all  our  neighbors  should  stand 
stock  still,  and  leave  us  and  them  to  fight  it  out  ?  But  we  are  not  sure 
of  this.  For  are  we  sure  that  all  our  neighbors  will  stand  stock  still  ? 
I  doubt  they  have  not  promised  it ;  and  if  they  had,  could  we  rely  upon 
those  promises  ?  '  Yet  it  is  not  probable  they  will  send  ships  or  men 
to  America.'  Is  there  not  a  shorter  way  ?  Do  they  not  know  where 
England  and  Ireland  lie  ?  And  have  they  not  troops,  as  weU  as  ships, 
in  readiness  ?  All  Europe  is  well  apprised  of  this ;  only  the  English 
know  nothing  of  the  matter !  "What  if  they  find  means  to  land  but 
two  thousand  men  ?  Where  are  the  troops  in  England  or  Ireland  to 
oppose  them  ?  Why,  cutting  the  throats  of  their  brethren  in  America ! 
Poor  England,  in  the  meantime ! 

" '  But  we  have  our  militia — our  vahant,  disciplined  militia.  These 
will  effectually  oppose  them.'  Give  me  leave,  my  lord,  to  relate  a 
little  circumstance,  of  which  I  was  informed  by  a  clergymen  who 
knew  the  fact.  In  1Y16  a  large  body  of  militia  were  marching 
toward  Preston  against  the  rebels.  In  a  wood  which  they  were 
passing  by  a  boy  happened  to  discharge  his  fowling-piece.  The  sol- 
diers gave  up  aU  for  lost,  and,  by  common  consent,  threw  down  their 
arms  and  ran  for  life.  So  much  dependence  is  to  be  placed  on  our 
valorous  militia. 

"  But,  my  lord,  this  is  not  all.  We  have  thousands  of  enemies 
perhaps  more  dangerous  than  French  or  Spaniards.  As  I  travel  four 
or  five  thousand  miles  every  year  I  have  an  opportunity  of  con- 
versing freely  with  more  persons  of  every  denomination  than  any 
one  else  in  the  three  kingdoms.  I  cannot  but  know  the  general  dispo- 
sition of  the  people — ^English,  Scots,  and  Irish ;  and  I  know  a  large 
majority  of  them  are  exasperated  almost  to  madness.  Exactly  so  they 
were  throughout  England  and  Scotland  about  the  year  1640,  and,  in  a 
p^eat  measure,  by  the  same  means ;   by  inflammatory  papers  which 


Revolt  of  the  Ameeicais'  Colonies.  301 

were  spread,  as  they  are  now,  with  the  utmost  diligence  in  every 
comer  of  the  land.  Hereby  the  bulk  of  the  population  were  effect- 
ually cured  of  all  love  and  reverence  for  the  King.  So  that  first 
despising,  then  hating  him,  they  were  just  ripe  for  open  rebelKon. 
And,  I  assure  your  lordship,  so  they  are  now.  They  want  nothing 
but  a  leader. 

"  Two  circumstances  more  are  deserving  to  be  considered :  the  one, 
that  there  was  at  that  time  a  decay  of  general  trade  almost 
throughout  the  kingdom ;  the  other,  there  was  a  common  deamess 
of  provisions.  The  case  is  the  same  in  both  respects  at  this  day. 
So  that  even  now  there  are  multitudes  of  people  that,  having  nothing 
to  do,  and  nothing  to  eat,  are  ready  for  the  first  bidder,  and  who, 
without  inquiring  into  the  merits  of  the  case,  would  flock  to  any  that 
would  give  them  bread. 

"  Upon  the  whole,  I  am  really  sometimes  afraid  that  this  evil  is 
from  the  Lord.  When  I  consider  the  astounding  luxury  of  the  rich, 
and  the  shocking  impiety  of  rich  and  poor,  I  doubt  whether  general 
dissoluteness  of  manners  does  not  demand  a  general  visitation.  Per- 
haps the  decree  is  already  gone  forth  from  the  Governor  of  the  world. 
Perhaps  even  now — 

"  '  As  he  that  buys,  surveys  a  ground, 

So  the  destroying  angel  measures  it  around. 

Calm  he  surveys  the  perishing  nation, 

Ruin  behind  him  stalks,  and  empty  desolation.' 

"  But  we  Englishmen  are  too  wise  to  acknowledge  that  God  has 
any  thing  to  do  in  the  world  !  Otherwise  should  we  not  seek  him  by 
fasting  and  prayer,  before  he  lets  the  lifted  thunder  drop  ?  O,  my 
lord,  if  your  lordship  can  do  any  thing,  let  it  not  be  wanting !  For 
God's  sake,  for  the  sake  of  the  King,  of  the  nation,  of  your  lovely 
family,  remember  Rehoboam !  Remember  Philip  the  Second !  Re- 
member King  Charles  the  Pirst ! 

"  I  am,  with  true  regard,  my  lord,  your  lordship's  obedient  servant, 

"  John  Wesley." 

"  Whatever,"  says  Mr.  Tyerman,  "  may  be  thought  of  the  principle 
advocated  in  Wesley's  'Calm  Address  to  the  American  Colonies,' 
namely,  that   taxation  without   representation   is  no   tyranny,  there 


302  Illusteated  Histoey  of  Methodism. 

can  be  no  doubt  that  bis  letters  to  the  Premier  and  to  the  Colonial 
Secretary  are  full  of  warnings  and  foresight  which  were  terribly  ful- 
filled ;  and  for  fidelity,  fullness,  and  terseness,  were  perhaps  without 
a  parallel  in  the  correspondence  of  these  ministers  of  State."  This 
bold  address  added  fuel  to  the  fire,  notwithstanding  one  of  his 
reviewers  declares  it  to  be  "  as  dry  as  an  old  piece  of  leather  that 
has  been  tanned  five  thousand  times  over ;"  while  the  preacher  him- 
self was  denounced  as  "  a  tip-top  perfectionist  in  the  art  of  lying." 

More  "Wesleyan  Politics. — The  "Calm  Address  to  the 
Colonists"  produced  such  a  sensation  that  in  lYYT  Mr.  "Wesley  was 
moved  to  issue  another  "  Calm  Address  to  the  Inhabitants  of  England," 
in  which  he  endeavors  to  convince  his  countrymen  that  they  are 
already  in  the  enjoyment  of  greater  liberties  than  are  the  colonists 
who  are  fighting  for  freedom,  that,  in  the  confederate  provinces 
of  America,  after  bawling  for  liberty,  no  liberty  is  left ;  that 
liberty  of  the  press,  religious  Hberty  and  civil  liberty  are  nonentities ; 
that  the  lords  of  Congress  are  as  absolute  as  the  Emperor  of  Morocco ; 
whereas  in  England  the  fullest  liberty  is  enjoyed  as  to  religion,  life, 
body,  and  goods.  He  confesses  that  there  are  some  Methodists 
who  hate  the  King  and  all  his  ministers,  but  as  for  himseK,  he  would 
no  more  continue  in  fellowship  with  such  persons  than  with  Sabbath- 
breakers,  or  thieves,  or  common  swearers. 

For  once  in  his  life  Wesley's  loyalty  outran  his  common  sense. 
Almost  immediately  his  enemies  rushed  into  print  to  abuse  him,  repre- 
senting him  as  "  spouting  venom,"  calling  him  "  Father  Johnnie," 
accusing  liim  of  telling  barefaced  lies  ;  and  in  the  "  Gospel.  Magazine  " 
a  poem  was  published,  reviling  him  in  unmeasured  terms,  closing  with 

this  couplet : — 

' '  O  think  of  this,  thou  gray-haired  sinner, 

When  Satan  picks  thy  bones  for  dinner." 

Rowland  Hill  vs.  John  Wesley. — At  the  laying  of  the 
corner-stone  of  the  City  Road  Chapel  Mr.  Wesley  re-asserted  the 
loyalty  of  himself  and  his  followers  to  the  Established  Church  of 
England.  He  made  also  an  unhappy  reference  to  the  separation 
between  himself  and  the  late  Mr.  Whitefield,  (an  account  of  whose 
closing  years  and  death  in  America  will  be  found  in  Part  II.,)  because 
of  the  strong  prejudice  of  the  latter  against  the  Church,  into  which 


RowLATH)  Hlll  vs.  Jokn"  Wesley.  303 

fitate  of  mind  that  good  man  had  been  beguiled  by  conversing  with 
Dissenters. 

As  might  have  been  expected,  this  roused  the  fury  of  some  of  his 
old  antagonists,  and  the  Rev.  Rowland  Hill  rushed  into  print  with  a 
scurrilous  pamphlet  of  forty  pages,  entitled,  "  Imposture  Detected,  and 
the  Dead  Vindicated ;  in  a  Letter  to  a  Friend :  containing  some  gentle 
Strictures  on  the  False  and  Libelous  Harangue  lately  dehvered  by  Mr. 
John  Wesley,  upon  his  laying  the  first  stone  of  his  new  Dissenting 
Meeting-house,  near  the  City  Road."  Wesley's  sermon  is  described  as 
"  a  wretched  harangue,  from  which  the  blessed  name  of  Jesus  is  almost 


u^^/"  ^Ul 


totally  excluded."  "By  only  erasing  about  half  a  dozen  Knes  from 
the  whole,"  says  the  Rev.  Mr.  Hill,  "  I  might  defy  the  shrewdest  of 
his  readers  to  discover  whether  the  lying  apostle  of  th§  Foundry  be  a 
Jew,  a  Papist,  a  Pagan,  or  a  Turk."  He  speaks  of  "  the  late  ever-mem- 
orable Mr.  Whitefield  "  being  "  scratched  out  of  his  grave  by  the  claws 
of  a  designing  wolf,"  meaning,  of  course,  Wesley :  he  brands  Wesley  aa 
"  a  libeler,"  "  a  dealer  in  stolen  wares,"  and  "  as  being  as  unprincipled 
as  a  rook  and  as  silly  as  a  jackdaw,  first  pilfering  his  neighbor's 
>lmnage,  and  then  going  proudly  forth,  displaying  his  borrowed  toil 


304  Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 

to  the  eyes  of  a  laughing  world."  "  Persons  that  are  toad-eaters  to  Mr.- 
John  "Wesley  stand  in  need  of  very  wide  throats,  and  that  which 
he  wishes  them  to  swallow  is  enough  to  choke  an  elephant."  "  Yenom 
distills  from  his  graceless  pen."  "Mr.  "Whitefield  is  blackened  by 
the  venomous  quiU  of  this  gray-headed  enemy  to  all  righteousness." 
"  Wesley  is  a  crafty  slanderer,  an  unfeeling  re  viler,  a  liar  of  the  most 
gigantic  magnitude,  a  wretch,  a  miscreant  apostate,  whose  perfection 
consists  in  his  perfect  hatred  of  all  goodness  and  good  men."  "  You 
cannot  love  the  Church  unless  you  go  to  "Wesley's  meeting-house ;  nor 
be  a  friend  to  the  established  bishops,  priests,  and  deacons,  unless  you 
admire  Wesley's  ragged  legion  of  preaching  barbers,  cobblers,  tinkers^ 
scavengers,  draymen,  and  chimney-sweepers  !  " 

The  "  Gospel  Magazine,"  under  the  editorship  of  the  touchy  Top- 
lady,  joined  in  the  cry  against  his  old  adversary,  and  justified  the  bru- 
tality of  the  pamphlet  in  question  by  saying,  "  When  you  take  Old 
Nick  by  the  nose  it  must  be  with  a  pair  of  red-hot  tongs."  "  The 
truth  is,"  says  this  "  gospel "  editor,  "  Mr.  Whitefield  was  too  much  a 
Churchman  for  Mr.  Wesley's  fanaticism  to  digest.  O  ye  deluded  fol- 
lowers of  this  horrid  man,  God  open  your  eyes,  and  pluck  your  feet 
out  of  the  net,  lest  ye  sink  into  the  threefold  ditch  of  antichristian 
error,  of  foul  Antinomianism,  and  of  eternal  misery  at  last ! " 

Mr.  Wesley  replied  in  a  manner  the  courtesy  of  which  is  remarkable 
when  it  is  considered  that  his  two  vilifiers  were  then  a  couple  of  audar 
cious  young  aspirants  for  controversial  fame,  while  Wesley  was  a  ven- 
erable clergyman  of  seventy-four  years  of  age,  a  gi'eat  religious  leader, 
a  man  of  boundless  self-sacrifice,  and  one  of  the  best  scholars  and  most 
highly  respected  gentlemen  of  his  time. 

Like  the  two  lions  encountered  by  Bunyan's  Pilgrim,  High-church- 
ism  and  High-Calvinism  roared  and  raged  at  the  chief  of  all  the  Meth- 
odists, whose  greatest  offense  was  his  unapproachable  success :  but  like 
those  other  savage  beasts,  these  also  were  chained,  one  by  divine  provi- 
dence, and  the  other  by  divine  grace.  A  general  howl  now  arose 
against  "  that  old  fox,"  as  Mr.  Wesley  was  called :  satires,  tracts,  plays, 
squibs,  and  every  imaginable  indignity  in  words,  were  poured  out 
against  him,  as  if  a  menagerie  had  been  stampeded,  and  all  the  beasts 
were  trying  which  could  most  loudly  assert  itself.  To  all  this 
abuse,  which  was  raised  by  his  simple  statement  of  a  fact  in  the  hfe  of 


City  Road  Chapel.  305 

his  friend  and  pupil,  and  whicli  was  no  slander  whether  it  were  false 
or  true,  Mr.  Wesley  replied  briefly,  defending  the  correctness  of  his 
assertions,  but  never  suffering  himself  to  lose  his  temper  in  the  debate. 
''  Where,"  he  asks,  in  one  of  his  letters  to  his  traducers,  "  have  I,  in 
one  single  sentence,  returned  them  railing  for  raihng  ?  I  have  not  so- 
learned  Christ.  I  dare  not  rail,  either  at  them  or  you.  I  return  not 
cursing,  but  blessing.  That  the  God  of  love  may  bless  them  and  you 
is  the  prayer  of  youi'  injured,  yet  still  affectionate  brother,  John 
Wesley." 

Thus  did  "  Pope  John,"  as  Toplady  spitefully  calls  him,  vindicate 
his  character  as  well  as  his  cause. 

Mr.  Tyerman  almost  apologizes  for  setting  forth  such  unpleasant 
facts,  which  are  necessarily  so  damaging  to  the  opponents  of  Method- 
ism, but  by  such  a  showing  he  has  done  good  service  to  the  Church. 
Hill,  Toplady,  and  the  rest  were  public  men,  and  had  no  right  to 
hide  their  heads  when  there  were  blows  to  take  as  well  as  blows  to 
give,  nor  can  their  theological  successors  complain  if  their  memory 
pays  the  penalty  due  to  their  offense.  Even  in  our  day  men  are  some- 
times denounced  as  liars  for  telling  unpleasant  truths. 

But  there  is  another  value  to  these  records  of  the  bitterness  and 
personal  vulgarity  so  painfully  apparent  in  the  religious  controversies 
of  those  days.  These  hard  words  serve  as  mile-stones  to  mark  the  prog- 
ress of  Christendom  in  taste  and  temper.  The  great  rehgious  leaders 
of  our  own  time  are  sometimes  attacked  with  scurrihty  and  traduced 
with  infamous  slanders ;  still  it  is  not  done  by  professed  Christians  in 
"  Gospel  Magazines,"  but  by  atheists  and  apostates  in  columns  which 
beyond  mistake  are  published  in  the  interest  of  sin.  As  tested  by 
the  temper  of  doctrinal  debate,  Christian  cultivation  has  doubtless 
made  great  progress  in  the  last  hundred  years. 

City  Road  Chapel. — In  spite  of  all  the  excitements  and 
commotions  with  which  England,  as  well  as  the  colonies,  was  distracted 
during  the  years  of  the  American  war,  Methodism  continued  to 
prosper.  Preaching-houses  were  springing  up  all  over  England  and 
Wales,  and  the  Old  Foundry  in  London  was  overwhelmed  with  people 
The  London  Methodists  were  also  now  more  wealthy  as  well  as  more 
numerous,  and  there  was  an  evident  occasion  for  a  more  churchly 
edifice  in  the  British  capital.     Besides  this,  Mr.  Wesley  only  held  a 


306 


Illustrated  Histoky  of  Methodism. 


lease  of  the  Foundry,  and  at  its  expiration,  wliicli  would  now  soon 
occur,  the  building  was  to  be  pulled  down ;  he  therefore  started  a  sub- 
scription for  a  '']^[ew  Foundry,"  and  at  three  public  meetings  raised 
for  that  2)urpose  the  sum  of  a  thousand  pounds.  In  April,  1777,  the 
corner-stone  of  the  building  was  laid,  and  on  Sunday,  November  1, 
1778,  it  was  opened  for  public  worship.  The  design  was  to  build  "an 
elegant  chapel,  such  as  even  the  Lord-Mayor  might  attend  without 
any  diminishing  of  his  official  dignity,''  and  that  it  should  be  wholly 
supplied  by  ordained  clergymen  of  the  Established  Church  on  Sun- 
days, when  the  liturgy  should  be  constantly  read  at  both  morning  and 


CrrY   KOAD   CHAPEL. 


evening  service.  ISTo  layman,  so-called — that  is,  no  itinerant  preacher 
not  episcopally  ordained — was  allowed  to  officiate  within  its  walls, 
except  on  week-days.  Charles  Wesley,  Thomas  Coke,  and  John 
Hichardson  were  to  be  its  only  Sabbatic  priests ;  Pawson,  Eankin, 
Tennent,  Olivers,  and  others,  though  better  preachers  than  any  of  the 
trio,  not  being  admitted,  because  their  heads  had  not  been  "  touched 
by  the  bishop's  fingers."  * 

The  result  of  this  arrangement,  hoM'ever,  was  a  great  falling  otf 
in  congregations,  until  the  trustees  of  the  chapel  waited  on  Charles 

*  Tykrmax's  "  Life  of  Weslev." 


City  Road  Chapel. 


307 


Wesley  with  a  request  that  he  would  not  preach  so  often  at  City  Road 
Chapel,  as  the  New  Foundry  was  called — from  the  name  of  the  street 
in  which  it  stood — but  would  sometimes  allow  the  lay  preachers 
to  take  his  place.  Poor  Charles  reluctantly  submitted,  but  he  wrote 
to  his  brother,  casting  all  the  blame  on  the  poor  Dissenters,  and  stating 
that  it  was  wholly  owing  to  their  deep-rooted  prejudices  against  the 
clergy  of  the  Estabhshed  Church  that  these  events  had  transpired. 
For  many  years  the  men  sat  on  one  side   of   the  chapel  and  the 


INTERIOR  OF  PRESENT  CITT    ROAD   CHAPEL,   LONDON. 

^omen  on  the  other,  and  although  large  numbers  paid  for  seats,  no 
one  was  allowed  to  call  a  seat  or  a  pew  his  own. 

Mr.  "Wesley  thought  highly  of  his  taste  and  judgment  in  matters 
of  church  architecture,  and  the  New  Foundry  was  the  best  realization 
of  his  views  ever  attained.  So  well  pleased  was  he  with  it  that  ho 
would  have  been  glad  to  have  it  prescribed  as  the  model  after  which 
■all  other  Methodist  chapels  should  be  built ;  and,  indeed,  such  it  was 
for  many  years,  its  plain  and  simple  front  having  more  duplicates 
ithan  any  other  building  ever  erected  for  the  worship  of  God,  unless  it 


308  Illusteated  History  of  Methodism. 

miglit  be  the  "  octagon  chapels,"  of  which  occasional  mention  is  made- 
in  early  Methodist  annals.  As  a  specimen  of  that  extinct  species  of 
architecture  may  be  mentioned  the  Methodist  chapel  at  Heptonstall^ 
an  edifice  erected  in  1797  in  the  rough  country  near  the  forest  of 
Hardwick,  famous  in  history  and  song  as  the  scene  of  the  wild 
exploits  of  Robin  Hood.  On  account  of  its  peculiar  shape  there 
were  no  carpenters  in  the  country  round  who  were  equal  to  the  task 
of  constructing  a  roof  to  cover  it,  and  that  essential  portion  of  the- 
structure  had  to  be  made  elsewhere  and  brought  to  the  place  in  wagons ;. 
its  arrival  being  celebrated  with  special  religious  service  ;  after  which, 
crowds  of  people,  both  men  and  women,  sought  for  the  privilege  of 
helping  to  put  the  mysterious  sky-piece  of  their  chapel  together. 

A  Decline. — The  Conference  of  1779  showed  a  decrease  of  mem- 
bership in  twenty  of  the  circuits,  including  London.  The  reasons- 
assigned  were — 

"1.  Partly  the  neglect  of  outdoor  preaching,  and  of  trying  new 
places.  2.  Partly  prejudice  against  the  King,  and  speaking  evil  of 
dignities.  3.  But  chiefly  the  increase  of  worldly-mindedness  and  con- 
formity to  the  world.  It  was  also  resolved  that  no  one  speaking  evil 
of  those  in  authority,  or  prophesying  evil  to  the  nation,  should  be  a 
Methodist  preacher.  Itinerants  were  reproved  for  hastening  home  to 
their  wives  after  preaching ;  and  were  told  they  ought  never  to  do  this 
till  they  had  met  the  Society.  To  revive  the  work  in  Scotland  the- 
preachers  were  directed  to  preach  in  the  open  air  as  much  as  possible,- 
to  try  every  town  and  village,  and  to  visit  every  member  of  Society 
at  home." 

Besides  aU  this  there  were  internal  troubles,  which  were  caused  by 
the  peevishness,  and  pretensions  of  Charles  Wesley,  who  could  never 
forget  that  himself  and  his  brother  were  ordained  clergymen,  and  that 
the  itinerant  preachers  were  not.  John  Pawson,  one  of  the  chiefs,  has- 
lef t  this  striking  record : — 

"  I  was  perhaps  as  weU  acquainted  with  the  two  brothers  as  any 
man  now  Hving.  That  Mr.  Charles  Wesley  was  of  a  very  suspicious 
temper  is  certainly  tnie ;  and  that  Mr.  John  Wesley  had  far  more 
charity  in  judging  of  persons  in  general  (except  the  rich  and  great) 
than  his  brother  had  is  equally  true;  but  that  he  was  so  apt  to  be 
taken  in  -with  appearances  is  not  true.     He  was  well  able  to  form  a» 


Teials  and  Triumphs:    Friends  and  Foes.         309 

judgment  of  particular  persons,  and  was  as  seldom  mistaken  as  his 
■brother.  I  once  heard  him  pleasantly  say:  'My  brother  suspects 
every  body,  and  he  is  continually  imposed  upon;  but  I  suspect 
nobody,  and  I  am  never  imposed  upon.'  It  is  well  known  that  Mr. 
€harles  Wesley  was  much  prejudiced  in  favor  of  the  clergy  through 
the  whole  course  of  his  life,  and  that  it  was  nothing  but  hard  necessity 
that  obhged  him  in  any  degree  to  continue  the  lay  preachers.  He 
must  have  been  blind  indeed  not  to  have  seen  that  God  had  given  to 
many  of  them,  at  least,  very  considerable  ministerial  gifts,  and  that  he 
attended  their  labors  with  great  success ;  but  I  am  well  persuaded  that, 
could  he  have  found  a  sufficient  number  of  clergymen  to  have  car- 
ried on  the  work  of  God,  he  would  soon  have  disowned  all  the  lay 
preachers. 

"  Mr.  Charles  was  inchned  to  find  out  and  magnify  any  supposed 
fault  in  the  lay  preachers ;  but  his  brother  treated  them  with  respect, 
and  exercised  a  fatherly  care  over  them.  I  am  persuaded  that  from 
the  creation  of  the  world  there  never  existed  a  body  of  men  who 
looked  up  to  any  single  person  with  a  more  profound  degree  of  rev- 
erence than  the  preachers  did  to  Mr.  Wesley ;  and  I  am  bold  to  say 
that  never  did  any  man,  no,  not  St.  Paul  himself,  possess  so  high  a 
degree  of  power  over  so  large  a  body  of  men  as  was  possessed  by 
him.  He  used  his  power,  however,  for  the  edification  of  the  people, 
and  abused  it  as  Httle,  perhaps,  as  any  one  man  ever  did.  When  any 
difficulty  occurred  in  governing  the  preachers  it  soon  vanished.  The 
oldest,  the  very  best,  and  those  of  them  that  had  the  greatest  influ- 
ence, were  ever  ready  to  unite  with  him,  and  to  assist  him  to  the 
utmost  of  their  power.  The  truth  is,  if  the  preachers  were  in  any 
danger  at  all,  it  was  of  calling  Mr.  Wesley  '  Kabbi/  and  impUcitly 
obeying  him  in  whatsoever  he  thought  proper  to  command." 

But  there  was  another  side  to  this  picture.  The  body  of  preach- 
ers had  now  increased  to  one  hundred  and  sixty  men,  among  whom 
were  some  who  began  to  demand  a  voice  in  the  matter  of  their  appoint- 
ments, which  claim  Mr.  Wesley  would  not  allow  for  one  moment,  and 
in  1YY9  expelled  one  of  his  best  preachers,  Alexander  M'Nabb,  for 
setting  up  the  view  that  it  was  the  Conference,  and  not  Mr.  Wesley, 
by  whom  the  appointments  were  made.  At  the  Conference  of  1TY9 
this  excellent  man  had  been  appointed  to  the  Bristol  Circuit,  which 


310  Illustrated  Histoey  of  Methodism. 

included  Batli :  but  not  long  after  a  Rev.  Mr.  Smyth,  from  the  north 
of  Ireland,  brought  his  wife  to  Bath  for  the  benefit  of  her  health,  and 
Mr.  "Wesley,  who  knew  and  admired  him,  desired  that  he  should 
preach  at  the  Methodist  chapel  in  that  town  every  Sunday  evening. 
Against  this  Mr.  M'lSTabb  rebelled,  and  in  consequence  was  informed 
that  there  was  no  more  caU  for  his  services  as  a  Methodist  preacher 
"  till  he  was  of  another  mind."  "Above  all,"  says  Wesley,  "  you  are 
to  preach  when  and  where  I  appoint." 

By  this  unhappy  event  the  Bath  Society  was  torn  to  pieces,  and 
Wesley  an  Methodism  itself  narrowly  escaped  a  similar  fate.  How- 
ever, there  was  only  one  John  Wesley  in  the  world,  and  he  would  not 
be  in  it  long.  His  preachers  loved  him  as  a  father  while  they  honored 
him  as  a  spiritual  ruler :  thus  the  crisis  passed  without  a  schism,  and 
the  sturdy  autocrat  of  all  the  Methodists  stiU  retained  his  crozier, 
holding  it  all  the  more  firmly,  perhaps,  because  it  was  now  so  evident 
that  he  had  learned  to  handle  the  sword. 

In  any  compact  and  aggressive  body,  be  it  civil,  mihtary,  or  rehg- 
ious,  the  very  first  requisite  is  a  man  who  can  command.  There  are 
plenty  of  men  who  can  scold,  and  strut,  against  whose  show  of  power 
it  is  natural  for  brave  spirits  to  rebel.  Such  a  one  will  not  be  long  in 
sinking  to  liis  proper  level ;  but  when  a  great,  true  man  appears,  who 
has  the  element  of  authority  in  him — who  by  natural  might,  as  well 
as  by  acquired  right,  can  secure  obedience  through  the  power  of  a 
regal  will — that  man  is  admired  by  those  who  possess  thelheroic  spirit, 
and,  instead  of  fretting  at  his  orders,  they  are  proud  to  obey  them. 
It  is  not  patriotism  in  the  soldier  to  raise  rebellion  against  the  general- 
in-chief,  neither  is  it  love  of  the  Chui'ch  which  leads  restless  spirits 
therein  to  denounce  the  power  and  governments  which  are  founded 
in  divine  providence  and  the  eternal  fitness  of  things. 

Mr.  M'Nabb,  his  friends  and  his  successors,  may  all  have  been  great 
men,  but  at  this  distance  of  time  they  appear  to  have  been  small 
enough  to  lose  themselves  in  the  confusion  they  raised  over  the  ques- 
tion of  which  of  two  men  should  have  the  privilege  of  preaching  for  a 
few  months  in  the  Methodist  chapel  at  Bath.  This  man  owed  to  J  ohn 
Wesley,  under  God,  the  opportunity  of  being  a  Methodist  preacher  at 
all :  it  was  Wesley  who  gave  him  the  Bath  pulpit,  to  be  held  subject 
to  Wesley's  direction  until  he  should  fill  it  with  some  other  man. 


Steength  of  Methodism  ml780.  311 

But  M']S^abb,  once  in  his  place,  rebelled  against  the  orders  of  his 
superior,  from  whom  he  was  willing  enough  to  receive  favors,  but 
whom  he  was  not  willing  to  obey.  It  does  not  help  his  reputation 
that  he  attempted  to  make  his  case  a  representative  one,  and  thus 
became  the  head  of  a  party  of  revolt  in  the  Conference  against  its 
rightful  chief.  Selfish  ambition  never  loses  an  opportunity  of  in- 
trenching itself  behind  some  "great  principle,"  and  has  large  and 
respectable  names  for  petty  jealousies.  Fortunately  "Wesley  was  equal 
to  the  occasion :  he  took  ofE  the  epaulets  of  this  mutinous  heutenanty 
and  the  Methodism  of  Great  Britain  honored  him  for  the  act. 

Some  of  "Wesley's  biographers  plead  for  him  in  this  case  as  if  he 
were  an  offender  entitled  to  mercy  by  reason  of  his  previous  good  char- 
acter ;  let  it  rather  be  set  down  to  his  praise  that  he  had  the  sagacity 
and  the  courage  to  maintain  his  god-given  prerogative,  and  thus  to 
take  his  place  in  Methodist  history  not  as  a  politician  but  as  a  king. 

In  the  following  year  Mr.  M']^abb  was  reinstated  in  the  ministry, 
much  to  the  disgust  of  Charles  Wesley,  and  his  subsequent  appoint- 
ments were  honorable  both  to  Mr.  "Wesley  and  himself.  If  Wesle} 
was  great  in  his  authority,  he  was  still  greater  in  his  magnanimity. 

Strength  of  Methodism  in  1780. — During  the  ten  years 
from  ITTO  to  1780  Methodism  increased  with  encouraging  rapidity. 
The  following  are  the  figures :  in  lYYO  the  number  of  circuits,  was  50 ; 
the  number  of  itinerant  preachers,  123;  the  number  of  members, 
29,406.  In  the  year  1780,  the  number  of  circuits,  was  64 ;  of  preach- 
ers, 171 ;  and  of  members,  43,830.  There  was  also  a  corresponding 
increase  in  the  amount  of  money  raised  for  education  and  charity. 
The  above  is  exclusive  of  the  "West  Indian  missions,  and  the  42  preach- 
ers and  8,504  members  in  America. 


THE  MAN-Or-WAR   CLASS-MEETIXG. 


CHAPTER   XIIL 


I 


A  WORTHY  CLIMAX  TO  A  GLORIOUS  CAREER. 

]^  liis  old  age  Jolm  Wesley  was  one  of  the  most  honored  as  well  as 
influential  men  in  the  three  kingdoms.  Methodism  had  now  become 
an  established  fact — a  leading  feature  in  the  religious  life  of  Great 
Britain ;  and  the  furious  opposition  which  it  at  first  encountered, 
not  only  from  the  rabble  but  also  from  certain  of  the  magistrates  and 
clergy,  had  given  place  to  toleration  and  respect. 

In  1784  there  were  no  less  than  three  hundred  and  fifty -nine  Meth- 
odist chapels  in  England,  Ireland,  and  Scotland,  besides  unnumbered 
regular  preaching  places  of  a  huml)ler  style.  There  were  Methodist 
local  preachers  in  large  numbers  both  in  the  army  and  navy ;  and  the 
hymns  of  Charles  Wesley  were  sung  with  heartiness  and  pathos  at 
manya  class-meeting  in  His  Majesty's  barracks,  and  between  the  d;,'cks 
of  His  Majesty's  men-of-war. 


Wesley  AN  Ordenations.  313 

Wesley's  Clerical  Friends. — Success  always  carries  with  it 
a  certain  dignity  which  commands  respect,  and  when  that  success  is  in 
the  highest  possible  line  of  effort,  namely,  the  preaching  of  the  Gospel 
for  the  salvation  of  souls,  it  carries  with  it  also  the  presumption  that 
he  who  achieves  it  is  favored  in  heaven  as  well  as  honored  among 
men.  "No  Englishman  had  ever  received  such  tokens  of  the  dir'ae 
favor  as  those  which  on  all  hands  surrounded  this  chief  Methodist,  and 
it  was  now  quite  safe,  and  even  popular,  to  profess  a  high  opinion 
both  of  the  man  and  his  work. 

There  were  even  a  few  of  the  clergy  of  the  Establishment  who 
claimed  friendship  with  him,  though  they  would  not  have  carried  that 
friendship  so  far  as  to  invite  him  into  their  pulpits.  Even  the  saintly 
Fletcher  of  Madeley,  though  he  opened  his  heart  to  "Wesley,  was 
somewhat  trammeled  by  his  churchly  relations,  and  could  not  at  all 
times  meet  him  as  a  clergyman  on  equal  terms.  But  that  was  a  tri- 
fling matter  to  a  man  who  had  hundreds  of  pulpits  of  his  own ;  that  is 
to  say,  as  much  his  own  as  the  pulpits  of  his  clerical  friends  were 
their  own. 

Besides  this  faithful  friend  and  brave  defender,  Wesley  had  a  few 
loving  brethren  scattered  in  parish  Churches  over  the  kingdom,  oi 
doing  the  work  of  evangelists  after  a  fashion  of  their  own.  Among 
these  was  his  old  friend  and  counselor,  Yincent  Perronet,  Yicar  of 
Shoreham ;  Henry  Yenn,  Curate  of  Clapham ;  Martin  Madan,  the 
brilliant  evangelist ;  the  wealthy  and  generous  Berridge,  Yicar  of 
Everton ;  the  scholarly  and  zealous  Romaine,  one  of  Lady  Hunting- 
don's chaplains,  and  afterward  Rector  of  St.  Andrew's  in  London ;  and 
Grimshaw,  of  Haworth,  whose  name  appears  several  times  in  the 
records  of  Mr.  "Wesley's  conferences.  These  men,  with  perhaps  a  few 
others,  had  the  sagacity  to  perceive  and  the  piety  to  confess  that  John 
Wesley  was  not  a  worse  but  a  better  son  of  the  Church  for  being  also 
a  Methodist ;  and  well  would  it  have  been  for  all  concerned  if  this  view 
of  the  case  could  have  prevailed  in  all  the  circles  of  churchly  power. 

Wesleyan  Ordinations.— The  close  of  the  War  of  the  Revo- 
lution, resulting  in  the  Independence  of  the  American  Colonies,  ren- 
dered some  action  necessary  on  Mr.  Wesley's  part  to  save  the  Methodist 
Societies  in  America  from  losing  their  connectional  character.     Hia 

ordination  of  Thomas  Coke  as  "  Superintendent  of  the  Methodist  So- 
20 


314  Illusteated  Histoey  of  Methodism. 

cieties  in  America,"  being  a  vital  portion  of  the  history  of  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Church,  an  account  thereof  will  be  given  in  the  second 
part  of  this  volume.  It  was  an  act  by  which  Wesley  placed  himself 
officially  at  the  head  of  the  Methodist  body  of  which  he  was  the 
actual  head  before,  and  one  for  which  he  has  been  both  honored  and 
condemned. 

Having  now  taken  the  momentous  first  step,  the  second  was  com- 
paratively easy,  and  in  July,  1T85,  he  "set  apart  three  well-tried 
preachers" — John  Pawson,  Thomas  Hanby,  and  Joseph  Taylor,  to  min- 
ister in  Scotland. 

The  remainder  of  Wesley's  ordinations  Mr.  Tyerman  dismisses  in  a 
single  paragraph,  as  follows  : — 

'  "  A  year  afterward,  at  the  Conference  of  1786,  he  ordained  Joshua 
Keighley  and  Charles  Atmore,  for  Scotland ;  William  Warrener,  for  An- 
tigua ;  and  WiUiam  Hammet,  for  ]S'ewf oundland.  A  year  later  fi  re 
others  were  ordained ;  in  1TT8,  when  Wesley  was  in  Scotland,  John 
Barber  and  Joseph  Cownley  received  ordination  at  his  hands ;  and  at 
the  ensuing  conference  seven  others,  including  Alexander  Mather, 
who  was  ordained  to  the  office  not  only  of  deacon  and  elder,  but  of 
superintendent.  On  Ash  Wednesday,  in  ,1789,  Wesley  ordained 
Henry  Moore  and  Thomas  Rankin;  and  this,  we  believe,  completes 
the  list  of  those  upon  whom  Mr.  Wesley  laid  his  hands.  All  these 
ordinations  were  in  private ;  and  many  of  them  at  four  o'clock  in  the 
morning.  Some  of  the  favored  ones  were  intended  for  Scotland,  some 
for  foreign  missions,  and  a  few,  as  Mather,  Moore,  and  Kankin,  were 
employed  in  England.  In  most  instances,  probably  in  all,  they  were 
ordained  deacons  on  one  day  and  on  the  day  following  received  the 
ordination  of  elders,  Wesley  giving  to  each  letters  testimonial." 

Alexander  Mather  Ordained  ai$  Superintendent. — 
But  what  was  that  office  of  ^^ superintendent^^  to  which  Alexander 
Mather  was  ordained  ?  and  why  is  this  "  superintendent  "  classed  with 
the  "seven  others"  who  were  only  ordained  as  "deacons"  and 
'  elders  ? " 

If  the  British  Methodist  Conference  had  not  rejected  the  "  super- 
intendent "  whom  Bishop  Wesley  ordained,  and  by  which  act  he 
showed  his  intention  of  continuing  in  England,  as  well  as  of  setting 
up  in  America,  an  episcopal  form  of  Church  government,  the  "  Life 


WevSleyan  Ordestations.  315 

and  Times  of  John  Wesley,"  by  his  otherwise  most  admirable  his- 
torian, would,  doubtless,  have  contained  something  more  than  the 
above  hasty  dismissal  of  Wesleyan  ordination,  whose  more  extended 
treatn^ent  may  be  found  in  Part  II  of  this  volume. 

Mr.  Wesley's  clerical  friends  were  greatly  oifended  at  these  ordi- 
nations, by  which  the  modern  usage  of  the  Church  of  England  was 
transgressed,  and  Charles  Wesley  pours  out  his  grief  in  a  strain  which 
is,  however,  less  pathetic  than  amusing.  In  a  letter  of  his  under 
date  of  April  28,  1T85,  the  following  mournful  words  occur : — 

"  What  are  your  poor  Methodists  now  ?  Only  a  new  sect  of  Pres- 
byterians. And  after  my  brother's  death,  which  is  now  so  near,  what 
will  be  their  end  ?  They  will  lose  all  their  influence  and  importance ; 
they  will  turn  aside  to  vain  janglings ;  they  will  settle  again  upon 
their  lees ;  and,  like  other  sects  of  Dissenters,  come  to  nothing." 

It  is  a  significant  fact,  that  although  Wesley  was  blamed  by  certain 
clerical  authorities  for  taking  upon  himself  to  perform  the  functions 
which,  by  common  consent,  were  the  exclusive  prerogative  of  the 
bishops,  yet,  upon  his  public  statement  of  his  traditional  as  well  as 
providential  right  as  a  presbyter  of  the  Church  of  England  and  the 
head  of  "the  people  called  Methodists"  to  ordain  a  ministry  for 
them,  no  one  ventured  to  summon  him  before  an  ecclesiastical  court 
to  be  tried  for  breach  of  Church  discipline ;  which  is  strong  presump- 
tion that  on  a  private  and  careful  review  of  his  conduct,  and  of  the  argu- 
ments with  which  he  defended  it,  the  Church  authorities  were  convinced 
that  Wesley  was  right.  Whatever  the  private  conclusions  may  have 
been,  the  plain  and  simple  fact  remains,  that  no  official  notice  was 
taken  of  Wesley's  acts  of  ordination,  and  from  first  to  last  he  remained 
an  unchallenged  member  of  the  English  Church. 

The  Deed  of  Declaration. — Another  great  event  in  this 
eventful  decade  (1T75-85)  was  the  legal  establishment  of  the  Method- 
ist Conference  by  Mr.  Wesley's  famous  "  Deed  of  Declaration :" — 

At  the  time  of  the  Leeds  Conference,  in  1Y84,  there  were  three 
hundred  and  fifty-nine  Methodist  chapels  in  Great  Britain,  the  most 
of  which,  if  not  all,  were  held  by  trustees  under  the  provisions  of  the 
BO-caUed  "  Deed  of  Settlement,"  drawn  up  by  Mr.  Wesley,  which  pro- 
vided that  these  premises  should  always  be  held  for  the  free  use  of 
Mr.  Wesley  and  the  preachers  whom  he  should,  from  time  to  time, 


316  Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 

appoint  to  preach  in  tliem.  In  the  event  of  his  death  this  right  was 
secured  to  his  brother  Charles,  and  then  to  the  Rev.  WilKam  Grim- 
shaw,  provided  he  outlived  Charles  Wesley,  and  after  the  death  of 
these  three  persons  the  chapels  were  to  be  held  in  trust  for  the  use  of 
such  ministers  as  might  be  appointed  at  the  "  yearly  Conference  of  tho 
people  called  Methodists,"  provided  they  preached  no  other  doctrines 
than  those  contained  in  Wesley's  Notes  on  the  New  Testament,  and 
his  four  volumes  of  sermons.  "  The  yearly  Conference  of  the  people 
called  Methodists  "  was  a  phrase  which  needed  a  legal  definition,  and 
it  was  to  furnish  such  definition  that,  on  the  28th  of  February,  1784, 
Mr.  Wesley  executed  the  famous  "  Deed  of  Declaration,"  which,  a  few 
days  after,  was  enrolled  at  the  High  Court  of  Chancery,  and  thence- 
forth became  the  legal  Charter  or  Constitution  of  the  Wesleyan  Meth- 
odist Societies, 

The  Deed  of  Declaeation, 

To  ALL  to  whom  these  presents  shall  come,  John  Wesley,  late  of  Lincoln  Col- 
lege, Oxford^  but  now  of  the  City  Moad,  London,  Clerk,  sendeth  greeting: 
Whereas  divers  buildings,  commonly  called  chapels,  with  a  messuage  and 
dwelling-house,  or  other  appurtenances,  to  each  of  the  same  belonging,  situate  in 
various  parts  of  Great  Britain,  have  been  given  and  conveyed,  from  time  to 
time,  by  the  said  John  Wesley  to  certain  persons  and  their  heirs,  in  each  of  the 
said  gifts  and  conveyances  named ;  which  are  enrolled  in  His  Majesty's  High 
Court  of  Chancery,  upon  the  acknowledgment  of  the  said  John  Wesley,  (pursu- 
ant to  the  Act  of  Parliament  in  that  case  made  and  provided,)  upon  trust,  that 
the  trustees  in  the  said  several  deeds  respectively  named,  and  the  survivors  of 
them,  and  their  heirs  and  assigns,  and  the  trustees  for  the  time  being,  to  be 
elected  as  in  the  said  deeds  is  appointed,  should  permit  and  suffer  the  said  John 
Wesley,  and  such  other  person  and  persons  as  he  should  for  that  purjjose  from 
time  to  time  nominate  and  appoint,  at  all  times  during  his  life,  at  his  will  and 
pleasure  to  have  and  enjoy  the  free  use  and  benefit  of  the  said  premises,  that  he 
the  said  John  Wesley,  and  such  person  or  persons  as  he  should  nominate  and 
appoint,  might  therein  preach  and  expound  God's  holy  word :  and  upon  further 
trust,  that  the  said  respective  trustees,  and  the  survivors  of  them,  and  their  heirs 
and  assigns,  and  the  trustees  for  the  time  being,  should  permit  and  suffer  Charles 
Wesley,  brother  of  the  said  John  Wesley,  and  such  other  person  and  persons  as 
the  said  Charles  Wesley  should  for  that  purpose  from  time  to  time  nominate 
and  appoint,  in  like  manner  during  his  life,  to  have,  use,  and  enjoy  the  said 
premises  respectively  for  the  like  purposes  as  aforesaid :  and  after  the  decease 
of  the  survivor  of  them,  the  said  John  Wesley  and  Charles  Wesley,  then  upon 
further  trust,  that  the  said  respective  trustees,  and  the  survivors  of  them,  and 


The  Deed  of  Declaration.  317 

tlieir  heirs  and  assigns,  and  the  trustees  for  the  time  being  forever,  should  per 
rait  and  suffer  such  person  and  persons,  and  for  such  time  and  times,  as  should 
be  appointed  at  the  yearly  Conference  of  the  people  called  Methodists  in  London, 
Bristol,  or  Leeds,  and  no  others,  to  have  and  enjoy  the  said  premises  for  the 
purposes  aforesaid :  and  whereas  divers  persons  have,  in  like  manner,  given  or 
conveyed  many  chapels,  with  messuages  and  dwelling-houses,  or  other  appurte- 
nances, to  the  same  belonging,  situate  in  various  parts  of  Great  Britain,  and  also 
in  Ireland,  to  certain  trustees,  in  each  of  the  said  gifts  and  conveyances  respect- 
ively named,  upon  the  like  trusts,  and  for  the  same  uses  and  purposes  as  aforesaid, 
(except  only  that  in  some  of  the  said  gifts  and  conveyances,  no  life  estate  or 
other  interest   is  therein  or  thereby  given  and    reserved   to   the   said    Charles 
Wesley :)  and  whereas,  for  rendering  effectual  the  trusts  created  by  the  said  sev- 
eral gifts  or  conveyances,  and  that  no  doubt  or  litigation  may  arise  with  respect 
unto  the  same,  or  the  interpretation  and  true  meaning  thereof,  it  has  been  thought 
expedient,  by  the  said  John  Wesley,  on  behalf  of  himself  as  donor  of  the  several 
chapels,   with  the  messuages,    dwelling-houses,    or  appurtenances,    before  men- 
tioned, as  of  the  donors  of  the  said  other  chapels,  with  the  messuages,  dwelling- 
houses,  or  appurtenances,  to  the  same  belonging,  given  or  conveyed  to  the  like  uses 
and  trusts,  to  explain  the  words  Yearly  Conference  of  the  people  called  Methodists^ 
contained  in  all  the  said  trust-deeds,  and  to  declare  what  persons  are  members  of 
the  said  Conference,  and  how  the  succession  and  identity  thereof  is  to  be  contin- 
ued :  Now  therefore  these  presents  witness^  that,   for  accomplishing  the  aforesaid 
purposes,  the  said  John  Wesley  doth  hereby  declare,  that  the  Conference  of  the 
people  called  Methodists  in  London,  Bristol,  or   Leeds,  ever  since   there  hath 
been  any  yearly  Conference  of  the  said  people  called  Methodists,  in  any  of  the 
said  places,  hath  always  heretofore  consisted  of  the  preachers  and  expounders  of 
God's  holy  word,  commonly  called  Methodist  preachers,  in  connection  with,  and 
under  the  care  of,  the  said  John  Wesley,  whom  he  hath  thought  expedient  year 
after  year  to  summons  to  meet  him,  in  one  or  other  of  the  said  places,  of  Lon- 
don, Bristol,  or  Leeds,  to  advise  with  them  for  the  promotion  of  the  Gospel  of 
Christ,  to  appoint  the  said  persons  so  summoned,  and  the  other  preachers  and 
expounders  of  God's  holy  word,  also  in  connection  with,  and  under  the  care  of, 
the  said  John  Wesley,  not  summoned  to  the  said  yearly  Conference,  to  the  use 
and  enjoyment  of  the  said  chapels  and  premises  so  given  and  conveyed  upon 
trust  for  the  said  John  Wesley,  and  such  other  person  and  persons  as  he  should 
appoint  during  his  life  as  aforesaid ;  and  for  the  expulsion  of  unworthy  and 
admission  of  new  persons  under  his  care,  and  into  his  Connection,  to  be  preachers 
and  expounders  as  aforesaid ;  and  also  of  other  persons  upon  trial  for  the  like 
purposes;     the  names  of  all  which    persons   so   summoned  by  the  said  John 
Wesley,  the  persons  appointed,  with  the  chapels  and  premises  to  which   they 
were  so  appointed,  together  with  the  duration  of  such  appointments,  and  of  those 
expelled  or  admitted  into  Connection  or  upon  trial,  with  all  other  matters  trans- 


318  Illusteated  Histoey  of  Methodism. 

acted  and  done  at  the  said  yearly  Conference,  have,  year  by  year,  been  printed  and 
published  under  the  title  of  "  Minutes  of  Conference."  And  these  presents  fur- 
ther witness,  and  the  said  John  Wesley  doth  hereby  avouch  and  further  declare, 
that  the  several  persons  hereinafter  named,  to  wit,  the  said  John  Wesley  and 
Charles  Wesley;  Thomas  Coke,  of  the  city  of  London,  Doctor  of  Civil  Law; 
James  Creighton,  of  the  same  place.  Clerk;  Thomas  Tenant,  of  the  same  place; 
Thomas  Rankin,  of  the  same  place;  Joshua  Keighley,  of  Seven  Oaks,  in  the 
county  of  Kent;  James  Wood,  of  Rochester,  in  the  said  county  of  Kent;  John 
Booth,  of  Colchester,  Thomas  Cooper,  of  the  same  place ;  Richard  Whatcoat,  of 
Norwich ;  Jeremiah  Brettell,  of  Lynn,  in  the  county  of  Norfolk,  Jonathan  Par- 
kin, of  tho  same  place ;  Joseph  Pescod,  of  Bedford ;  Christopher  Watkins,  of 
Northampton,  John  Barber,  of  the  same  place;  John  Broadbent,  of  Oxford, 
Joseph  Cole,  of  the  same  place ;  Jonathan  Cousins,  of  the  city  of  Gloucester,  John 
Brettell,  of  the  same  place ;  John  Mason,  of  Salisbury,  George  Story,  of  the 
same  place ;  Francis  Wrigley,  of  St.  Austell,  in  the  county  of  Cornwall ;  William 
Green,  of  the  city  of  Bristol;  John  Moon,  of  Plymouth-Dock,  James  Hall,  of 
the  same  place ;  James  Thom,  of  St.  Austell,  aforesaid  ;  Joseph  Taylor,  of  Red- 
ruth, in  the  said  county  of  Cornwall ;  William  Hoskins,  of  Cardiff,  Glamorgan- 
shire ;  John  Leech,  of  Brecon,  William  Saunders,  of  the  same  place ;  Richard 
Rodda,  of  Birmingham ;  John  Fenwick,  of  Burslem,  StaflFordshire,  Thomas 
Hanby,  of  the  same  place ;  James  Rogers,  of  Macclesfield,  Samuel  Bardsley,  of 
the  same  place;  John  Murlin,  of  Manchester,  William  Percival,  of  the  same 
place;  Duncan  Wright,  of  the  city  of  Chester,  John  Goodwin,  of  the  same  place; 
Parson  Greenwood,  of  Liverpool,  Zechariah  Yewdal,  of  the  same  place,  Thomas 
Vasey,  of  the  same  place ;  Joseph  Bradford,  of  Leicester,  Jeremiah  Robertshaw, 
of  the  same  place;  William  Myles,  of  Nottingham  ;  Thomas  Longley,  of  Derby; 
Thomas  Taylor,  of  Sheffield,  William  Simpson,  of  the  same  place ;  Thomas  Car- 
lill,  of  Grimsby,  in  the  county  of  Lincoln,  Robert  Scott,  of  the  same  place,  Jo- 
seph Harper,  of  the  same  place;  Thomas  Corbett,  of  Gainsborough,  in  the  said 
county  of  Lincoln,  James  Ray,  of  the  same  place ;  William  Thompson,  of  Leeds, 
in  the  county  of  York,  Robert  Roberts,  of  the  same  place,  Samuel  Bradburn, 
of  the  same  place;  John  Valton,  of  Birstal,  in  the  said  county,  John  Allen,  of 
the  same  place,  Isaac  Brown,  of  the  same  place ;  Thomas  Hanson,  of  Hudders- 
field,  in  the  said  county,  John  Shaw,  of  the  same  place;  Alexander  Mather,  of 
Bradford,  in  the  said  county;  Joseph  Benson,  of  Halifax,  in  the  said  county, 
William  Duftou,  of  the  same  place  ;  Benjamin  Rhodes,  of  Keighly,  in  the  said 
county ;  John  Easton,  of  Colne,  in  the  county  of  Lancaster,  Robert  Costerdine, 
of  the  same  place;  Jasper  Robinson,  of  the  Isle  of  Man,  George  Button,  of  the 
same  place;  John  Pawson,  of  the  city  of  York;  Edward  Jackson,  of  Hull; 
Charles  Atmore,  of  the  said  city  of  York ;  Launcelot  Harrison,  of  Scarborough ; 
George  Shadford,  of  Hull  aforesaid;  Barnabas  Thomas,  of  the  same  place; 
Tiiomas  Briscoe,  of  Yarm,  in  the  said  county  of  York,  Christopher  Peacock,  of 


The  Deed  of  Declaration.  319 

the  same  place ;  "William  Thorn,  of  Whitby,  in  the  said  county  of  York,  Robert 
Hopkins,  of  the  same  place;  John  Peacock,  of  Barnard  Castle;  William  Collins, 
of  Sunderland ;  Thomas  Dixon,  of  Newcastle-upon-Tyne,  Christopher  Hopper, 
of  the  same  place,  William  Boofehby,  of  the  same  place ;  William  Hunter,  of 
Berwick-upon-Tweed;  Joseph  Saunderson,  of  Dundee,  Scotland,  William  War- 
rener,  of  the  same  place ;  Duncan  M'Allum,  of  Aberdeen,  Scotland ;  Thomas 
Rutherford,  of  the  city  of  Dublin,  in  the  kingdom  of  Ireland,  Daniel  Jackson, 
of  the  same  place ;  Henry  Moore,  of  the  city  of  Cork,  Ireland,  Andrew  Blair,  of 
the  same  place ;  Richard  Watkinson,  of  Limerick,  Ireland ;  Nehemiah  Price,  of 
Athlone,  Ireland ;  Robert  Lindsay,  of  Sligo,  Ireland ;  George  Brown,  of  Clones, 
Ireland;  Thomas  Barber,  of  Charlemont,  Ireland;  Henry  Foster,  of  Belfast,  Ire- 
land ;  and  John  Crook,  of  Lisburn,  Ireland,  gentlemen,  being  preachers  and  ex- 
pounders of  God's  holy  word,  under  the  care  and  in  connection  with  the  said 
John  Wesley,  have  been,  and  now  are,  and  do,  on  the  day  of  the  date  hereof, 
constitute  the  members  of  the  said  Conference^  according  to  the  true  intent  and 
meaning  of  the  said  several  gifts  and  conveyances,  wherein  the  words  Confer- 
ence of  the  people  called  Methodists  are  mentioned  and  contained.  And  that  the 
said  several  persons  before-named,  and  their  successors  forever,  to  be  chosen  as 
hereinafter  mentioned,  are  and  shall  forever  be  construed,  taken,  and  be  the  Con- 
ference of  the  people  called  Methodists.  Nevertheless  upon  the  terms,  and  sub- 
,  ject  to  the  regulations  hereinafter  prescribed,  that  is  to  say, 

First.^  That  the  members  of  the  said  Conference,  and  their  successors  for  the 
time  being  forever,  shall  assemble  once  in  every  year,  at  London,  Bristol,  or 
Leeds,  (except  as  after  mentioned,)  for  the  purposes  aforesaid ;  and  the  time  and 
place  of  holding  every  subsequent  Conference  shall  be  appointed  at  the  preced- 
ing one ;  save  that  the  next  Conference  after  the  date  hereof  shall  be  holden  at 
Leeds,  in  Yorkshire,  the  last  Tuesday  in  July  next. 

Second^  The  act  of  the  majority  in  number  of  the  Conference  assembled  as 
aforesaid  shall  be  had,  taken,  and  be  the  act  of  the  whole  Conference ;  to  all 
intents,  purposes,  and  constructions  whatsoever. 

Third,  That  after  the  Conference  shall  be  assembled  as  aforesaid,  they  shall 
first  proceed  to  fill  up  all  the  vacancies  occasioned  by  death,  or  absence,  as  after- 
mentioned. 

Fourth,  No  act  of  the  Conference  assembled  as  aforesaid  shall  be  had,  taken, 
or  be  the  act  of  the  Conference,  until  forty  of  the  members  thereof  are  assem- 
bled, unless  reduced  under  that  number  by  death  since  the  prior  Conference,  or 
absence,  as  after-mentioned ;  nor  until  all  the  vacancies  occasioned  by  death,  or 
absence,  shall  be  filled  up  by  the  election  of  new  members  of  the  Conference,  so 
as  to  make  up  the  number  of  one  hundred,  unless  there  be  not  a  sufficient  num- 
ber of  persons  objects  of  such  election :  and  during  the  assembly  of  the  Confer- 
ence, there  shall  always  be  forty  members  present  at  the  doing  of  any  act,  save 
as  aforesaid,  or  otherwise  such  act  shall  be  void. 


320  Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 

Fifth,  The  duration  of  the  yearly  assembly  of  the  Conference  shall  not  be 
less  than  five  days,  nor  more  than  three  weeks,  and  be  concluded  by  the  appoint- 
ment of  the  Conference,  if  under  twenty-one  days;  or  otherwise  the  conclusion 
thereof  shall  follow  of  course  at  the  end  of  the  said  twenty-one  days ;  the  whole 
of  all  which  said  time  of  the  assembly  of  the  Conference  shall  be  had,  taken, 
considered,  and  be  the  yearly  Conference  of  the  people  called  Methodists,  and 
all  acts  of  the  Conference  during  such  yearly  assembly  thereof  shall  be  the  acts 
of  the  Conference,  and  none  other. 

Sixth,  Immediately  after  all  the  vacancies  occasioned  by  death,  or  absence,  are 
filled  up  by  the  election  of  new  members  as  aforesaid,  the  Conference  shall 
choose  a  president,  and  secretary,  of  their  assembly,  out  of  themselves,  who  shall 
continue  such  until  the  election  of  another  president,  or  secretary,  in  the  next  or 
other  subsequent  Conference;  and  the  said  president  shall  have  the  privilege  and 
power  of  two  members  in  all  acts  of  the  Conference,  during  his  presidency,  and 
such  other  powers,  privileges,  and  authorities,  as  the  Conference  shall  from  time 
to  time  see  fit  to  intrust  into  his  hands. 

Seventh,  Any  member  of  the  Conference  aljsenting  himself  from  the  yearly 
assembly  thereof  for  two  years  successively,  without  the  consent,  or  dispensa- 
tion of  the  Conference,  and  being  not  present  on  the  first  day  of  the  third  yearly 
assembly  thereof  at  the  time  and  place  appointed  for  the  holding  of  the  same, 
shall  cease  to  be  a  member  of  the  Conference  from  and  after  the  said  first  day 
of  the  said  third  yearly  assembly  thereof,  to  all  intents  and  purposes,  as  though 
he  was  naturally  dead.  But  the  Conference  shall  and  may  dispense  with,  or 
consent  to,  the  absence  of  any  member  from  any  of  the  said  yearly  assemblies, 
for  any  cause  which  the  Conference  may  see  fit  or  necessary ;  and  such  member,, 
whose  absence  shall  be  so  dispensed  with,  or  consented  to  by  the  Conference, 
shall  not  by  such  absence  cease  to  be  a  member  thereof. 

Eighth,  The  Conference  shall  and  may  expel,  and  put  out  from  being  a  mem- 
ber thereof,  or  from  being  in  connection  therewith,  or  from  being  upon  trial,  any 
person  member  of  the  Conference,  or  admitted  into  connection,  or  upon  trial,  for 
any  cause  which  to  the  Conference  may  seem  fit  or  necessary  ;  and  every  member 
of  the  Conference  so  expelled  and  put  out  shall  cease  to  be  a  member  thereof  to 
all  intents  and  purposes,  as  though  he  was  naturally  dead.  And  the  Conference, 
immediately  after  the  expulsion  of  any  member  tliereof  as  aforesaid,  shall  elect 
another  person  to  be  a  member  of  the  Conference,  in  the  stead  of  such  member 
so  expelled. 

Ninth,  The  Couference  shall  and  may  admit  into  connection  with  them,  or 
upon  trial,  any  person  or  persons  whom  they  shall  approve,  to  be  preachers  and 
expounders  of  God's  holy  word,  under  the  care  and  direction  of  the  Conference; 
the  name  of  every  such  person  or  persons  so  admitted  into  connection  or  upon 
trial  as  aforesaid,  with  the  time  and  degrees  of  the  admission,  being  entered  in^ 
the  Journals  or  Minutes  of  the  Conference. 


The  Deed  of  Declaration.  321 

Tenth,  No  person  shall  be  elected  a  member  of  the  Conference,  who  hath  not 
been  admitted  into  connection  with  the  Conference  as  a  preacher  and  expounder 
of  God's  holy  word,  as  aforesaid,  for  twelve  months. 

Eleventh,  The  Conference  shall  not,  nor  may  nominate  or  appoint  any  person 
to  the  use  and  enjoyment  of,  or  to  preach  and  expound  God's  holy  word  in,  any 
of  the  chapels  and  premises  so  given  or  conveyed,  or  which  may  be  given  or  con- 
veyed upon  the  trusts  aforesaid,  who  is  not  either  a  member  of  the  Conference, 
or  admitted  into  connection  with  the  same,  or  upon  trial,  as  aforesaid ;  nor  ap- 
point any  person  for  more  than  three  years  successively  to  the  use  and  enjoyment 
of  any  chapel  and  premises  already  given,  or  to  be  given  or  conveyed  upon  the 
trusts  aforesaid,  except  ordained  ministers  of  the  Church  of  England. 

Twelfth,  That  the  Conference  shall  and  may  appoint  the  place  of  holding  the- 
yearly  assembly  thereof  at  any  other  city,  town,  or  place,  than  London,  Bristol, 
or  Leeds,  when  it  shall  seem  expedient  so  to  do. 

Thirteenth,  And,  for  the  convenience  of  the  chapels  and  premises  already,  or 
which  may  hereafter  be  given  or  conveyed  upon  the  trusts  aforesaid,  situate  in 
L'eland,  or  other  parts  out  of  the  kingdom  of  Great  Britain,  the  Conference  shall 
and  may,  wlien,  and  as  often  as  it  shall  seem  expedient,  but  not  otherwise,  ap- 
point and  delegate  any  member  or  members  of  the  Conference,  with  all  or  any 
of  the  powers,  privileges,  and  advantages  hereinbefore  contained  or  vested  in  the 
Conference ;  and  all  and  every  the  acts,  admissions,  expulsions,  and  appoint- 
ments whatsoever  of  such  member  or  members  of  the  Conference  so  appointed 
and  delegated  as  aforesaid,  the  same  being  put  into  writing,  and  signed  by  such 
delegate  or  delegates,  and  entered  in  the  Journals  or  Minutes  of  the  Conference,, 
and  subscribed,  as  after-mentioned,  shall  be  deemed,  taken,  and  be,  the  acts,  ad- 
missions, expulsions,  and  appointments  of  the  Conference,  to  all  intents,  con- 
structions, and  purposes  whatsoever,  from  the  respective  times  when  the  same 
shall  be  done  by  such  delegate  or  delegates,  notwithstanding  any  thing  herein 
contained  to  the  contrary. 

Fourteenth,  All  resolutions  and  orders  touching  elections,  admissions,  expul- 
sions, consents,  dispensations,  delegations,  or  appointments,  and  acts  whatsoever 
of  the  Conference,  shall  be  entered  and  written  in  the  Journals  or  Minutes  of 
the  Conference,  which  shall  be  kept  for  that  purpose,  publicly  read,  and  then 
subscribed  by  the  president  and  secretary  thereof  for  the  time  being,  during  the 
time  such  Conference  shall  be  assembled ;  and,  when  so  entered  and  subscribed, 
shall  be  had,  taken,  received,  and  be  the  acts  of  the  Conference;  and  such  entry 
and  subscription,  as  aforesaid,  shall  be  had,  taken,  received,  and  be  evidence  of 
all  and  every  such  acts  of  the  said  Conference,  and  of  their  said  delegates, 
without  the  aid  of  any  other  proof;  and  whatever  shall  not  be  so  entered  and 
subscribed,  as  aforesaid,  shall  not  be  had,  taken,  received,  or  be  the  act  of  the 
Conference:  and  the  said  president  and  secretary  are  hereby  required  and  obliged- 
to  enter  and  subscribe  as  aforesaid,  every  act  whatever  of  the  Conference. 


322  Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 

Lastly,  Whenever  the  said  Conference  shall  be  reduced  under  the  number  of 
forty  members,  and  continue  so  reduced  for  three  yearly  assemblies  thereof  suc- 
cessively, or  whenever  the  members  thereof  shall  decline  or  neglect  to  meet  to- 
gether annually  for  the  purposes  aforesaid,  during  the  space  of  three  years,  that 
then,  and  in  either  of  the  said  events,  the  Conference  of  the  people  called  Meth- 
odists shall  be  extinguished,  and  all  the  aforesaid  powers,  privileges,  and  advan- 
tages shall  cease ;  and  the  said  chapels  and  premises,  and  all  other  chapels  and 
premises,  which  now  are,  or  hereafter  may  be  settled,  given,  or  conveyed  upon 
the  trusts  aforesaid,  shall  vest  in  the  trustees  for  the  time  being  of  the  said 
chapels  and  premises  respectively,  and  their  successors  forever;  upon  trust  that 
they,  and  the  survivors  of  them,  and  the  trustees  for  the  time  being,  do,  shall, 
and  may,  appoint  such  person  and  persons  to  preach  and  expound  God's  holy 
word  therein,  and  to  have  the  use  and  enjoyment  thereof  for  such  time,  and  in 
such  manner,  as  to  them  shall  seem  proper. 

Provided  always,  that  nothing  herein  contained  shall  extend,  or  be  construed 
to  extend,  to  extinguish,  lessen,  or  abridge  the  life-estate  of  the  said  John 
Wesley,  and  Charles  Wesley,  or  either  of  them,  of  and  in  any  of  the  said  chap- 
els and  premises,  or  any  other  chapels  and  premises  wherein  they  the  said  John 
Wesley  and  Charles  Wesley,  or  either  of  them,  now  have,  or  may  have,  any 
estate  or  interest,  power  or  authority  whatsoever.  In  witness  whereof,  the  said 
John  Wesley  hath  hereunto  set  his  hand  and  seal,  the  twenty-eighth  day  of  Feb- 
ruary, in  the  twenty- fourth  year  of  the  reign  of  our  Sovereign  Lord  George  the 
Third,  by  the  grace  of  God,  of  Great  Britain,  France,  and  Ireland,  king,  defender 
of  the  faith,  and  so  forth,  and  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  seven  hun- 
dred and  eighty-four. 

JOHN  (Seal    WESJ;EY. 

Sealed   and   delivered    (beii  5  first ) 
duly  stamped)  in  the  pree-^nce  of  j 

William  Clulow,  Quality-court,  Chancery-lane,  London. 

Richard  Young,  Clerk  ^to  the  said  William  Clulow. 

The  above  is  a  true  copy  of  the  original  deed,  wliich  is  enrolled  in  Chancery, 

and  was  therewith  examined  by  us. 

William  Clulow, 

Richard  You^ng. 

The  selection  of  a  hundred  preachers  out  of  a  body  of  one  hun- 
dred and  ninety-two,  for  the  purpose  of  a  legal  Conference,  which  was 
to  be  the  ultimate  authority  among  "  the  people  called  Methodists," 
was  the  most  arbitrary  act  which  this  grand  old  autocrat  ever  per- 
formed. Herein  he  exercised  his  episcopal  authority  to  the  utmost, 
and  never  did,  and  probably  never  could,  give  any  other  reason  for 
the  selection  than  his  own  good  wiU  and  pleasure.     Some  new  men 


The  Deed  of  Declaration.  H-i3 

were  admitted  and  some  old  preacliers  were  rejected,  and  in  several 
instances  of  two  men  of  equal  rank  and  standing  on  the  same  cir- 
cuit, one  was  taken  and  the  other  left. 

"  In  nominating  these  preachers,"  says  Mr.  Wesley,  in  his  history 
and  defense  of  this  notable  document,  "  as  I  had  no  advisers,  so  I  had  no 
respect  of  persons ;  but  I  simply  set  down  those  that,  according  to  my 
best  judgment,  were  the  most  proper.  This  was  the  rise  and  this  the 
nature  of  that  famous  'Deed  of  Declaration,'  that  vile,  wicked 
deed,  concerning  which  you  have  heard  such  an  outcry.  And  now, 
can  any  one  tell  me  how  to  mend  it,  or  how  it  could  have  been  made 
better  ?  '  O  yes.  You  might  have  inserted  two  hundred  as  well 
as  one  hundred  preachers.'  No ;  for  then  the  expenses  of  meeting 
would  have  been  double,  and  all  the  circuits  would  have  been  without 
preachers.  '  But  you  might  have  named  other  preachers  instead  of 
these.'  True,  if  I  had  thought  as  well  of  them  as  they  did  of  them- 
selves. But  I  did  not ;  therefore  I  could  not  do  otherwise  than  I  did, 
without  sinning  against  God  and  my  own  conscience. 

"  You  see,  then,  in  all  the  pains  I  have  taken  about  this  absolutely 
necessary  deed,  I  have  been  laboring,  not  for  myself,  (I  have  no  inter- 
est therein,)  but  for  the  whole  body  of  Methodists ;  in  order  to  fix 
them  upon  such  a  foundation  as  is  likely  to  stand  as  long  as  the  sun 
and  moon  endure.  That  is,  if  they  continue  to  walk  by  faith,  and  to 
show  forth  their  faith  by  their  works ;  otherwise,  I  pray  God  to  root 
out  the  memorial  of  them  from  the  earth." 

After  a  storm  of  criticism,  and  some  few  threats  of  rebellion,  the 
Conference  ratified  the  "  Deed  of  Declaration,"  and  "  The  Legal  Hun- 
dred "  became  an  order  of  nobility  among  the  Methodist  preachers ; 
an  aristocracy  in  the  true  sense,  that  is  to  say,  a  government  by  the 
best.  Since  that  day  more  liberal  methods  of  management  have  been 
devised :  ministers  not  members  of  this  body,  and  laymen,  also,  having 
been  admitted  to  a  place  in  Methodist  counsels.  From  "first  to  last  it 
has  been  notably  difficult,  if  not  impossible,  for  a  "man  without  pre- 
eminent ability  and  well-tried  character  and  honor  to  become  a  mem- 
ber of  this  honorable  body ;  and,  tested  by  its  working  and  its  results 
for  nearly  a  hundred  years,  this  constitution  of  British  Methodism 
-was  every  way  worthy  of  the  great  mind  which  devised  it. 

In  a  letter  addressed  to  Joseph  Bradford,  who  was  his  traveling 


824  Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 

companion  during  the  last  years  of  Ids  life,  Mr.  Wesley  addresses- 
these  words  to  the  Conference,  which  were  to  be  read  to  them  after 
his  death : — 

"My  Deak  Bkethren:  Some  of  our  travehng  preachers  have 
expressed  a  fear,  that,  after  my  decease,  you  will  exclude  them,  either 
from  preaching  in  connection  with  you,  or  from  some  other  privileges 
which  they  now  enjoy.  I  know  no  other  way  to  prevent  any  such 
inconvenience  than  to  leave  these  my  last  words  with  you. 

"  I  beseech  you,  by  the  mercies  of  God,  that  you  never  avail  your- 
selves of  the  Deed  of  Declaration  to  assume  any  superiority  over  your 
brethren ;  but  let  all  things  go  on  among  those  itinerants  who  choose 
to  remain  together,  exactly  in  the  same  manner  as  when  I  was  with 
you,  so  far  as  circumstances  will  permit." 

He  also  charges  them  to  "  have  no  respect  of  persons  in  stationing 
the  preachers,"  in  choosing  children  for  the  Kingswood  School,  or  in 
the  distribution  of  Conference  funds,  but  to  do  all  things,  as  he  him- 
seK  had  done,  with  a  single  eye  to  the  glory  of  God  and  the  good 
of  all  concerned. 

A  Vigorous  Old  Age.— On  the  26th  of  June,  1785,  Mr. 
Wesley,  now  an  old  man  of  eighty-two,  wrote  from  Dubhn  to  one  of 
his  friends,  as  follows  : — 

"  Many  years  ago  I  was  saying  :  '  I  cannot  imagine  how, Mr.  White- 
field  can  keep  his  soul  ahve,  as  he  is  not  now  going  through  honor 
and  dishonor,  evil  report  and  good  report ;  having  nothing  but  honor 
and  good  report  attending  him  wherever  he  goes.'  It  is  now  my  own 
case ;  I  am  just  in  the  condition  now  that  he  was  then  in.  I  am 
become,  I  know  not  how,  an  honorable  man.  The  scandal  of  the 
cross  is  ceased ;  and  all  the  kingdom,  rich  and  poor.  Papists  and  Prot- 
estants, behave  with  courtesy,  nay,  and  seeming  good  will !  It  seems 
as  if  I  had  well-nigh  finished  my  course,  and  our  Lord  was  giving 
me  an  honorable  discharge." 

During  this  year  Wesley  lost  by  death  two  of  the  most  intimate 
and  valued  friends  of  his  whole  life-time — Vincent  Perronet  and  John 
Fletcher ;  the  latter  at  fifty-six  years  of  age  and  the  former  at  ninety- 
two.  His  brother  Charles  was  now  a  feeble,  broken-down  old  man ;  but 
John  Wesley,  with  a  vigor  which  he  beheved  to  be  supernatural,  an 
immediate  and  special  gift  from  God,  was  ranging  through  England, 


A  Vigorous  Old  Age.  325 

Scotland,  and  Ireland  with  the  spirit  of  a  hardy  young  soldier  or 
sailor,  enduring  hardships  and  discomforts  with  cheerfulness,  absolutely 
unconscious  of  danger,  and  almost  insensible  to  fatigue,  preaching 
incessantly  in  chapels,  court-houses,  dance-halls,  barns,  factories,  and 
not  unfrequently  in  the  open  air. 

The  following  sketch  of  his  personal  appearance  in  his  old  age 
was  given  by  John  Jackson,  Esq.,  E„A.,  an  eminent  London  artist : — 

"  The  figure  of  Mr.  Wesley  was  remarkable.  His  stature  was  low, 
his  habit  of  body  in  every  period  of  life  the  reverse  of  corpulent,  and 
expressive  of  strict  temperance  and  continual  exercise.  Notwith- 
fitanding  his  small  size,  his  step  was  firm,  and  his  appearance,  till  within 
a  few  years  of  liis  death,  vigorous  and  muscular.  His  face  for  an  old 
man  was  one  of  the  finest  we  have  seen.  A  clear,  smooth  forehead, 
an  aquiline  nose,  an  eye  the  brightest  and  most  piercing  that  can  be 
conceived,  and  a  freshness  of  complexion  scarcely  ever  to  be  found  at 
his  years,  and  impressive  of  the  most  perfect  health,  conspired  to  render 
him  a  venerable  and  interesting  figure.  Few  have  seen  him  without 
being  struck  with  his  appearance,  and  many  who  have  been  greatly 
prejudiced  against  liim  have  been  known  to  change  their  opinion  the 
moment  they  were  introduced  into  his  presence.  In  his  countenance 
and  demeanor  there  was  a  cheerfulness  mingled  with  gravity;  a 
sprightliness  which  was  the  natural  result  of  an  unusual  flow  of  spirits, 
and  yet  was  accompanied  with  every  mark  of  the  most  serene  tran- 
quillity. His  aspect,  particularly  on  profile,  had  a  strong  character  of 
acuteness  and  penetration.  In  dress  he  was  the  pattern  of  neatness 
and  simplicity.  A  narrow,  plaited  stock,  a  coat  with  a  small,  upright 
collar,  no  buckles  at  his  knees,  no  silk  or  velvet  in  any  part  of  his 
apparel,  and  a  head  as  white  as  snow,  gave  an  idea  of  something  prim- 
itive and  apostolic,  while  an  air  of  neatness  and  cleanhness  was  diffused 
over  his  whole  person." 

He  was  stiU  as  much  of  a  student  as  ever,  being  now  engaged 
upon  a  life  of  his  beloved  friend  Fletcher,  to  which,  he  says,  "  I  devote 
aU  the  time  I  can  spare  from  five  in  the  morning  till  eight  at  night. 
These  are  my  studying  hours.  I  cannot  write  longer  in  a  day  without 
hurting  my  eyes."  This  was  in  September,  1786,  and  this  student,  who 
was  writing  fifteen  hours  a  day  on  what  proved  to  be  his  last  literary 
work,  was  now  eighty-three  years  old. 


326  Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 

In  December  of  the  same  year  he  writes :  "  Ever  since  that  good 
fever  which  I  had  in  the  Korth  Island,  I  have  had,  as  it  were,  a  new 
constitution ;  all  my  pains  and  aches  have  forsaken  me  and.  I  am  a 
stranger  to  weariness  of  any  kind.  This  is  the  Lord's  doing,  and  it 
may  well  be  marvelous  in  our  eyes." 

Death  of  Charles  Wesley.— On  the  29th  of  March,  1T88, 
Charles  Wesley  departed  this  life,  in  the  eightieth  year  of  his  age.  He 
died  at  his  residence  in  the  city  of  London,  which  he  had  seldom  left 
for  many  years,  except  occasionally  to  attend  the  Methodist  Conferences 
at  Leeds. 

As  a  writer  of  hymns,  the  most  and  the  best  that  ever  breathed 
forth  from  the  soul  of  any  one  man,  Charles  Wesley  will  be  held  in 
immortal  honor,  though  it  is  painfully  evident  that  in  the  last  years  of 
his  life  his  mind  was  so  disturbed  by  the  increasing  liberties  taken  by 
the  Methodists  with  the  forms  and  orders  of  the  Established  Church, 
that,  personally,  he  was  not  so  much  admired  as  endured.  Bodily 
infirmities  also  pressed  upon  him,  and  his  life-long  prejudices  kept 
him  in  a  religious  fret  over  the  damage  they  were  receiving  at  the 
hands  of  his  more  progressive  brother,  who  now  treated  him  with 
almost  fatherly  tenderness,  overlooking  his  peevishness,  and  heahng 
the  wounds  which  would  otherwise  have  resulted  therefrom. 

In  his  early  life  Charles  Wesley  was  a  hero  ;  he  might  have  been  a 
saint ;  and  on  more  than  one  occasion  he  had  a  narrow  escape  from  be- 
ing a  martyr.  He  could  face  a  mob  and  hold  his  ground  till  liis  clothes 
were  torn  to  tatters  and  the  blood  ran  down  his  face  in  streams ;  and 
yet  he  was  a  man  of  gentle  spirit,  tender  sensibility,  and,  as  he  himseK 
declares,  "  wanting  in  what  is  ordinarily  called  courage."  He  was  a 
zealot  of  the  first  order ;  he  was  also  a  truly  converted  soul ;  but  his 
narrow  Churchmanship  cast  a  cloud  over  the  latter  portion  of  his  life, 
which  even  his  genius  and  piety  do  not  wholly  dispel. 

The  Tomb  of  Charles  Wesley  is  in  the  church-yard  of 
St,  Mary-le-bone,  in  London,  where  he  was  buried  at  his  own  request 
by  the  priest  of  the  parish  in  which  he  lived.  He  was  well  aware 
that  his  brother  intended  to  be  buried  among  his  own  people  in  the 
little  cemetery  by  the  City  Road  Chapel,  but  Charles  would  not  lie 
beside  him  in  death,  because  the  place  appointed  was  unconsecrated 
ground. 


Death  of  Chaeles  Wesley. 


32r 


As  if  tlie  ground  where  Jolin  Wesley  were  buried  needed  any  other 
consecration ! 

This  piece  of  High-churchism  on  the  part  of  his  younger  brother 
gave  Mr.  Wesley  some  pain  and  trouble,  and  in  answer  to  the  gossip- 
occasioned  by  the  matter  he  pubHshed  his  views  on  the  consecration 
of  churches  and  burial-grounds ;  declaring  it  to  be  a  practice  which  was 
"neither  enjoined  by  the  law  of  the  English  State  nor  of  the  Enghsh 


CHARLES  Wesley's  tomb. 

Church,  neither  is  it  enjoined  by  the  law  of  God ;  a  thing  wrong  in 
itseK,  flavored  with  Papal  superstition,  and  absolutely  ridiculous  in 
the  eyes  of  sensible  Protestants."  * 

Wesleyan  Hymnolog^y.— The  list  of  poetical  publications 
which  bear  the  names  of  John  and  Charles  Wesley  is  forty-nine  in 
number :  books  and  papers,  large  and  small,     "  Hymns  for  the  Watch 
"  Methodist  Maga2ane,"  1788,  p.  643 


528  Ill-usteated  Histoey  of  Methodism. 

Night,"  is  a  little  tract  of  twelve  duodecimo  pages;  another  of  the 
same  size  is  entitled,  "  Hymns  Occasioned  by  the  Earthquake,  March 
8, 1 Y50,  to  which  is  added  a  Hymn  upon  the  Pouring  out  of  the  Seventh 
Yial,  Kev.  xvii,  etc.,  occasioned  by  the  destruction  of  Lisbon ; "  while 
"  A  Collection  of  Moral  and  Sacred  Poems,  from  the  most  celebrated 
English  Authors,"  published  in  1844,  is  a  work  in  three  volmnes,  con- 
taining over  five  thousand  pages,  very  much  of  which  is  original  mat- 
ter. There  are  on  his  list  of  poetical  works :  "  Hymns  for  Timee  of 
Trouble  and  Persecution;"  "Hymns  for  the  Expected  Invasion  of 
1759 ;"  "  Hymns  for  the  Family ;"  "  Hymns  for  Children ;"  "  Hymns 
for  the  Nativity  of  Our  Lord ;"  "  A  Hymn  for  the  English  in  Amer- 
ica ;"  extracts  from  Milton's  "  Paradise  Lost,"  from  Young's  "  Night 
Thoughts,"  and  other  English  standard  poems;  besides  the  ten  or 
twelve  hymn-books  proper;  chief  of  which  is  his  "Collection  of 
Hymns  for  the  Use  of  the  People  called  Methodists,"  1Y80,  a  volume 
of  five  hundred  pages,  which  has  only  recently  given  place  among  the 
English  Wesleyans  to  a  larger  and  more  cathohc  collection. 

Of  the  forty-nine  pubhcations  above  mentioned,  only  thirteen 
bear  the  name  of  Charles  Wesley  at  all,  and  only  five  of  these  are 
credited  to  him  alone ;  one  of  the  five  being  a  short  poem  addressed 
by  him  to  his  brother  John. 

Charles  Wesley  as  a  Poet. — Beyond  all  dispute  Charles 
Wesley  was  the  prince  of  lyric  poets.  He  was  a  poet  by  birth,  by 
culture,  by  inspiration,  and  by  providential  opportunity.  Samuel 
Wesley,  as  has  been  seen,  was  much  given  to  writing  poetry,  or,  as  he 
himself  expressed  it,  to  "  beating  rhymes ; "  his  son  Charles  inherited 
this  rhyming  faculty  to  an  eminent  degree,  and  it  is  said  that  he  pro- 
duced an  immense  amount  of  work  in  rhyme  and  meter  which  was  no 
better  than  those  strained  and  stupid  couplets  into  which  his  father 
"  beat "  the  Holy  Scriptures.  He  was  continually  producing  hymns. 
If  one  of  his  children  fell  sick  he  wrote  a  hymn  about  it,  and  another 
hymn  when  the  child  got  well  again.  Every  addition  to  his  family 
stimulated  his  genius  to  the  production  of  several  hymns ;  a  hymn  to 
the  mother,  another  to  the  child,  another  to  the  remaining  members  of 
the  family,  and  perhaps  still  another  to  mothers  and  children  in 
general;  "some  of  which,"  says  Dr.  William  Rice,  to  whom  the 
Church  is  so  largely  indebted  for  its  admirable  new  Hymnal,  "  have 


Charles  Wesley  as  a  Poet. 


329 


been  admitted  to  a  place  in  our  standard  hymn  book ;  thougli  no  one 
not  familiar  with  their  history,  would  imagine  the  occasion  which 
called  them  forth." 

In  his  Journal  the  poet  records  the  fact  that  at  one  time  he  sprained 
his  wrist,  in  consequence  whereof  he  was  not  able  to  write  any  hymns 
that  day — an  entry  which  shows  that  his  hymn-writing  faculty  was  a 
perennial  fountain  from  which  flowed  an  almost  constant  stream. 
From  this  stream  his  superb  sacred  lyrics  in  the  Methodist  Hymnal 
are  taken,  sometimes  from  the  middle  of  a  long  poem,  the  remainder 
of  which  is  utterly  devoid  of  merit ;  for  which  critical  selection 
the  world  is  indebted  to  his 
older  brother,  whose  superior 
culture  and  more  critical 
judgment  enabled  him  to 
select  the  good  from  the  com- 
mon, and  sometimes  helped 
him  to  improve  upon  the 
original. 

"From  the  mass  of 
Charles  Wesley's  poetry," 
says  the  eminent  authority 
just  quoted,  "  two  hundred 
hymns  may  be  selected  which 
cannot  be  equaled  by  a  hke 
selection  from  the  writings 
of  any  other  man  ; "  and  Dr. 
Isaac  Watts,  the  only  man 
who  disputes  the  crown  with  the  poet  of  the  Methodists,  is  credited 
with  the  statement,  extravagant  as  it  may  seem,  that  Charles  Wesley's 
hymn  entitled  "  Wrestling  Jacob  "  was  worth  all  the  poetry  that  he 
LimseK  had  ever  written. 

The  best  hymns  of  Methodism,  however,  are  more  than  Wesleyan ; 
they  are  divine.  That  glorious  wave  of  spiritual  power  and  inspi- 
ration, sweeping  over  the  land,  caught  up  this  enthusiast,  this  poet- 
preacher,  into  the  third  heaven  of  song,  and  showed  him  things 
which  it  is  quite  lawful,  but  also  quite  impossible,  for  ordinary  men  to 
utter.  His  verse  owed  nothing  to  that  heathen  myth,  the  "  Muse  of 
21 


ISAAC  WATTS. 


330  Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 

poetry;"  and  every  thing  to  the  Holy  Spirit,  by  whom  the  great 
truths  of  the  Christian  faith  were  made  gloriously  real  to  his  soul,  and 
without  which  revelation  he  would  have  been  only  another  rhyme- 
beater,  whose  pages  could  only  be  valued  by  the  pound.  Add  to  his 
birthright,  and  his  heavenly  inspiration,  the  unequaled  opportunity  of 
making  the  songs  of  a  people  whose  language  is  full  of  music,  and 
who  were,  and  are,  the  heartiest  singers  that  Christendom  ever  pro- 
duced, and  we  have  the  three  points  which  determine  the  circle  of 
Charles  Wesley's  poetic  power  and  fame. 

There  are  evidences  that  John  Wesley  might  have  been  the  greater 
poet  of  the  two,  but  he  was  so  much  else  besides  that  this  one  among 
his  many  talents  is  often  overlooked.  What  a  glorious  nature,  then, 
must  his  have  been,  in  which  there  was  room  enough  for  a  poet  larger 
than  Charles  Wesley,  without  in  anywise  crowding  his  other  capaci- 
ties, or  obscuring  the  view  that  history  gives  us  of  the  rest  of  that 
glorious  man ! 

Wesley  and  the  Antislavery  Society. — In  the  year 
1780  a  young  gentleman,  only  twenty-one  years  of  age,  of  briUiant 
talents  and  master  of  a  handsome  fortune,  made  his  appearance  in  the 
British  House  of  Commons,  whose  name  was  destined  to  take  first 
rank  among  the  benefactors  of  mankind. 

From  a  boy  the  soul  of  WiUiam  Wilberforce  was  moved  with 
hatred  and  horror  toward  the  trafiic  in  human  flesh,  which  in  many  of 
the  EngHsh  Colonies  was  a  source  of  enormous  wealth.  The  slave- 
trade  was  carried  on  in  British  ships,  defended  by  British  arguments, 
and  sustained  by  British  authority,  both  in  Church  and  State.  Even 
George  Whitefield,  as  we  have  seen,  was  the  owner  of  a  considerable 
number  of  slaves,  whom  he  kept  to  work  his  Orphan  House  plantation 
in  Georgia :  and  so  firmly  was  this  iniquity  intrenched,  that  none  but 
an  enthusiast,  moved  by  that  sort  of  enthusiasm  which  is  an  inspira- 
tion from  God,  would  have  ventured  to  attempt  its  extirpation. 

In  1787  the  London  Society  for  the  Suppression  of  the  Slave- 
Trade,  was  formed.  Thirteen  years  before  this,  John  Wesley  had 
published  his  "  Thoughts  upon  Slavery,"  at  which  time  Wilberforce 
was  a  youth  of  fifteen. 

It  is  a  pleasant  sight  to  see  this  veteran  of  eighty-four  and  this 
young  champion  of  twenty-eight  uniting  their  forces  for  such  a  glorious 


Wesley  ajstd  the  Antislavery  Society.  331 

struggle.  Wesley  was  not  able  to  give  his  personal  attention  to  the 
affairs  of  the  new  society,  but  from  time  to  time  wrote  letters  which 
were  read  at  their  meetings,  giving  sagacious  counsel  and  pledging  all 
possible  assistance.  He  also  printed  a  new  edition  of  his  "  Thoughts 
upon  Slavery,"  and  spread  it  broadcast  throughout  England  and 
Ireland.     Thus  began  the  struggle  which  was  kept  up  for  forty-six 


WILLIAM  WILBERFORCE. 

years,  and  which,  on  the  second  of  August,  1833,  terminated  in  the 
Act  of  Emancipation,  whereby  Great  Britain  wiped  out  that  blot  upon 
her  national  character,  at  a  cost  to  the  national  treasury  of  twenty 
milKon  pounds  sterhng,  and  provided  for  the  liberation  of  all  the 
slaves  within  the  limits  of  her  realm. 

The  following  remarkable  incident  is  related  by  Mr.  Wesley.     It 


332  Illustkated  History  of  Methodism. 

occurred  during  his  antislavery  sermon  preached  at  Bristol  on  the  sixth 
of  March,  1T88.  The  topic  of  the  discourse  had  been  previously  an- 
nounced, and  the  chapel  was  densely  crowded  both  with  rich  and  poor. 

"  About  the  middle  of  the  discourse,"  says  Wesley,  "  while  there 
was  on  every  side  attention  still  as  night,  a  vehement  noise  arose,  none 
could  tell  why,  and  shot  like  lightning  through  the  congregation.  The 
terror  and  confusion  were  inexpressible.  You  might  have  imagined  it 
was  a  city  taken  by  storm.  The  people  rushed  upon  each  other  with 
the  utmost  violence ;  the  benches  were  broken  in  pieces ;  and  nine 
tenths  of  the  congregation  appeared  to  be  struck  with  the  same  panic. 
In  about  six  minutes  the  storm  ceased  almost  as  suddenly  as  it  rose  ; 
and,  all  being  calm,  I  went  on  without  the  least  interruption.  It  was 
the  strangest  incident  of  the  kind  I  ever  remembered  ;  and  I  believe 
none  can  account  for  it,  without  supposing  some  preternatural  influ- 
ence. Satan  fought,  lest  his  kingdom  should  be  dehvered  up.  We 
set  the  next  day  apart  as  a  day  of  fasting  and  prayer,  that  God  would 
remember  those  poor  outcasts  of  men,"  [the  slaves,]  "  and  make  a  way 
for  them  to  escape,  and  break  their  chains  asunder." 
,  To  John  Wesley  "  the  prince  of  the  power  of  the  air  "  was  a  verit- 
['able  person-,  against  whom  he  felt  it  his  duty  to  contend.  He  beheved 
in  the  devil  and  hated  him,  just  as  truly  as  he  believed  in  the  Lord  and 
loved  him  ;  and  it  was  no  strain  upon  his  faith  to  believe  that  himself 
and  his  work  were  hated  and  opposed  by  the  one  and  loved  and 
assisted  by  the  other. 

Wesley  died  in  the  beginning  of  this  great  antislavery  movement, 
but  his  name  will  stand  in  history  with  those  of  Wilberforce  and 
Clarkson,  as  one  of  the  first  and  chief  promoters  of  that  deliverance 
to  the  captives  which  is  the  greatest  honor  and  glory  ever  achieved 
by  the  British  nation. 

Wesley's  liast  Visit  to  Ireland. — On  the  first  of  March, 
1789,  Mr.  Wesley  set  out  on  his  last  journey  to  Ireland. 

The  management  of  Methodism  in  that  island  had  largely  fallen  into 
the  hands  of  Dr.  Thomas  Coke,  who  had  now  become  his  chief  assistant, 
and  who  for  many  years  in  succession  had  presided  at  the  sessions  of 
the  Irish  Conference ;  but  Wesley  was  still  held  to  be  their  father  in 
the  Gospel,  and  his  visit  on  this  occasion,  while  Dr.  Coke  was  absent 
in  America  on  his  episcopal  mission,  was  a  season  of  great  rejoicing. 


The  Irish  Conference.  333 

The  Irish  Conference  was  now  composed  of  sixty  preach- 
ers, of  whom,  at  the  session  of  1789,  there  were  between  forty  and 
lifty  present.  Wesley,  who  had  a  peculiar  love  for  Ireland,  sets  down 
in  his  Journal  this  complimentary  notice : — 

"  Friday,  July  3.  Our  little  Conference  began  in  Dublin  and  ended 
Tuesday,  7.  On  this  I  observe,  1.  I  never  had  between  forty  and  fifty 
such  preachers  together  in  Ireland  before ;  aU  of  them,  we  had  reason 
to  hope,  alive  to  God,  and  earnestly  devoted  to  his  service.  2.  1  never 
saw  such  a  number  of  preachers  before  so  unanimous  in  aU  points,  par- 
ticularly as  to  leaving  the  Church,  which  none  of  them  had  the  least 
thought  of.  It  is  no  wonder  that  there  has  been  this  year  so  large  an 
increase  of  the  Society." 

And  again  he  writes  :  "  I  have  found  such  a  body  of  members  as  I 
hardly  believed  could  have  been  found  together  in  Ireland — men  of  so 
exact  experience,  so  deep  piety,  and  so  strong  understanding.  I  am 
convinced  they  are  in  no  way  inferior  to  the  Enghsh  Conference 
except  it  be  in  number." 

Ireland  is  a  rainy  country.  Again  and  again  the  heavens  poured 
down  their  showers  upon  the  out-of-door  congregations  which  gathered 
to  hear  the  great  Wesley ;  but  they  Kstened  almost  as  well  with  the 
water  running  down  their  backs  as  if  they  had  been  under  the  shelter 
of  a  cathedral  dome.  Sometimes  the  preacher  managed  to  find  a 
covered  spot,  but  if  none  were  convenient  he  too  stood  up  under  the 
outpouring,  and  preached  "  until  he  was  wet  to  the  skin,  praying  with 
a  fervent  heart,  the  while,  that  grace  might  descend  upon  his  hearers 
in  equally  copious  floods." 

From  Dublin  he  made  a  preaching  tour  through  the  Irish  prov- 
inces, in  which  tour  of  about  nine  weeks  he  preached  in  more  than  sixty 
different  towns  and  villages,  sometimes  in  churches  and  chapels,  some- 
times in  the  open  air,  and  once  in  a  place  which  he  says  was  "  large 
but  not  elegant — a  cow-house."  He  gives  no  account  of  the  number 
of  members  in  the  Irish  Societies,  but  the  minutes  of  the  Bristol  Con- 
ference of  1790  supply  the  following  figures  : — 

Number  of  Circuits  in  Ireland 29 

"     Preachers 67 

"     Members 14,106* 

*  Smith's  "  History  of  Methodism,"  vol.  i,  p.  603. 


334  Illusteated  History  of  Methodism. 

An  interesting  item  of  business  at  this  last  Irish  Conference  was 
Wesley's  appointment  of  "  Adam  Clarke  and  his  wife  to  the  charge 
of  the  Dublin  Circuit,"  in  which  some  serious  difficulties  had  arisen. 
In  a  letter  to  the  future  king  of  commentators,  who  was  then  in  the 
Isle  of  Jersey  on  account  of  feeble  health,  after  referring  to  the 
troubles  of  the  Dublin  Society  he  says : — 

"  P'.it  who  is  able  to  watch  over  them  that  they  may  not  be  moved 
from  their  steadfastness?  I  know  none  more  proper  than  Adam 
Clarke  and  his  wife ;  and  indeed  it  may  seem  hard  for  them  to  come 
into  a  strange  land  again.  Well,  you  may  come  to  me  at  Leeds  at  the 
latter  end  of  next  month,  and  if  you  can  show  me  any  more  proper 
I  will  send  them  in  your  stead." 

On  the  12th  of  July,  1789,  Wesley  bade  a  final  adieu  to  Ireland. 
Multitudes  foUowed  him  to  the  ship,  and  before  going  on  board  he 
gave  out  a  hymn  which  the  people  sang  as  well  as  they  could  with 
their  hearts  in  their  throats.  After  the  singing  the  grand  old  patriarch 
dropped  upon  his  knees  on  the  wharf  and  commended  them  aU  to 
God.  Then  there  were  hand-shakings,  and  blessings,  and  loving  fare- 
wells ;  many  weeping,  and  some  falling  on  the  old  man's  neck  and  kiss- 
ing him.  Now  he  steps  on  deck ;  the  lines  are  cast  off ;  the  vessel 
catches  the  breath  of  heaven  with  its  white  wings,  and  the  last  the 
warm-hearted  Irish  Methodists  ever  see  of  their  beloved  bishop  he  is 
standing  upon  the  deck,  his  white  locks  shining,  his  face  f uU  of  fatherly 
tenderness,  and  his  hand  outstretched  toward  them  in  a  parting  bene- 
diction. 

Wesley's  liast  Circuit. — Early  in  the  year  1Y90  Mr.  Wesley 
in  spite  of  the  increasing  infirmities  of  age,  set  out  to  make  his  great 
northern  circuit.  This  tour  was -Wesley's  annual  visitation  of  the 
Societies  in  the  northern  part  of  England,  and  of  the  few  that  had 
maintained  a  foothold  in  Scotland.  On  this  last  occasion  it  occupied 
him  five  months.  Think  of  a  man  eighty-seven  years  old,  before  the 
age  of  railways,  traveling  a  five  months'  circuit  through  regions  where 
the  roads  were  often  next  to  impassable,  carrying  with  him  "  the  care 
of  all  the  Churches,"  preaching  from  ten  to  fifteen  times  a  week,  and 
riding  in  his  carriage  forty  or  fifty  miles  a  '^ay !  But  the  grand  old 
hero  fairly  reveled  in  it.  He  gloried  in  being  able  to  endure  so  much 
hardness  as  a  soldier  of  Jesus  Christ. 


AYesley's  Last  Cikclit. 


335 


lie  also  kept  up  his  field  j^reacliing :  sometimes,  even  in  -wdntry 
weather,  and  with  the  cold  winds  cutting  his  face  and  trying  to  shake 
his  old  bones,  the  voice  of  the  venerable  man  would  rise  in  all  the 
clearness  and  fullness  of  his  earlier  years,  as,  with  the  sky  for  a 
sounding-board  and  the  round  earth  for  a  pulpit,  he  j)reached  to 
the  nniltitudes  M'hich  crowded  about  him,  to  whom  his  presence  was 
almost  like  that  of  a  saint  come  back  from  glory,  and  whose  words 


^f^.r    -S, 


WESLEY'S    TREE. 

were  all  the  more  precious  because  it  was  evident  that  the  man  was 
ripe  for  heaven,  and  they  would  doubtless  see  his  face  no  more. 

In  the  church-yard  of  the  little  town  of  AYinchelsea  stands  an  old 
ash-tree,  which  is  knoAvn  in  the  town  and  for  many  miles  about  by  the 
name  of  "Wesley's  tree,"  from  the  circumstance  that  beneath  its 
shade  that  venerable  man  on  this  great  circuit  preached  the  last  sermon 
that  he  ever  delivered  in  the  open  air. 


336  Illustkated  History  of  Methodism. 

It  was  no  unusual  thing  for  him  when  on  these  episcopal  tours  of 
■visitation  to  take  his  breakfast  at  three  o'clock  in  the  morning,  and  to 
enter  his  carriage  at  four.  He  would  say  to  his  coachman,  "  Have  the 
carriage  at  the  door  at  four  o'clock ;  I  do  not  mean  a  quarter  or  five 
minutes  past,  but  four^''  and  the  coachman  knew  very  well  that  it 
would  not  do  to  be  a  minute  late.  During  this  last  pastoral 
visitation  of  his  Societies  Wesley  preached  eighty  sermons  in  eight 
weeks,  besides  frequently  celebrating  the  Lord's  Supper,  at  which 
he  sometimes  administered  to  from  fifteen  hundred  to  two  thousand 
communicants. 

As  a  specimen  of  the  cool  courage  and  determination  of  Wesley  in 
his  old  age  the  following  account  of  his  ride  through  the  sea  over  th& 
Cornwall  sands  between  the  towns  of  Hayle  and  St.  Ives  is  given  by 
his  coachman  on  that  occasion. 

"  I  first  heard  Mr,  Wesley  preach  in  the  street,  near  our  market- 
house,"  says  he,  "  when  I  was  hostler  at  the  London  Inn.  Mr.  Wes- 
ley came  there  one  day  in  a  carriage  driven  by  his  own  serv- 
ant, who,  being  unacquainted  with  the  roads  further  westward,  he 
engaged  me  to  drive  him  to  St.  Ives.  We  set  out,  and  on  our  arrival 
at  Hayle  we  found  the  sands  between  that  and  St.  Ives,  over  which  we 
had  to  pass,  overflowed  by  the  rising  tide. 

"  On  reaching  the  watei''s  edge  I  hesitated  to  proceed,  and  advised 
him  of  the  danger  of  crossing ;  and  a  captain  of  a  vessel,  seeing  us  stop- 
ping, came  up  and  endeavored  to  persuade  us  from  an  undertaking  so 
full  of  peril,  but  without  effect,  for  Mr.  Wesley  had  resolved  to  go  on ; 
he  said  he  had  to  preach  at  St.  Ives  at  a  certain  hour,  and  that  he  must 
fulfill  his  appointment.  Looking  out  of  the  carriage  window  he  called 
out: — 

" '  Take  the  sea !  take  the  sea ! ' 

"I  dashed  into  the  waves.  The  horses  were  soon  swimming,  and 
the  carriage  nearly  overwhelmed  with  the  tide.  I  struggled  hard  to 
maintain  my  seat  in  the  saddle,  while  the  poor  horses  were  snort- 
ing and  rearing  in  the  most  fearful  manner.  I  expected  every  moment 
to  be  swept  into  eternity,  and  the  only  hope  I  had  was  on  account 
of  driving  so  holy  a  man.  At  that  awful  moment  I  heard  Mr. 
Wesley's  voice.  With  difficulty  I  turned  my  head  toward  the  carriage^ 
and  saw  his  white  looks  dripping  with  water,  which  ran  down  his  face. 


Visiting  the  Classes. 


337 


He  was  looking  calmly  ujjon  the  waters,  undismrbed  by  liis  perilous 
situation.     He  hailed  me  in  a  loud  voice,  and  said  : — 

"  '  What  is  thy  name,  driver  ? ' 

"  I  answered,  '  Peter,  sir.' 

"  He  said,  '  Peter,  fear  not ;  thou  shalt  not  sink.' 

"  That  gave  me  new  courage.  I  again  urged  on  the  flagging 
horses,  and,  plunging  and  wallowing  through  the  waves,  at  last  we 
reached  the  opposite  shore  in  safety." 

Tisitiii^  the  Classes. — In  his  Journal  of  his  last  grand  epis- 


A  BRAVE   KIDE. 


copal  tour  "Wesley  speaks  of  "the  unpleasing  work  of  visiting  the 
classes,"  and  mentions  the  fact  that  the  Dublin  Society  had  increased 
to  about  eleven  hundred  members,  of  whom,  after  due  examination,  he 
"felt  obliged  to  exclude  about  one  hundred." 

As  the  chief  authority  among  the  "people  called  Methodists," 
Wesley  held  himself  responsible  for  the  correctness  of  the  lives  of  the 
members  of  his  Societies.     All  that  was  required  of  any  one  on  being: 


338  Illusteated  History  of  Methodism. 

admitted  to  tliis  fraternity  was  "a  desire  to  flee  from  the  wrath  to 
come,  and  obedience  to  the  '  general  rules,' "  hence  it  frequently  be- 
came necessary  to  correct  the  rolls  and  to  cut  off  therefrom  the  names 
of  those  who  had  fallen  away  from  Methodism ;  though  that  did  not 
always  imply  falling  from  grace,  since  many  persons  joined  the  Soci- 
eties who  did  not  profess  to  have  any  grace,  but  sought  to  obtain  it  in 
this  particular  manner. 

Wesley's  method  was  to  meet  the  classes,  and  by  personal  inquiry 
find  out  how  the  souls  of  his  people  prospered  ;  a  work  which  of  all 
others  he  most  heartily  disliked  ;  but  he  would  not  neglect  it,  especially 
because  there  were  increasing  signs  of  aversion  to  it  on  the  part  of 
some  of  his  preachers.  He  must  needs  hold  a  personal  examina- 
tion of  the  minds  and  consciences  of  twenty-five  hundred  sinners  in  all 
stages  of  penitence  and  salvation;  some  ignorant  and  ^^  -Mling  instruc- 
tion, some  stupid  and  unable  to  receive  it,  some  stuOu  a  and  deter- 
mined not  to  have  it,  some  full  of  foolish  fancies  to  be  despoiled,  some 
full  of  doubts  to  be  cleared  away,  some  in  sorrow  to  be  comforted, 
others  in  rebelKon  to  be  expelled ;  with  as  many  shades  and  variations 
of  these  general  conditions  as  there  were  individuals  in  the  Society — 
such  was  the  task  which  the  Bishop  of  the  Methodists  speaks  of  as 
"  the  unpleasing  work  of  visiting  the  classes." 

Wesley's  Last  Conference.. — The  forty-seventh  Methodist 
Conference  was  opened  at  Bristol  on  the  27th  of  July,  1Y90.  The 
unpleasing  work  of  visiting  and  sifting  the  classes  was  not  neglected, 
and  after  that  process  the  Bristol  Society  numbered  nine  hundred  and 
forty-four.  The  statistics  of  the  body  of  Methodists,  both  at  home  and 
abroad,  which  were  reported  at  this  Conference  were  something  amaz- 
ing. Up  to  the  year  1780  the  movement  had  been  a  glorious  success, 
but  its  progress  during  the  last  ten  years  of  "Wesley's  hfe  was  more 
than  double  the  united  results  of  the  forty  years  preceding. 

Statistics— 1780  to  1790.— In  the  year  1780  there  were  64 
circuits  in  the  United  Kingdom  ;  in  1790  there  were  115.  Then  there 
were  171  itinerant  preachers  employed ;  now  there  were  294.  Then 
there  were  43,380  members  of  the  Society ;  now  there  were  71,568. 
Then  there  were  no  missionary  stations  ;  now  19  missionaries  were  ap- 
pointed to  Antigua,  Barbadoes,  St.  Yincent's,  St.  Christopher's,  Kevis, 
Tortola,  Jamaica,  Nova  Scotia,  and  Newfoundland,  in  which  was  an 


Pladst  Words  to  Rich  Methodists. 


339 


aggregate  membership  of  6,350  persons — 800  in  Nova  Scotia  and  New- 
foundland, and  4,550  in  the  West  Indies.  In  1780  there  were  in 
America  twenty  circuits,  42  itinerant  preachers,  and  8,504  members  of 
Society.  In  1790  there  were  114  circuits,  228  itinerant  preachers, 
and  57,631  members  of  Society. 

These  statistics,  put  in  another  form,  will  stand  thus : — * 


Methodist    Circuits 
throughout  the  world. 

Methodist  Itinerant 
Preachers. 

Methodist  Members. 

1790 
1780 

240 
84 

541 
213 

134,549 
52,334 

Increase 
in  10  years. 

156 

328 

82,215 

Plain  Words  to  Rich  Hethodists. — The  members  of 
the  first  United  Societies,  however  much  they  may  have  been  exercised 
with  the  cares  of  the  world,  were  not  many  of  them  perplexed  with 
the  deceitfulness  of  riches ;  but  in  his  last  days  "Wesley  observed,  with 
indignation  as  well  as  alarm,  that  the  gifts  of  the  people  for  the  cause  of 
God  did  not  increase  at  all  in  proportion  to  the  increase  of  their 
wealth,  and  his  exhortations  to  the  rich  Methodists  during  the  last  few 
months  of  his  life  are  worthy  of  everlasting  remembrance.  He 
preached  two  notable  sermons  during  this  year;  one  entitled,  "Why 
has  Christianity  done  so  Little  Good  in  the  World  ?  "  text,  Jeremiah 
viii,  22 :  the  other,  "  The  Rich  Fool,"  from  the  words,  "  If  riches  in- 
crease, set  not  your  heart  upon  them."  Psalm  Ixii,  10.  The  following 
selections  will  show  the  faithfulness  of  his  dealing  upon  this 
subject : — 

"Let  us  descend  to  particulars;  and  see  that  each  of  you  deals 
faitlifully  with  his  own  soul.  Do  you  not  eat  more  plentifully  or  more 
delicately  than  you  did  ten  or  twenty  years  ago  ?  Do  not  you  use 
more  drink,  or  drink  of  a  more  costly  kind,  than  you  did  then  ?  Do 
you  sleep  on  as  hard  a  bed  as  you  did  once,  suppose  your  health  will 
bear  it  ?  Do  jou/ast  as  often  now  you  are  rich,  as  you  did  when  you 
were  poor  ?  Ought  you  not  in  all  reason  to  do  this  rather  more  often 
than  more  seldom  ?  I  am  afraid  your  own  heart  condemns  you.  You 
sare  not  clear  in  this  matter. 

•  Tterman'b  "  Life  of  Wesley." 


340  Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 

"  Do  not  some  of  you  seek  no  small  part  of  happiness  in  that  trifle- 
of  trifles,  dress  ?  Do  not  you  bestow  more  money,  or,  which  is  the 
same,  more  time  and  pains  upon  it,  than  you  did  once  ?  I  doubt  this- 
is  not  done  to  please  God.  Then  it  pleases  the  devil.  If  you  laid 
aside  your  needless  ornaments  some  years  since,  ruffles,  necklaces, 
spider  caps,  ugly,  unbecoming  bonnets,  costly  linen,  expensive  laces, 
have  you  not,  in  defiance  of  religion  and  reason,  taken  to  them  again  ? 

"  Permit  me  to  come  a  little  closer  still ;  perhaps  I  may  not  trouble 
you  any  more  on  this  head.  I  am  pained  for  you  that  are  rich  vn  this 
world.  Do  you  give  all  you  can?  You  who  receive  £500  a  year, 
and  spend  only  £200,  do  you  give  £300  back  to  God  ?  If  not,  you 
certainly  rob  God  of  that  £300. 

"  '  Nay,  may  I  not  do  what  I  will  with  my  own  f  ' 

"  Here  Hes  the  ground  of  your  mistake.  It  is  not  your  own.  It 
cannot  be,  unless  you  are  Lord  of  heaven  and  earth. 

"  '  However,  I  must  provide  for  my  children.' 

"  Certainly.  But  how  ?  By  making  them  rich  ?  When  you  will 
probably  make  them  heathens,  as  some  of  you  have  done  already. 
Leave  them  enough  to  live  on,  not  in  idleness  and  luxury,  but  by 
honest  industry." 

On  the  delicate  question  of  marriage  with  unbelievers,  he  gives 
faithful  warning  thus  : — 

"  How  great  is  the  darkness  of  that  execrable  wi-etch  (I  can  give 
him  no  better  title,  be  he  rich  or  poor)  who  wiU  sell  his  own  child  to 
the  devil ;  who  will  barter  her  own  eternal  happiness  for  any  quan- 
tity of  gold  or  silver!  What  a  monster  would  any  man  be  accounted 
who  devoured  the  flesh  of  his  own  offspring !  And  is  he  not  as  great 
a  monster,  who,  by  his  own  act  and  deed,  gives  her  to  be  devoured  by 
that  roaring  Hon,  as  he  certainly  does  (so  far  as  is  in  his  power)  who 
marries  her  to  an  ungodly  man. 

"  '  But  he  is  rich  ;  he  has  £10,000  ! ' 

"  What  if  it  were  £100,000  ?  The  more  the  worse  ;  the  less  proba- 
bility will  she  have  of  escaping  the  damnation  of  hell.  With  what 
face  wilt  thou  look  upon  her,  when  she  tells  thee  in  the  realms 
below,  '  Thou  hast  plunged  me  into  this  place  of  torment !  Hadst 
thou  given  me  to  a  good  man,  however  poor,  I  might  now  have- 
been  in  Abraham's  bosom  ! ' 


Plain  Words  to  Rich  Methodists.  341 

"  Are  any  of  you  that  are  called  Methodists  seeking  to  marry  your 
•children  well,  (as  the  cant  phrase  is,)  that  is,  to  sell  them  to  some  pur- 
chaser that  has  much  money  but  little  or  no  religion  ?  Have  you  prof- 
ited no  more  by  all  ye  have  heard  ?  Man,  woman,  think  what  you  are 
about !  Dare  you  also  sell  your  child  to  the  devil  ?  You  undoubtedly 
do  this  (as  far  as  in  you  hes)  when  you  marry  a  son  or  a  daughter  to  a 
child  of  the  devil,  though  it  be  one  that  wallows  in  gold  or  silver.  O 
take  warning  in  time  !  Beware  of  the  gilded  bait !  Death  and  hell 
are  hid  beneath.  Prefer  grace  before  gold  and  precious  stones  ;  glory 
in  heaven  to  riches  on  earth !  If  you  do  not,  you  are  worse  than  the 
very  Canaanites.  They  only  made  their  children  J9a55  through  the  fire 
to  Moloch ;  you  make  yours  pass  into  the  fi/re  that  never  shall  be 
quenched,  and  to  stay  in  it  forever  P 

"  Of  the  three  rules  which  are  laid  down  on  this  head  in  the  ser- 
mon on  '  The  Mammon  of  Unrighteousness,'  you  may  find  many  that 
observe  the  first  rule,  namely.  Gain  all  you  can.  You  may  find  a  few 
that  observe  the  second.  Save  all  you  can.  But  how  many  have  you 
found  that  observe  the  third  rule,  Gi/ne  all  you  can?  Have  you 
reason  to  beheve  that  five  hundred  of  these  are  to  be  found  among 
fifty  thousand  Methodists?  And  yet  nothing  can  be  more  plain  than 
that  all  who  observe  the  two  first  I'ules,  without  the  third,  will  be 
twofold  more  the  children  of  hell  than  ever  they  were  before. 

"  O  that  God  would  enable  me  once  more,  before  I  go  hence  and 
am  no  more  seen,  to  lift  up  my  voice  like  a  trumpet  to  those  who  gaiii 
and  save  all  they  can,  but  do  not  gvve  all  they  can !  Ye  are  the  men, 
some  of  the  chief  men,  who  continually  grieve  the  Holy  Spirit  of  God, 
and  in  a  great  measure  stop  his  gracious  infiueuce  from  descending 
on  our  assemblies.  Many  of  your  brethren,  beloved  of  God,  have  not 
food  to  eat ;  they  have  not  raiment  to  put  on ;  they  have  not  a  place 
where  to  lay  their  heads.  And  why  are  they  thus  distressed  ?  Because 
you  impiously,  unjustly,  and  cruelly  detain  from  them  what  your  Master 
and  theirs  lodges  in  your  hands  on  purpose  to  supply  tJieir  wants.  In 
the  name  of  God,  what  are  you  doing  ?  Do  you  neither  fear  God,  nor 
regard  man  ?  Why  do  you  not  deal  your  bread  to  the  hungry,  and 
cover  the  naked  with  a  garment  ?  Have  you  not  laid  out  in  your  own 
costly  apparel  what  would  have  answered  both  these  intentions  ?  This 
idle  expense  has  no  approbation,  either  from  God  or  your  own  con- 


342  Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 

science.  But  you  say,  '  You  can  afford  it ! '  Can  any  steward  afford 
to  be  an  arrant  knave  ?  to  waste  his  lord's  goods  ?  Can  any  servant 
afford  to  lay  out  his  master's  money  any  otherwise  than  his  master 
appoints  him  ?  So  far  from  it,  that  whoever  does  this  ought  to  be  ex- 
cluded from  a  Christian  society. 

"  The  Methodists  grow  more  and  more  self-indulgent  because  they 
grow  rich.  Although  many  of  them  are  still  deplov  ' "'"  poor,  {Tell  it 
not  in  Oath :  publish  it  not  in  the  streets  of  Askelon  !)  yet  many 
others,  in  the  space  of  twenty,  thirty,  or  forty  years,  are  twenty,  thirty, 
yea,  a  hundred  times  richer  than  they  were  when  they  first  entered 
the  Society.  And  it  is  an  observation  which  admits  of  few  excejitions, 
that  nine  in  ten  of  these  decreased  in  grace  in  the  same  proportion  as 
they  increased  in  wealth.  Indeed,  according  to  the  natural  tendency 
of  riches,  we  cannot  expect  it  to  be  otherwise." 

The  right  to  exercise  this  boldness  was  earned  by  a  life  of  self- 
sacrifice.  Wesley  was  faithful  both  in  little  and  in  much.  He  could 
challenge  his  people  to  imitate  himself,  with  the  mournful  assurance 
that  the  majority  of  them  would  never  do  it.  Dr.  Whitehead,  one  of 
his  biographers,  says,  that  in  the  course  of  fifty  years  it  was  supposed 
that  Wesley  gave  away  between  twenty  and  thirty  thousand  pounds ; 
a  statement  confirmed  by  Mr.  Moore,  another  biographer,  who  says : 
"  Mr.  Wesley's  accounts  He  before  me.  His  expenses  were  kept  with 
great  exactness ;  every  penny  is  recorded,  and  I  presume  that  the 
thirty  thousand  pounds  might  be  increased  several  thousand  more." 
Wesley's  last  entry  in  his  account  book  is  as  follows  : — 

"  N.  B.  For  upward  of  sixty  years  I  have  kept  my  accounts  exactly, 
and  I  will  not  attempt  it  any  longer,  being  satisfied  with  the  convic- 
tion that  I  have  saved  all  I  can,  and  given  aU  I  can,  that  is,  all  I  have. 
"  Juhj  16,  1790.  John  Wesley." 

How  many  other  life-time  accounts  would  furnish  such  a  trial 
balance  ? 

During  some  portions  of  his  life  his  income  from  his  publishing 
house  was  from  five  hundred  to  a  thousand  pounds  a  year,  besides 
which,  large  sums  of  money  were  placed  in  his  hands  for  charitable 
distribution.  But  none  of  this  did  Mr.  Wesley  consider  as  his  own ; 
he  was  merely  the  Lord's  steward  in  this  matter,  and  he  received  his 


Death  of  John  Wesley.  34.^ 

yearly  allowance  of  thirty  pounds  from  the  hands  of  the  treasurer  of 
his  publishing  house  as  if  he  had  been  any  other  itinerant  preacher  or 
a  teacher  in  the  Kingswood  or  Newcastle  schools,  and  he  declared  that, 
in  spite  of  his  great  income,  he  never  in  all  his  life  had  at  one  time 
one  hundred  pounds  that  he  could  call  his  own. 

"  Poor,  yet  making  many  rich ;  having  nothing,  and  yet  possessing 
aL  things ! " 

Death  of  John  Wesley. — About  ten  o'clock  on  the  morning 
of  Wednesday,  March  2,  1791,  after  a  brief  season  of  prostration,  but 
without  any  disease  or  pain,  in  the  full  use  of  his  senses,  and  in  the 
glorious  triumph  of  the  faith  he  had  preached  so  long  and  so  well, 
John  Wesley  passed  from  the  world  of  the  dying  to  the  world  of  the 
living. 

It  was  his  earnest  prayer  that  he  might  cease  at  once  to  "  work  and 
Hve,"  and  there  were,  indeed,  only  nine  days  from  the  date  of  his 
last  sermon  at  the  house  of  a  friend  near  London  to  the  time  when  he 
departed  for  the  house  not  made  with  hands,  eternal  in  the  heavens. 
On  the  day  after  this  last  discourse  (February  24)  he  wrote  his  last 
letter,  which,  it  is  interesting  to  note,  was  to  his  young  friend 
Wilberforce,  cheering  him  on  in  his  struggle  against  slavery. 

The  next  day  he  returned  to  his  residence  in  City  Road,  London, 
and  on  reaching  home  he  went  immediately  to  his  room,  and  desired 
to  be  left  alone  for  a  short  time.  At  the  end  of  the  time  appointed 
he  was  found  to  be  ill,  and  his  physician,  Dr.  Whitehead,  was  sum- 
moned at  once. 

"  They  are  more  afraid  than  hurt,"  said  he  to  the  doctor,  on  his 
arrival. 

But  presently  he  fell  into  a  drowsy  condition,  in  which  he  passed 
the  next  thirty-six  hours.  On  Sunday  morning,  February  2Yth,  he 
seemed  to  be  rallying  again,  got  up  and  sat  in  his  chair,  looking  cheer- 
ful, repeated  portions  of  hymns,  and  joined  in  conversation;  but 
soon  he  began  to  wander  in  his  mind,  and  imagined  himseK  to  be 
meeting  the  classes  or  preaching.  His  friends  now  became  alarmed, 
and,  being  utterly  without  hope  except  from  on  high,  notes  were 
hastily  dispatched  to  the  preachers  by  his  faithful  friend  and  traveling- 
companion,  Joseph  Bradford,  in  these  words  : — 

"  Mr.  Wesley  is  very  ill.     Pray  !     Pray !     Pray ! " 


^44  Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 

On  Tuesday,  March  1,  after  a  restless  night,  being  asked  if  he 
suffered  pain,  he  answered  "  No,"  and  then  began  singing : — 

"  All  glory  to  God  in  the  sky, 

And  peace  upon  earth  be  restored ! 
O  Jesus,  exalted  on  high, 

Appear  our  omnipotent  Lord. 
Who,  meanly  in  Bethlehem  born, 

Didst  stoop  to  redeem  a  lost  race, 
Once  more  to  thy  people  return. 

And  reign  in  thy  kingdom  of  grace." 

After  some  time  he  said,  "  I  will  get  np,"  and,  while  his  friends 
were  arranging  his  clothes,  he  began  again  to  sing : — 

"I'll  praise  my  Maker  while  I've  brcr.th, 
And  when  my  voice  is  lost  in  death, 

Praise  shall  employ  my  nobler  powers ; 
My  days  of  praise  shall  ne'er  be  past, 
While  life,  and  thought,  and  being  last, 

Or  immortality  endures." 

Being  exceedingly  weak,  he  was  presently  carried  back  to  his  bed, 
and  after  arranging  some  trifling  matters,  and  giving  a  few  brief  direc- 
tions about  his  burial,  which  he  desired  to  be  conducted  in  the  sim- 
plest manner,  he  called  out  "  Pray  and  praise  ;"  and  while  his  friends 
fell  upon  their  knees  he  fervently  responded  to  the  prayers  they 
offered,  especially  to  that  of  his  friend  John  Broadbent,  who  desired 
that  God  would  still  bless  the  system  of  doctrine  and  discipline  which 
Wesley  liad  been  the  means  of  establishing. 

On  rising  from  prayer  his  friends  drew  near  to  his  bed,  and  with 
the  utmost  calmness  he  saluted  each  one  present,  shook  hands,  and 
said,  "  Farewell,  farewell ! "  Some  time  after  this  he  tried  again  to 
speak,  but  his  words  were  too  feeble  to  be  understood.  Observing  the 
anxiety  on  the  faces  of  his  friends  at  being  unable  to  understand  him, 
the  dying  man  summoned  all  his  remaining  strength,  and  exclaimed, 
in  a  clear,  strong  voice,  "  The  best  of  all  is,  God  is  with  us."  Then, 
after  a  short  space,  Hfting  his  hand,  he  emphatically  repeated,  "  The 
best  of  all  is,  God  is  with  us" 

A  httle  before  ten  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  March  2  the  supreme 


WESLEY'S  TOMB,   BURIAL   GROUND,   CITY   ROAD   CHAl'EL. 


22 


346  Illustrated  History  of  Methodism 

moment  arrived.  Several  of  his  relatives  and  members  of  liis  houso 
hold  knelt  around  h^s  bed  in  prayer,  and  on  rising  from  their  knees, 
and  seeing  that  Wesley  was  about  to  depart,  Bradford  solemnly 
repeated  these  words : — 

"  Lift  up  your  heads,  O  ye  gates ;  and  be  ye  Kfted  up,  ye  everlast- 
ing doors,  and  this  heir  of  glory,  shall  come  in ;"  and  while  he  was  yet 
speaking,  withou^:  a  sign  or  a  groan,  this  great  man,  full  of  years  and 
honors,  passed  away,  doubtless  to  hear  the  words  from  the  lips  of  his 
Lord,  which,  according  to  human  judgment,  might  be  better  spoken 
to  him  than  to  almost  any  other  man  :  "  "WeU  done,  good  and  faithful 
servant,  enter  thou  into  the  joy  of  thy  Lord." 

The  funeral  was  celebrated  at  City  Road  Chapel,  on  the  9th  of 
March,  at  five  o'clock  in  the  morning.  There  were  two  good  reasons 
for  the  choice  of  this  unusual  hour :  first,  it  was  Wesley's  favorite 
time  for  preaching ;  and  second,  at  a  later  hour  of  the  day  the  attend- 
ant crowds  would  have  been  overwhelming  and  dangerous. 

The  beautiful  burial  service  of  the  Church  of  England  was  read 
by  the  Kev.  Mr.  Richardson,  who  had  served  him  as  a  faithful  son  in 
the  ministry  for  thirty  years,  and  who  now  lies  close  by  his  side. 

When  the  minister  came  to  that  part  of  the  service  "  Forasmuch 
as  it  hath  pleased  Almighty  God  to  take  unto  himself  the  soul  of  our 
dear  brother,"  instead  of  "  brother "  he  used  "  father,"  with  an 
emphasis  so  suggestive,  and  a  voice  so  full  of  love  and  tenderness,  that 
the  whole  assembly  broke  out  in  uncontrollable  sobs  and  tears. 

A  simple  monument  marks  his  grave  in  City  Road  Cemetery,  in 
which  it  was  his  desire  that  his  dust  might  repose  among  the  graves  of 
his  people.  This  burial-ground  has  now  been  closed.  For  a  long  time 
it  was  held  as  a  sacred  and  honorable  spot,  in  which  only  the  chief 
men  of  "  the  people  called  Methodists  "  could  hope  to  find  a  resting 
place  by  the  side  of  their  great  leader,  and  after  the  burial  there  of 
that  honored  father  in  Israel,  the  Rev.  Jabez  Bunting,  the  number  of 
this  elect  was  declared  complete,  and  the  place  was  once  for  all  given 
over  to  memory  and  to  history. 

Wesley's  "Will. — A  short  time  before  his  death  Mr.  Wesley 
executed  a  deed  in  which  he  gave  his  public  interests  over  into  the 
hands  of  trustees,  chief  of  whom  was  Dr.  Thomas  Coke,  to  be  by  them 
managed  foi  the  benefit  of  the  Methodist  Connection. 


Wesley's  Will. 


347 


His  manuscripts  lie  gave  to  Dr.  Thomas  Coke,  Dr.  Whitehead, 
tind  Hem-y  Moore,  "  to  be  burned  or  published  as  they  see  good."  He 
also  directed  the  sum  of  six  pounds  to  be  given  to  six  poor  men  who 
might  carry  his  body  to  the  grave,  particularly  desiring  that  there 
should  be  no  pomp  or  show  on  this  occasion,  and  solemnly  adjuring  his 
executors  in  the  name  of  God  to  see  this  desire  carried  out ;  and,  finally, 
he  directed  that  six  months  after  his  death  eisrht  volumes  of  sermons 
from  his  pubhshing  house  should  be  given  to  each  of  his  traveling 
preachers  who  should  then  be  naembers  of  the  Methodist  Connectioa 


JOHN     WES  l^E^:. MA- 
BORN    JUNE     17.    1703:   DIED     MARCH    2.179!. 


LBORN     DECEMBER-  13^1703'    DIED    MARCH     29.  1788r€^gl 


THE^BCST    or    'K^L    !5     C  O  D     IS  WITH     US 


I    LOOK   urON    ^\.L  Tl  t    WORLD    AS   MY    PABISfl-'J 


CHAPTER   XIV. 

IN  MEMORIAM. 

Honunieut  to  John  and  Charles  \¥esley  in  West- 
minster Abbey. — "  One  liundred  and  tliirty  years  ago  Wesley  was 
Bhut  out  of  every  Churcli  in  England ;  now  marble  medallion  profiles 
of  himself  and  liis  brother,  accompanied  with  suitable  inscriptions,  are 
deemed  deserving  of  a  niche  in  England's  grandest  cathedral.  The 
man  who  a  century  since  was  the  best  abused  man  in  the  British  isles, 
is  now  hardly  ever  mentioned  but  with  affectionate  respect."  * 

It  is  but  just  and  consistent  that  some  memorial  of  that  royal  man 
should  be  set  up  among  the  tombs  of  England's  princes,  bishops, 
heroes,  and  statesmen.  Other  men  have  been  kings  by  the  accident  of 
birth  of  royal  blood :  John  Wesley  reigned  by  virtue  of  the  diA'ine 
anointing.  Other  bishops  have  worn  the  miter  and  carried  the  keys 
through  the  devious  workings  of  State-church  preferment :  John 
Wesley  was  a  bishop  by  the  grace  of  God.  Other  heroes  have  earned 
their  honors  by  ravaging  sea  and  land  to  kill,  bum,  and  destroy :  Wes- 
ley, with  equal  courage  and  equal  skill,  achieved  his  fame  not  by  killing 
but  by  saving  men. 

Statesmanship,  too,  is  honored  in  this  memorial  in  Westminster. 
Macaulay,  in  his  estimate  of  John  Wesley,  says,  "His  genius  for 
government  was  not  inferior  to  that  of  Richelieu ; "  and  Southey,  in 
a  letter  to  Wilberforce,  writes,  "  I  consider  Wesley  as  the  most  influen- 
tial mind  of  the  last  century — the  man  who  will  have  produced  the 
greatest  effects  centuries,  or  perhaps  millenniums,  hence,  if  the  present 
race  of  men  should  continue  so  long." 

And  if  poets  are  honored  in  this  splendid  mausoleum,  who  more 
deserves  a  place  therein  than  Charles  Wesley  ?  His  songs  have  helped 
more  souls  to  happiness  and  holiness  and  heaven  than  those  of  any 
other  bard  since  the  days  of  the  Psalmist  of  Israel ;  like  those  sacred 
chants  which   echo  through  the   ages,  the  hymns  of  Wesley  with 

•Tyerman's  "  Life  and  Times  of  John  "Wesley." 


350 


Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 


eacli  succeeding  generation  are  borne  on  a  higher,  grander,  sweeter  tide 
of  harmony;  giving  still  the  best  expression  to  the  prayers  or  joys 
of  human  souls  in  every  time  of  trial  or  triumph,  from  the  sorrow  of 
the  broken-hearted  penitent  at  the  "  mourner's  bench  "  to  the  notes  oi 
victory  with  which  the  dying  saint  catches  his  first  glimpse  of  the 
glory  that  awaits  the  people  of  the  Lord, 

Dean   Stanley  on   John  Wesley. — On  the  evening  of 

November  1,  1878, 
the  Methodists  of  the 
city  of  New  Tork 
gave  a  reception  to 
Dean  Stanley,  then 
on  his  first  visit  to 
this  country ;  which 
was  understood  to  be 
a  pubhc  and  official 
recognition,  by  the 
Methodists  of  Amer- 
ica, of  the  Christian 
and  Catholic  courtesy 
of  the  distinguished 
guest  of  the  occasion, 
who,  as  custodian  of 

REV,  ARTHUR    PENRIIYN    STANLEY,  D.D,,  LL,D,  WcStminstCr     AbbcV 

had  given  permission  to  erect  therein  a  monument  to  the  two  Wesleys, 
On  that  memorable  occasion,  in  responding  to  the  address  of  welcome. 
Dean  Stanley  gave  this  account  of  the  inception  of  the  plan,  which  was 
first  proposed  to  him  by  the  Rev,  Drs.  Jobson  and  Rigg,  of  the  British 
Wesleyan  Conference : — 

■'It  was  some  eight  or  ten  years  ago  that  the  then  President  of  the 
Wesleyan  Conference  *  asked,  with  that  courtesy  and  modesty  which 
is  characteristic  of  him,  that  I  would  allow  '  the  erection  of  a  monu 
tnent  in  Westminster  Abbey,  in  Poet's  Corner,  to  Charles  Wesley,  as 
the  sweet  psalmist  of  our  English  Israel,' 

"  I  ventured  to  answer,  '  If  we  are  to  have  a  monument  to  Charles 
why  not  to  John  ? '     To  John  Wesley,  accordingly,  together  with  hia 

*  Rev.  Frederick  Jobson,  D.D. 


In  Memoriam.  351 

brother  Charles — not  as  excluding  Charles,  but  as  the  greater  genius, 
as  the  greater  spirit  of  the  two — that  monument  has  been  erected. 
John  Wesley's  monument,  with  the  likeness  also  of  his  brother  Charles, 
has  been  erected  in  "Westminster  Abbey,  close  to  a  monument  which 
was  erected  in  the  last  century — and  I  mention  it  only  as  showing  that 
in  welcoming  this  recognition  of  your  illustrious  founder  I  have  been 
but  following  the  precedents  already  estabhshed  in  Westminster 
Abbey  and  in  the  Church  of  England — ^the  monument  to  John  Wesley 
was  erected  side  by  side  with  the  monument  which  in  the  last  century 
was  erected  to  the  memory  of  the  great  Congregational  divine  and 
poet,  Isaac  Watts.  It  has  been  said  in  the  address,  and  I  think  it  has 
been  said  also  by  the  other  speakers,  that  we  are  assembled  here  in  a 
building  consecrated  to  the  Methodist  worship — consecrated  to  the 
worship  of  Almighty  God,  as  set  on  foot  in  this  country  by  John 
Wesley.  It  reminds  me  of  what  happened  to  myself  when,  on  visiting 
in  London  the  City  Road  Chapel,  in  which  John  Wesley  ministered, 
and  in  the  cemetery  adjoining,  in  which  he  is  buried,  I  asked  an  old 
man  who  showed  me  the  cemetery — I  asked  him  perhaps  inadvertently, 
and  as  an  English  Churchman  might  natm'ally  ask — 

" '  By  whom  was  this  cemetery  consecrated  ? ' 

"  And  he  answered,  '  It  was  consecrated  by  the  bones  of  that  holy 
man,  that  holy  servant  of  God,  John  Wesley.' 

"  In  the  spirit  of  that  remark  I  return  to  the  point  to  which  I  have 
ventured  to  address  my  remarks,  and  that  is.  The  claims  which  the 
character  and  career  of  John  Wesley  have,  not  only  upon  your  venera- 
tion, but  upon  the  veneration  of  English  Christendom. 

"  And,  first  of  all,  may  I  venture  to  say  that  in  claiming  him  as  your 
founder  you  enjoy  a  pecuhar  privilege  among  the  various  communions 
which  have  from  time  to  time  broken  off,  or  at  least  varied,  from  the 
communion  of  the  Church  of  England.  The  founder  of  the  Enghsh 
Baptists  is  comparatively  unknown ;  the  founder  of  the  English  Con- 
gregationalists  (and  I  say  it  with  no  shadow  of  disrespect)  is  also  com- 
paratively unknown ;  the  founder  of  Enghsh  Unitarianism  (and  I  say 
it  also  without  a  shadow  of  disrespect)  is  also  comparatively  obscure ; 
the  founder  of  the  Society  of  Friends,  George  Fox,  has  been  super- 
ceded in  celebrity  by  WiUiam  Penn,  and  by  other  illustrious  Friends 
who  have  risen  in  that  Society  since  his  departure ;  but  it  is  no  disre- 


352  Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 

Bpect  to  the  great  Society  of  Methodists,  it  is  no  disrespect  to  the  emi- 
nent and  revered  persons  who  sit  around  me,  to  say,  that  no  one  has 
risen  in  the  Methodist  Society  equal  to  their  founder,  John  Wesley. 
It  is  this  which  makes  his  character  and  which  makes  his  fortunes  so 
profoundly  interesting  to  the  whole  Christian  world. 

"  Again,  there  is  this  very  interesting  peculiarity  of  John  Wesley — 
interesting  not  only  to  Wesleyans,  but  to  the  members  of  every  com- 
munion throughout  the  world — ^he  showed  how  it  was  possible  ta 
make  a  very  wide  divergence  from  the  Communion  to  which  he 
belonged  without  parting  from  it.  '  I  will  vary,'  he  used  to  say,  '  from 
the  Church  of  England,  but  I  will  never  leave  it.'  And  this  assurance 
of  his  determination  to  continue  in  the  Church  of  England,  in  spite  of 
all  difficulties  and  aU  obstacles,  he  persevered  in  to  the  end.  I  will 
not  now — ^it  would  be  most  unfitting  and  unbecoming  in  me — cast  any 
censure  on  the  course  which  this  great  Society,  especially  in  America, 
has  taken  since  his  death.  Circumstances  change.  Opportunities  are 
altered.  Things  which  might  have  been  possible  in  his  life-time  may 
have  become  impossible  since ;  but,  nevertheless,  the  relations  which 
he  himseK  maintained  toward  the  Church  of  England  are  encourage- 
ments to  every  one,  in  whatever  Communion,  to  endeavor  to  make  the 
best  of  that  Communion  so  long  as  they  can  possibly  remain  within  it, 

"And  of  these  relations,  which  he  encouraged  his  followers  to 
maintain,  of  friendliness  and  communion  with  the  Church  of  England, 
1  need  not  repeat  his  oft-reiterated  phrase.  These  expressions,  these 
entreaties  which  he  urged  upon  his  followers  not  to  part  from  the 
mother  Church,  are  not  the  less  interesting  nor  the  less  applicable 
because,  as  I  have  said,  circumstances  both  in  England  and  in  America 
have  in  some  degree  parted  us  asunder.  There  are  those  in  our  own 
country — there  are  possibly  those  in  America — who  think  that  the 
Wesleyans,  the  Methodists,  may  possibly  be  one  of  the  links  of  union 
between  the  mother  Church  of  England  and  those  who  are  more  or 
less  estranged  from  it.  On  this  I  pronounce  no  opinion.  I  know  that 
separations  once  made  are  very  difficult  to  be  reconciled.  Like  the 
two  friends  described  by  the  English  poet : — 

"  '  They  stand  aloof,  the  scars  remaining, 
Like  cliffs  that  have  been  rent  asunder.' 


In  Memoriam.  353 

"  But  still  we  may  always  trust  that  something  of  the  old  feeling 
will  remain.  One  cannot  help  feeling  that  this  very  occasion  shows 
that  there  is  something  in  the  hearts  of  Methodists  which  responds  to 
the  feehng  which  the  mother  Church  still  entertains  toward  them. 

"I  always  feel  that  some  injustice  has-been  done,  in  common  par- 
lance, both  in  our  Church  and  in  the  outlying  Communions ;  that  some 
injustice  has  been  done  to  the  bishops  and  the  authorities  of  our 
Church  at  the  time  of  John  Wesley's  career.  It  was  not,  as  has  been 
often  said,  from  the  action  of  the  English  bishops  that  John  Wesley 
or  his  followers  were  thrown  into  a  state  of  estrangement.  ISTothing 
could  have  been  more  friendly,  more  kindly,  and  more  generous,  on 
the  whole,  than  the  conduct  of  such  prelates  a&  Archbishop  Potter,  as 
Bishop  Lowth,  as  Bishop  Benson  ;  and  nothing  could  have  been  more 
friendly  than  the  conduct  of  our  King,  George  II.,  or  of  the  judges  of 
England,  toward  John  Wesley  and  his  followers. 

"  The  cause  of  their  estrangement,  the  cause  of  the  dijfficulties  they 
encountered,  arose  very  much  more  from  that  stupid,  vulgar,  illiterate 
prejudice  which  exists  among  the  professional  fanaticism  and  exclu- 
siveness — that  barbarous  ignorance — which  is  found  in  the  mobs  of  all 
countries.  The  feehng  which  drove  the  followers  of  John  Wesley 
from  their  place  in  the  Church  of  England  was  the  same  which,  a  few 
years  later,  drove  the  philosopher  Priestley  from  his  habitation  in  Bir- 
mingham to  take  refuge  in  Pennsylvania ;  and,  therefore,  I  repeat,  the 
feehng  between  the  Church  of  England  and  the  Methodists  need  never 
be  broken.  You  may  remain  apart  from  us,  and  .we  may  remain  apart 
from  you ;  but  we  shall  always  feel  that  there  is  an  under-current  of 
sympathy  on  which  we  can  always  rely,  and  possibly,  in  times  far  dis- 
tant, may  perhaps  once  more  bring  us  together." 

Bishop  Simpson,  in  his  admirable  response  to  the  address  of  Dean 
Stanley,  reasserted  the  claim  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  as 
the  true,  historic  form  of  Wesleyanism.  In  the  course  of  his  remarks 
the  Bishop  said : — 

"  And  now  we  congratulate  you  on  your  visit  to  this  land,  and  we 
trust  that  this  visit  will  be  productive  not  only  of  happiness  to  your- 
self, but,  on  your  return,  of  increasing  the  friendship  and  union 
between  the  Churches  of  England  and  America.  As  Methodists,  as 
has  been  already  said,  we  have  taken  special  interest  in  this  welcome 


354 


Illusteated  History  of  Methodism. 


because  of  your  connection  with  the  honor  paid  to  the  memory  of 
John  and  Charles  Wesley.  From  your  hps  we  have  heard  how  their 
monument  was  designed  and  erected,  and  we  have  hstened  to  your  es- 
timate of  the  character  of  our  illustrious  founder.  The  great  outlines 
of  this  movement,  which  we  in  part  represent  here  this  evening,  were 
marked  out  by  liim.  Near  the  close  of  his  long  hfe  he  advised  the 
formation  of  a  Church  according  to  the  order  which  we  now  have ; 
and  there  is  no  other  organization  or  communion  on  earth  which 


LIVINGSTONE. 


go  clearly  and  distinctly  represents  the  mind  of  John  "Wesley  as  the 
organization  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  He  planned  its 
order,  and  we  simply  followed  his  advice." 

liivin^stone  and  Wesley. — "  I  was  wandering  through  "West- 
minster Abbey  one  day,"  continued  the  Bishop,  "  and  I  came  to  the 
slab  that  bears  the  name  of  Livingstone,  with  this  inscription,  '  And 


John  Wesley  as  a  Preacher.  355 

other  sliecp  I  have  which  are  not  of  this  fold :  them  also  I  must  bring.' 
I  admired  the  beauty  of  the  selection,  and  I  said,  '  That  may  refer  not 
only  to  the  wandering  sheep  in  Africa,  but  it  may  also  refer  to  the  fact 
that  Livingstone  did  not  belong  to  the  national  Church,  and  yet  he 
was  an  honored  Christian  as  well  as  an  honored  explorer.'  Then  I  said 
to  myself,  '  Is  it  not  a  law  of  the  human  frame,  that  the  more  freely 
the  blood  passes  out  to  the  extremity  the  firmer,  the  stronger,  and  the 
more  warmly  does  the  heart  beat  ? '  And  then  I  asked  myseK,  '  Was 
it  not  through  Africa  that  Livingstone  reached  Westminster  Abbey  ? 
was  it  not  because  the  blood  of  the  Christian  heart  had  flown  to  the 
extremity,  and  come  back  to  make  England's  heart  to  grow  warmer  ? ' 
Then  I  said  again,  'Was  it  not  because*  John  Wesley  said,  "  The  world 
is  my  parish  ? "  that  made  it  possible  for  you  to  open  the  doors  of 
that  grand  old  abbey  and  admit  John  Wesley's  monument  there  ! '  His 
dust  rests  with  you  in  England,  his  spirit  walks  our  land ! " 

Well  did  Dean  Stanley  say,  "  'No  one  has  risen  in  the  Methodist 
Society  equal  to  their  founder,  John  Wesley."  With  equal  truth  he 
might  have  said,  No  one  has  risen  in  the  Church  of  England,  either 
before  or  since  his  day,  equal  to  John  Wesley,  the  restorer  of  apostohc 
order,  the  defender  of  apostolic  doctrine,  and  the  pattern  of  ajDostolic 
life. 

John  Wesley  as  a  Preacher. — On  a  certain  occasion  when 
Wesley  was  to  preach  to  a  wealthy  and  elegant  congregation,  he  chose 
for  his  text,  "  Ye  serpents,  ye  generation  of  vipers,  how  can  ye  escape 
the  damnation  of  hell  ? " 

After  the  sermon  one  of  his  offended  hearers  said  to  him  : — 

"  Sir,  such  a  sermon  would  have  been  suitable  in  Bilhngsgate,  but 
it  was  highly  improper  here." 

"If  I  had  been  in  Billingsgate,"  answered  Wesley,  "my  text 
would  have  been,  '  Behold  the  Lamb  of  God,  which  taketh  away  the 
€in  of  the  world.'  " 

Perhaps  there  is  no  single  incident  in  the  life  of  this  preacher  of 
righteousness  which  more  fully  opens  up  the  secret  of  his  wonderful 
poMcr.  In  the  first  place,  his  eye  was  keen  enough  to  pierce  through 
all  the  outward  show  of  wealth,  fashion,  rank,  and  pride,  and  take  a 
searching  look  into  the  souls  of  his  congregation,  who  were  none  the 
less  a  company  of  miserable  sinners  than  an  equal  number  of  ignorant. 


856  Illusteated  History  of  Methodism. 

vicious  fisliwomen,  costermongers  and  old-clotlies  venders  down  in 
the  courts  of  Drury  Lane.  He  was  absolutely  insensible  to  those 
restraints  and  embarrassments  which  are  wont  to  oppress  the  heart 
and  control  the  manners  of  those  ministers  of  the  Gospel  who  never 
can  forget  themselves,  whatever  they  are  saying  or  doing :  he  was  an 
embassador  of  Christ,  and  cared  only  to  please  his  Master  by  faithfully 
delivering  his  message. 

He  was  no  respecter  of  persons.  When  it  came  to  the  question, 
"  Wliat  must  1  do  to  be  saved  ? "  he  told  his  hearers  the  truth,  and  left 
the  result  with  God.  Wliat  the  congi-egation  might  think  of  the 
preacher  was  something  which  did  not  trouble  him.  He  was  setting 
forth  eternal  truths  with  a  view  to  produce  eternal  results ;  and  he- 
surmounted  or  brushed  away  the  obstacles  and  trifles  which  came  in 
his  way  with  a  sublime  indifference  which  made  him  the  master  of  all 
situations.  As  a  preacher  this  one  single  sentence  will  describe  him^ 
namely — He  was  God's  minister,  and  as  such  God  honored  him. 

"  The  reason  why  God  does  not  give  you  power,"  said  Mr.  Moody, 
at  one  of  his  great  conventions  of  Christian  workers,  "  is,  that  he  can- 
not trust  you  with  it." 

Wesley  was  a  man  who  could  be  trusted  with  power.  He  who 
with  an  income  of  a  thousand  pounds  a  year  could  limit  himself  to 
thirty  pounds  and  give  the  rest  to  the  poor,  and  to  help  on  the  work 
of  God,  could  safely  be  trasted  vrith  money ;  he  who  with  the  most 
varied  scholarship  of  any  clergyman  of  his  time  could  habitually  choose 
the  simplest  and  plainest  forms  of  speech,  and  never,  even  in  the 
presence  of  dukes  or  doctors,  make  use  of  the  Gospel  to  exhibit  his 
learning — such  a  man  could  be  trusted  with  the  gift  of  tongues ;  he 
who  held  his  strength  as  of  no  other  use  than  to  be  spent  in  the  Lord'fr 
service,  could  be  trusted  with  length  of  days ;  and  he  who  asked  no 
earthly  honor  for  himself  was  just  the  man  whom  Jesus  Christ  could 
make  a  bishop  of  his  Church,  and  endow  with  a  double  portion  of 
authority  and  grace. 

From  this  it  must  not  be  inferred  that  Wesley  was  rude  in  speech 
or  indifferent  to  the  graces  of  refined  society.  "  Be  courteous,"  says 
the  Scripture,  and  this  precept  he  obeyed  both  from  the  instincts  of  a 
gentleman  and  the  piety  of  a  Christian.  His  pulpit  manners  were 
graceful  and  easy,  his  voice  clear  and  full  of  calm  authority.    His  style 


Wesley  as  a  Scholak.  357 

■was  often  argumentative,  but  it  was  the  style  of  expostulation  rather 
than  of  debate.  He  did  not  stoop  to  the  tricks  of  declamation  or  the 
arts  of  mere  rhetoric  ;  he  did  nothing  "  for  effect,"  in  the  surface  sense 
of  that  word,  and  for  that  very  reason  he  was  the  most  effective 
preacher  in  Great  Britain.  He  was  scholarly  without  being  pedantic ; 
careful  and  exact  in  his  statements ;  and,  though  wanting  the  fire 
znd  fancy  of  Whitefield,  he  was  vastly  his  superior  as  a  preacher 
when  judged  by  the  depth  and  permanence  of  the  impressions  he 
produced. 

It  has  been  said  that  Wesley  "  had  a  genius  for  godliness."  If  by 
that  general  phrase  is  meant  a  divine  endowment  for  seeing  and  doing 
every  thing  in  the  light  of  its  relations  to  God  and  eternity,  nothing 
can  more  aptly  describe  the  man.  This  is  the  key  to  all  his  wonderful 
successes :  it  was  his  "  godliness  "  that  made  him  at  all  points  the  supe- 
rior of  all  other  men  of  his  time. 

Wesley  as  a  Scholar. — It  was  his-  constant  care  not  only  that 
his  people  should  be  more  pious  but  "  more  knowing."  With  this  end 
in  view,  and  without  a  thought  of  making  money  by  making  books,  he 
wrote  and  published  a  series  of  volumes  and  tracts  covering  the  whole 
field  of  useful  learning. 

The  chief  department  of  knowledge  he  understood  to  be  the  knowl- 
edge of  God,  though  in  this  view  of  the  case  he  was  somewhat  singu- 
lar among  the  clergy  of  his  day.  At  Oxford  he  was  a  master  in 
Greek,  and  so  familiar  was  he  with  the  Greek  Testament  that  when 
his  memory  failed  to  recall  the  exact  fonn  of  a  text  in  English  he 
could  readily  quote  it  in  the  Greek  original. 

In  1741  he  pubhshed  an  abridgment  of  a  work  entitled  "  Reflec- 
tions upon  the  Conduct  of  Human  Life,  with  reference  to  Learning 
Knowledge,"  written  by  Dr.  John  Norris,  who  was  an  old  friend  of  his 
father,  and  whose  opinion  Wesley  thus  indorsed  and  presented  to  his 
people.     The  following  extract  gives  the  flavor  of  the  book : — 

"  I  cannot  with  any  patience  reflect  that,  out  of  so  short  a  time  as 
human  hfe,  consisting,  it  may  be,  of  fifty  or  sixty  years,  nineteen  or 
twenty  shall  be  spent  in  hammering  out  a  little  Latin  and  Greek,  and  in 
learning  a  company  of  poetical  fictions  and  fantastic  stories.  If  one 
^ere  to  judge  of  the  life  of  man  by  the  proportion  of  it  spent  at  school, 
vone  would  think  the  antediluvian  mark  were  not  yet  out.     Besides,  the 


358  Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 

things  taught  in  seminaries  are  often  frivolous.  How  many  excellent 
and  useful  things  might  be  learned  while  boys  are  thumbing  and  mur- 
dering Hesiod  and  Homer  ?  Of  what  signification  is  such  stuff  as  this 
to  the  accomplishment  of  a  reasonable  soul  ?  What  improvement  can 
it  be  to  my  understanding  to  know  the  amours  of  Pyramus  and 
Thisbe,  or  of  Hero  and  Lecmder  ?  Let  any  man  but  consider  human 
nature,  and  tell  me  whether  he  thinks  a  boy  is  fit  to  be  trusted  with 
Ovid  ?  And  yet  to  books  such  as  these  our  youth  is  dedicated,  and  in 
these  some  of  us  employ  our  riper  years;  and  when  we  die  this 
makes  one  part  of  our  funeral  eulogy ;  though,  according  to  the  prin- 
ciples before  laid  down,  we  should  have  been  as  pertinently  and  more 
innocently  employed  all  the  while  if  we  had  been  picking  straws  in 
Bedlam. 

"  The  measure  of  prosecuting  learning  is  its  usefulness  to  good  life ; 
and,  consequently,  all  prosecution  of  it  beyond  or  beside  this  end  is 
impei-tinent  and  immoderate.  For  my  own  part,  I  am  so  thoroughly 
convinced  of  the  certainty  of  the  principles  here  propounded,  that  I 
look  upon  myself  as  under  almost  a  necessity  of  conducting  my  studies 
by  them,  and  intend  to  study  nothing  at  all  but  what  serves  to  the 
advancement  of  piety  and  good  life.  I  have  spent  about  thirteen 
years  in  the  most  celebrated  university  in  the  world,  in  pursuing  both 
such  learning  as  the  academical  standard  requires  and  as  my  private 
genius  inchned  me  to ;  but  I  intend  to  spend  my  uncertain  remainder 
of  time  in  studying  only  what  makes  for  the  moral  improvement  of 
my  mind  and  the  regulation  of  my  hfe." 

The  above  reiterates  Wesley's  oft-repeated  views,  not  against  class- 
ical education,  but  against  that  ridiculous  definition  of  "  The  Classics  " 
whereby  they  are  practically  Hmited,  as  far  as  the  teachings  of  the 
higher  schools  is  concerned,  to  the  works  of  a  class  of  authors  which 
in  point  of  antiquity  are  modern  when  compared  with  the  Hebrew 
classics,  and  in  point  of  moral  and  heroic  quality  are  inexpressibly 
inferior  to  the  Christian  myths  and  fables  which  they  have  displaced. 

The  above  extract  furnishes,  says  Mr.  Tyerman,  "a  key  to  the 
whole  of  Wesley's  literary  pursuits  from  this,  the  commencement  of 
his  Methodist  career,  to  the  end  of  his  protracted  life." 

"  It  has  been  loudly  affirmed,"  says  Wesley,  "  that  most  of  those 
persons  now  in  connection  with  me,  who  believe  it  their  duty  to  call 


Wesley  as  a  Scholar.  359 

Binners  to  repentance,  iiaving  been  taken  immediately  from  low  trades, 
tailors,  shoemakers,  and  the  like,  are  a  set  of  poor  stupid,  illiterate  men, 
that  scarce  know  their  right  hand  from  their  left ;  yet  I  cannot  but 
say  that  I  would  sooner  cut  off  my  right  hand  than  suffer  one  of  them 
to  speak  a  word  in  any  of  our  chapels  if  I  had  not  reasonable  proof 
that  he  had  more  knowledge  in  the  holy  Scriptures,  more  knowledge 
ol  himseK,  more  knowledge  of  God  and  of  the  things  of  God,  than  nine 
in  ten  of  the  clergymen  I  have  conversed  with,  either  at  all  the  uni- 
versities, or  elsewhere." 

More  than  forty  years  afterward,  in  a  letter  to  Bishop  Lowth, 
"Wesley  says : —  , 

"  Some  time  since  I  recommended  to  your  lordship  '  a  plain  man, 
whom  I  had  known  above  twenty  years  as  a  person  of  deep,  genuine 
piety,  and  of  unblamable  conversation.'  But  he  neither  understood 
Greek  nor  Latin ;  and  he  affirmed,  in  so  many  words,  that  he  '  believed 
it  was  his  duty  to  preach,  whether  he  was  ordained  or  no.'  ....  I 
do  not  know  that  Mr.  Hoskins  had  any  favor  to  ask  of  the  Society. 
He  asked  the  favor  of  your  lordship  to  ordain  him,  that  he  might  min- 
ister to  a  Httle  flock  in  America.  But  your  lordship  did  not  see  good 
to  ordain  him  ;  but  your  lordship  did  see  good  to  ordain  and  send  to 
America  other  persons,  who  know  something  of  Greek  and  Latin,  but 
know  no  more  of  saving  souls  than  of  catching  whales. 

"  My  lord,  I  do  by  no  means  despise  learning :  I  know  the  value  of 
it  too  well.  But  what  is  this,  particularly  in  a  Christian  minister, 
compared  to  piety  ?  What  is  it  in  a  man  that  has  no  rehgion  ?  •  As  a 
jewel  in  a  swine's  snout.'  " 

In  Hebrew  and  Latin  Wesley  was  learned,  as  also  in  French, 
Italian,  German,  and  Spanish,  which  last  three  languages  he  studied 
dm-ing  his  mission  to  Georgia.  His  aptitude  in  linguistic  studies  ap- 
pears from  the  fact  that,  having  found  a  haK  dozen  Spanish  Jews 
among  his  Savannah  parishioners  he  mastered  their  language  in  a  few 
weeks  in  order  to  converse  with  them  concerning  the  things  of  the 
kingdom  of  God ;  while  among  his  voluminous  works  were  grammars  of 
the  Enghsh,  Latm,  Greek,  Hebrew,  and  French  languages,  for  the  use 
of  his  Kingswood  School.  A  number  of  translations  from  the  IVench 
are  among  his  pubHshed  works,  and  of  his  translations  of  hymns  from 
the  German,  of  which  there  are  about  forty  in  the  Methodist  coUec- 


360  Illusteated  Histoey  of  Methodism. 

tion,  Bishop  Odenlieimer  in  his  collection  of  "  Songs  of  the  Spirit " 
pronounces  this  most  comphmentary  judgment : — 

"  John  Wesley,  1739-40,  rendered  or  paraphrased  some  forty  Ger 
man  hymns,  and  often  grandly.  His  work,  indeed,  is  a  nniqi^e  phe- 
nomenon which  no  successors  have  equaled  or  are  likely  to  equal." 

The  Kst  of  Wesley's  works  includes,  besides  his  original  writinga^ 
no  less  than  one  hundred  and  eighteen  revisions  and  abridgments 
from  various  authors,  including  theology,  history,  biography,  poetry, 
poKtics,  natural  philosophy,  and  medicine.  He  was  an  omnivorous 
reader,  and  turned  his  reading  to  good  account  by  reproducing  its  best 
results  and  discoveries  in  cheap  abridgments  for  the  use  of  his  people. 
His  Christian  Library,  in  fifty  volumes,  12mo.,  was  a  collection  of  "  the 
choicest  pieces  of  practical  divinity  which  have  been  published  in  the 
English  tongue,"  involving  an  immense  amount  of  research.  He 
also  edited  and  published  voluminous  works  on  History,  ISTatural 
Science,  and  Poetry. 

In  1753  he  pubhshed  his  "  Complete  English  Dictionary,  Explain- 
ing most  of  the  Hard  Words  which  are  Found  in  the  best  English 
Writers :  By  a  Lover  of  Good  Enghsh  and  Common  Sense,"  to  which 
lengthy  title  he  adds  these  words : — 

"  N.  B. — The  author  assures  you  he  thinks  this  is  the  best  Enghsh 
Dictionary  in  the  world." 

His  treatise  on  "  Electricity,"  his  book  of  "  Directions  for  Married 
Persons,"  and  his  work  on  "  Primitive  Physic,"  on  the  one  hand,  and 
his  Devotional  Manuals,  Essays  on  Christian  Perfection,  Ecclesiastical 
History,  and  Original  Sin,  on  the  other,  lead  to  the  double  wonder  how 
such  a  traveler  and  preacher  could  find  time  to  read,  write,  and  pubhsh 
so  great  a  number  and  variety  of  books,  as  well  as  how  such  a  student 
and  editor  could  find  time  to  preach  and  travel  at  all.  This  is, 
however,  accounted  for  by  his  constant  habit  of  reading  on  horseback 
or  in  his  carriage  ;  his  long  journeys  giving  him  time  for  the  Hterary 
work  which  would  have  been  enough  to  make  him  famous  if  he  had 
been  nothing  else  than  a  literary  man. 

l¥esley's  Method  in  Theology. — The  man  who  sets  out 
to  estabhsh  a  system  of  theology  is  exposed  to  the  same  sort  of  temp- 
tations as  were  some  of  the  early  geographers  in  their  first  attempts  to 
construct  a  terrestrial  globe. 


Wesley^s  Method  est  Theology.  361 

There  were  a  good  many  features  of  the  earth's  surface  whose 
shape  and  place  they  knew  quite  well;  these  they  set  down  first. 
Next  they  turned  their  attention  to  a  confused  mass  of  world-making 
materials  of  whose  position,  size,  and  structure  they  were  only  par- 
tially informed,  which  they  proceeded  to  locate  and  describe  approxi- 
mately, while  waiting  for  further  measurements  and  discoveries. 

Having  now  utterly  exhausted  their  small  stock  of  geographical 
Knowledge,  they  must  have  been  amazed,  perhaps  alarmed,  to  see  how 
iarge  a  portion  of  the  surface  of  their  globe  was  still  an  absolute  blank. 
But  it  would  not  look  well  to  leave  it  so ;  such  a  confession  of  igno- 
rance would  discredit  their  entire  production ;  therefore  they  fell  to 
work  creating  a  globe,  that  is,  making  one  out  of  nothing.  From 
their  plentiful  lack  of  knowledge  they  threw  up  a  mountain  here, 
scooped  out  a  lake  there,  traced  a  river  yonder ;  they  sprinkled  vast 
territories  with  sand  and  called  them  deserts,  they  dotted  the  seas 
with  islands,  drew  with  unsteady  hand  the  shore  line  of  a  possible 
ocean  on  the  north,  and  a  possible  continent  on  the  south ;  and,  having 
filled  up  the  space  as  far  as  possible  with  names  of  objects  known  and 
unknown,  they  produced  a  very  pretty  world  indeed ;  having,  however, 
this  one  defect,  namely,  it  was  not  very  much  Kke  God's  world. 

Much  in  this  way  wrought  Augustine,  Calvin,  and  the  rest  of  the 
great  doctors  of  inferential  theology ;  which  serves  to  account  for  the 
wide  difference,  at  many  points,  between  their  teachings  and  those  of 
the  word  of  Gpd.  But  so  did  not  John  Wesley.  He  felt  no  respon- 
sibility for  the  plan  of  salvation  other  than  to  preach  it  with  all  his 
might.  The  divine  ''  decrees  "  were  none  of  his  business ;  the  "  secret 
will  of  God  '•'  did  not  challenge  his  curiosity ;  it  was  no  part  of  his 
mission  to  construct  a  full-orbed  system  of  religious  logic,  but  only  to 
explore  and  illustrate  God's  world  of  revelation :  therefore  he  taught 
what  was  plain,  searched  out  what  was  only  hidden  to  be  searched  for, 
and  when  he  came  to  the  end  of  the  Scripture  teaching,  instead  of 
traveling  blindly  on  by  means  of  inferences  and  analogies,  he  stopped 
at  the  shore  of  the  infinite,  and  wrote  upon  its  sands  that  honest 
word — Unknown. 

Wesley's  method  in  theology  was  the  bibhcal  method,  as  op- 
posed to  the  systematic  method.      In  his  day  the  holy  Scriptures 

were  "  a  dark  continent,"  even  to  most  of  the  clergy,  which  Wesley 
23 


362  Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 

felt  it  his  first  great  duty  to  explore.     In  the  preface  to  a  volume  of 
his  sermons,  he  says : — 

"  I  want  to  know  one  thing,  the  way  to  heaven.  God  himself  ha& 
condescended  to  teach  the  way;  for  this  very  end  he  came  from 
heaven. 

"  He  hath  written  it  down  in  a  book ! 

"  O  give  me  that  book ! 

"  At  any  price,  give  me  the  book  of  God ! 

"  I  have  it :  here  is  knowledge  enough  for  me.  Let  me  be  a  man 
of  one  book." 

Here  was  a  man — may  his  tribe  increase ! — who  had  the  courage  of 
faith.  He  professed  to  believe  that  what  the  Bible  says  God  says  \ 
therefore,  he  accepted  it  as  it  stands,  as  well  as  all  the  consequences  it 
carries,  without  trying  to  warp  it  into  conformity  with  any  human 
opinion.  Well  was  it  said  of  John  Wesley,  "  He  had  a  genius  for 
godliness."  With  equal  truth  it  may  be  said,  he  had  a  genius  for 
faith. 

However  well  developed  that  side  of  a  man  may  be  whose  outlook 
is  toward  the  natural  world,  he  cannot  be  a  great  religious  leader 
unless  the  God-ward  side  of  him  be  full-grown.  Ko  amount  of  knowl- 
edge will  supply  a  deficiency  in  faith.  Our  Lord  said  not.  If  ye  have 
great  knowledge,  or  judgment,  or  skill,  ye  shall  remove  mountains ; 
but,  "  If  ye  have  faith  as  a  grain  of  mustard-seed,  .  .  .  nothing  shall 
be  impossible  unto  you."  Because  of  the  almost  matchless  abilities  of 
John  Wesley  as  a  scholar,  administrator,  etc.,  some  of  his  biographers 
have  been  misled  into  a  search  among  these  human  powers  for  the 
solution  of  his  life-problem ;  but  the  true  answer  to  the  question.  How 
came  Wesley  to  be  the  man  he  was  ?  is  found  in  the  immediate  rela 
tions  he  held  with  the  Infinite.  Without  his  mighty  faith,  which 
certain  impotent  yet  boastful  men  have  called  superstition  and  cre- 
dulity, he  would  have  been  no  more  of  a  man  than  they. 

By  means  of  his  absolute  faith  in  God  he  allied  himseK  to  God,, 
and  thus  became  a  co-worker  with  God.  He  saw  that  the  results 
which  the  Gospel  was  intended  to  reach  were  supernatural;  hence, 
with  a  logic  as  simple  as  it  was  sublime,  he  reached  the  conclusion 
that  supernatural  power  must  accompany  the  preaching  of  the  Gospel. 
On  looking  into  the  word  of  God  he  saw  this  power  at  work  in  the 


"Wesley's  Method  lif  Theology.  363 

ministry  of  the  apostles.  The  Scriptm-e  called  this  power  the  Holy 
Ghost,  and  promised  his  influence  to  accompany  the  Gospel.  He  was 
a  preacher  of  the  Gospel;  why,  then,  should  not  this  divine  power 
«=company  his  word?  For  this  his  whole  soul  went  out  in  prayer 
At  length  his  faith  caught  hold  of  the  promise;  he  felt  himself  in 
alliance  with  Heaven;  power  began  to  accompany  his  preaching,  and 
the  moiintams  began  to  move.    Amen !    So  let  it  be  with  us  all 

Wesley  had  two  chief  enemies  to  contend  with-CaWuism  and 
State-Chnrchism.  The  one  he  battled  with  the  sword  of  the  Spirit  • 
out  the  other,  by  reason  of  his  strong  prejudices  and  his  wrong  educa' 
tion,  for  a  long  time  baffled  and  checked  him.  At  length  he  came  to 
understand  that  people  arc  not  for  governments,  but  that  governments 
are  for  the  people-a  principle  which  holds  good  in  God's  govern- 
ment  as  well  as  in  any  other-and  from  that  time  he  was  master  of 
tne  situation. 

The  State-Church,  hke  all  other  hereditary  governments,  labored 
under  the  delusion  that  the  people  were  its  property,  to  be  taxed  and 
tthed  for  Its  maintenance  and  to  be  governed  by  its  will  and  pleasure  ■ 
Wesley  on  the  other  hand,  claimed  that  the  Church  is  a  constitutional 
monarchy,  estabUshed  for  the  benefit  of  the  people,  having  the  holy 
Scriptures  for  its  Magna  Charta  and  Jesus  Christ  for  its  King  •  what 
ever  therefore,  in  the  Church  of  England  was  opposed  to  this  funda- 
mental Idea  he  came  at  length  to  regard  as  having  no  binding  force 
and  m  the  last  of  his  career  he  did  not  hesitatate  to  appeal  from  Can- 
terbury to  Jenisalcm,  from  the  Prayer  Book  to  the  Bible,  and  from 
the  Bishop  to  Christ. 


The  British  Wesleyan  Confeeence.  365 

PRESIDENTS  OF  THE  BRITISH  WESLEYAN  CONFERENCE. 

THE  presidents  OF  THE  CONFERENCE  FROM  1791. 


1791 
1792 
1793 
1794 
1795 
1796 
1797 
1798 
1799 
1800 
1801 
1802 
1803 
1804 
1805 

1806 

1807 
1808 
1809 
1810 
1811 
1812 
1313 

1814 

1815 
1816 
1817 
1818 
1819 

1820 

1821 
1822 
1823 

1824 

1825 
1826 
1827 

1828 

1829 
L830 
1831 

1832 


Where  Held. 


Manchester . . . 

London 

Leeds 

Bristol 

Alanchester. . . 

London 

Leeds 

Bristol 

Mancliester. . . 

London 

Leeds 

Bristol 

Manchester ... 

London , 

Sheffield 


Leeds 

Liverpool . . . 

Bristol 

Manchester. 

London 

Sheffield. . . . 

Leeds 

Liverpool . . . 

Bristol 


Manchester. 
London  . . . . 
Sheffield. . . . 

Leeds 

Bristol 


Liverpool . . . 

Manchester . 

London 

Sheffield.... 


Leeds . 


Bristol 

Liverpool . . . 
Manchester. 

London 


Sheffield. . 
Leeds . . . , 
Bristol  . . , 


President. 


From  what  Circuit 


Thompson,  W 

Mather,  Alexander. . , 

Paw^son,  J 

Hanby,  Thomas 

Bradford,  J 

Taylor,  T 

Coke,  T.,  LL.D 

Benson,  Joseph 

Bradburn,  S 

Wood,  James 

Pawson,  John 

Taylor,  Joseph,  (1st). 
Bradford,  Joseph. . . . 
Moore,  H 


Coke,  Thomas,  LL.D. 

Clarke,  A.,  M.A 

Barber,  J 

Wood,  James 

Taylor,  Thomas 

Benson.  Joseph 

Atmore,  Charles 

Entwisle,  Joseph. . . . 
Griffith,  Wal 


Clarke,  Adam,  LL.D.. . 

Barber,  John 

Reece,  R 

Gaulter,  John 

Edmondson,  Jon.,  A.M 
Crowther,  Jon 


Bnnting,  Jabez,  A.M. . . 

Marsden,  George 

Clarke,  A.,  LL.D.,  F.S.A 
Moore,  Henry 

Newton,  Robert 


Entwisle,  Joseph. 
Watson,  Richard.. 
Stephens,  J 


Bunting,  Jabez. 


Townley,  J.,  D.D. 

Morley,  G 

Marsden,  George.. 


Liverpool . .    Newton,  R. 


Wakefield , 

Hull 

Liverpool . 
Leeds . . . . , 
Bristol ... 
Oldham 


Hull 

Manchester .  . .  . 

London 

Birstal 

Burslem 

Plymouth-Dock. 
Birmingham. . . . 


London. . . 

Sheffield.. 
Bristol. . . . 
Wakefield. 
London. . . 

Hull 

Bristol . . . 
Rochester. 


London,  East. 

Bristol 

Manchester . . 
Rochester. . . . 
Birmingham.. 
Burslem 


London,  East., 

Leeds 

Salford 

London,  N.  E. 

Salford 


Birmingham.. . , 
London,  North, 
London,  North, 

2d  Manchester. , 


London. . . . 
Deptford  . . 
2d  London. 


3d  Manchester. 


1801 

1803 
1809 
1805 
1810 

1808 
1793 

1795 
1823 
1797 
j  1814  ) 
I  1822  [ 
1815 
1800 
1796 
1798 

1825 

1806  ) 
1822  ) 
1807 
1835 


1828 
1836 
1844 
1831 
j  1806  ) 
]  1814  I 
1804 
1832 
1840 
1848 
1812 


1820 
1836 
1844 


1821 
1824 
1840 
1848 


w;^ 


1757 
1757 
1702 
1754 
1770 
1761 
1776 
1771 
1774 
1773 

1777 

1779 


Died- 


1799 
1800 
1806 
1797 
1808 
18T6 
1814 
1821 
1816 
1840 

1830 

1844 


1782   1832 
1781   1816 


1781 
1787 
1784 


1787 
1785 
1786 
1784 

1799 

1793 


1799 


1796 
1792 


1826 
1841 
1825 


1850 
1839 
1842 
1824 

1858 

1858 


1854 


1833 

1841 


1796   183.^ 
1792   1843 


366 


Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 


THE  PRESIDENTS  OF  THE  CONFERENCE  FROM  1191— Cmtinued. 


■s"s 


Where  Held. 


From  what  Circuit. 


Died. 


1833 
1834 
1835 

1836 

1337 
1838 
1839 

1840 

1841 
1842 
1843 

1844 

1845 
1846 
1847 

1848 

1849 
1850 
1851 
1852 
1853 
1854 
1855 
1856 
1857 
1858 
1859 
1860 
1861 
1862 
1863 
1864 
1865 
1866 
1867 
1868 
1869 
1870 
1871 
1872 
1873 
1874 
1875 
1876 
1877 
1878 
1879 
1880 
1881 
1882 


Manchester .... 

London  

Sheffield 

Birmingham. . . . 

Leeds 

Bristol 

Liverpool 

Newcastle-Tyne 

Manchester .... 

London 

Sheffield 

Birmingham. . . 

Leeds 

Bristol 

Liverpool 

Hull 

Manchester .... 

London 

Newcastle-Tyne 

Sheffield 

Bradford 

Birmingham.. . . 

Leeds 

Bristol 

Liverpool 

Hull 

Mancliester .... 

London 

Newcastle-Tyne 

Camborne 

Sheffield 

Bradfori 

Birmingliam  . . . 

Leeds 

Bristol 

Liverpool 

Hull 

Burslem 

Manchester .... 

London 

Newcastle-Tyne 

Camborne 

Sheffield 

Nottingliam. .  . . 

Bristol 

Bradford 

Birmingham  . .  . 

London  

Liverpool 

Leeds 


TrefEry,  Richard 

Taylor,  J.,  (2d) 

Reece,  Richard 

Bunting,  Jabez,  D.D. . . . 

Grindrod,  E 

Jackson,  T 

Lessey,  T 

Newton,  Robert 

Dixon,  James,  D.D 

Hannah,  J.,  D.D 

Scott,  J 

Bunting,  Jabez,  D.D. . .  . 

Stanley,  Jacob 

Atherton,  W 

Jackson,  S 

Newton,  R.,  D.D 

Jackson,  Thomas 

Beecliam,  J.,  D.D 

Hannah,  John,  D.D. . . . 

Scott,  John 

Lomas,  John 

Farrar,  John 

Keeling,  Isaac 

Young,  Robert 

West,  F.  A 

Bowers,  John 

Waddy,  Samuel  D.,  D.D. 
Stamp,  Wm.  Wood,  D.D. 

Rattenbury,  John 

Prest,  Charles 

Osborn,  G.,  D.D 

Thornton,  Wm.  L,  M.A. 

Shaw,  William 

Arthur,  William,  M.A.. 

Bedford,  John 

Hall,  Samuel  R 

Jobson,  Fred'k  J.,  D.D. 

Farrar,  John 

James,  John  H.,  D.D. . . 
Wiseman,   L.  H.,  M.A. . 

Perks,  G.  T,  M.A 

Punshon,  W.  M.,  L.L.D. 

Smith,  G.,  D.D 

M'.'Vulay,  Alexander.  . . 
Pope,  William  B.,  D.D.. 
Rigg,  James  H.,  D.D. . . 
Gregory,  Benjamin.  .  .  . 
Jenkins,  K.  E..  M.A. . .  . 
Osborn,  George,  D.D . .  . 
Garrett,  Charles 


Bristol,  South. . 

1st  London 

3d  London 

London 

1st  London  . . . . 

London 

6th  London .... 

2d  Leeds 

3d  Manchester. . 

Didsbury 

1st  London 

London 

4th  London. . . . 
6th  London. . . . 
8th  London. . . 

Stockport,  N . . . 

Richmond 

London 

Didsbury 

London 

5th  Manchester. 

Richmond 

8th  London. . . . 

1st  Loudon 

9th  London. . . . 

Didsbury 

Sheffield 

London 

London 

London 

London 

London 

London 

Loudon 

Manchester .... 
Manchester .... 

London 

Leeds 

London 

Mission  House.. 
Mission  House.. 

London 

London 

London 

Didsbury 

London  

P^ditor,  London. 
Mission'y  Sec'y. 
Theolog.Instit'n 
Liverpool  Miss. 


816 

820 
828 
844 

849 

824 
832 


851 

852 
820 
828 
836 


824 
832 
840 
838 

842 
843 

870 


854 


863 


1792 
1803 


1806 
1804 
1808 


1812 
1814 
1811 


1797 
1797 
1806 


1815 


1820 
1822 
1811 
1820 
1822 
1813 
1825 
1823 
1828 
1829 
1829 
1830 
1820 
1838 
1831 
1836 
1834 

1836 
1840 
1840 
1845 

1844 
1840 
1841 
1845 
1840 
]  845 
1828 
1849 


1842 
1845 


1842 

1873 
1841 


1871 
1867 
1868 


1850 
1850 
1861 


1856 


1877 

1869 
1865 
1869 
1866 
1876 
1877 

1875 

1865 
1872 


1876 


1875 
1877 


1882 


PAET  II. 

AMERICAI  METHODISM. 


From  •'  TUu  Lost  Portrait,''  recovered  by  Dr.  Eobertb,  of  B:iltini 


STRAWBEIDGE'S  LOG  CHAPEL  ON  SAM'S  CREEK,  MARYLAND. 


CHAPTEE  XV. 

METHODISM   TRANSPLANTED  TO  AMERICA. 

METHODISM  is  divine.  It  sweejjs  in  the  gale,  glows  with  the 
fire,  and  speaks  with  the  tongues  of  Pentecost. 

The  early  Methodists  were  ajDOstolic  :  nothing  short  of  the  ends  of 
the  earth  could  stop  them.  They  extended  their  lines  to  India  and 
Africa  on  the  east,  and  to  the  wilds  of  America  on  the  west ;  not,  like 
so  many  others,  to  gain  and  govern  in  the  name  of  the  Lord,  but 
always  to  give  and  to  save. 

Puritanism,  disappointed  in  old  England,  came  to  New  England 
to  found  an  empire  for  itself :  Anglicanism,  by  virtue — say  rather, 
vice — of  its  j)olitical  status'  at  home,  claimed  supremacy  in  most  of  the 
Southern  Colonies ;  Methodism,  transplanted  hither  in  the  hearts  of  a 
few  humble  emigrants  who  never  dreamed  of  empire,  soon  outgrew 


:370  Illustrated  Histoey  oe  Methodism. 

tliem  both,  and  in  a  little  while  became  the  great  religions  power  oi 
the  land ;  yet  not  as  having  dominion  over  its  faith,  but  as  a  helper 
of  its  joy.  Methodism  never  martyred  a  man  for  his  opinions.  It 
has  carried  no  weapons  other  than  Bibles,  Hymn  Books,  and  Disci- 
plines ;  its  only  inquisitions  have  been  love-feasts  and  classes ;  its  only 
camps  have  been  camp-meetings :  nevertheless,  so  grand  has  been  its 
march  and  so  swift  its  career  of  victory,  that  certain  sagacious  souls 
have  thought  they  saw  in  its  doctrines  the  scheme  of  the  ultimate  the- 
ology, and  in  its  order  the  outlines  of  the  ultimate  Church. 

The  "Heroic  Age"  of  Hethodisni. — So  wonderful  is 
the  history  of  this  form  of  religious  life,  that  he  who  sets  out  to  record 
it  finds  himself  both  elated  and  confused  by  the  mighty  rush  of  events. 
Planting  himself  on  some  eminence  to  which  his  love  and  loyalty  have 
lifted  him,  the  historian  levels  his  glass  and  sweeps  the  horizon  to 
search  for  first  things.     And  these  are  some  of  them : — 

On  a  httle  stumpy  clearing  in  the  woods  of  Maryland  an  irrepressi- 
ble Irishman  has  built  a  log-cabin,  in  which  he  is  preaching  Free  Grace 
as  he  experienced  it  in  a  Methodist  Society  across  the  sea : — down  in  a 
low  street  in  the  city  of  New  York  a  young  Irish-German  Wesleyan 
immigrant  has  been  pushed  into  a  lay  pastorate  by  a  strong-souled 
Methodist  woman : — in  a  fort  away  up  the  Hudson  River,  at  a  place 
called  Albany,  a  British  redcoat  has  taken  up  the  sword  of  the  Spirit, 
and  is  proving  himseK  a  good  Methodist  soldier  of  Jesus  Christ,  and 
a  rare,  rousing  preacher  withal : — and  the  distance  from  him  to  them  is 
80  short,  and  such  large  things  have  come  of  their  small  doings,  that 
before  he  is  aware  of  it  these  pioneers  assume  heroic  size.  He  begins 
to  see  in  these  men  who  orgam'zed  some  little  Methodist  Societies  like 
those  they  left  in  England  and  ■  Ireland,  and  in  that  woman  who 
planned  a  Methodist  meeting-house  and  brought  out  a  hidden  Meth- 
odist preach«^r,  the  founders  of  a  great  spiritual  empire — superior 
beings,  before  whose  faith  stood  out  in  bold  reHef  in  1766  all  that 
belongs  to  American  Methodism  in  1880. 

But  hero-worship,  however  poetic,  is  neither  history  nor  rehgion. 
Another  look  at  those  shadowy  forms  shows  the  observer  his  error. 
The  fires  they  set  have,  indeed,  spread  over  liaK  the  continent,  and  may 
yet  overrun  the  world ;  but  the  people  who  kindled  them  were  nowise 
•dillerent  from  other  good  Methodists.     The  prophecy  and  the  power 


The  "Hekoic  Age"  of  Methodism.  371 

were  in  the  fire,  and  not  in  the  natures  of  those  who  kindled  it.  Even 
the  live  coals  wherewith  the  flames  were  lighted  came  from  British 
altars  whereon  God  had  wrought  again,  in  spiritual  power  and  glory, 
the  burning  miracle  of  Carmel. 

At  length  the  observer  comes  to  see  that  if  he  would  deal  in  his- 
tory instead  of  poetry  he  must  shut  up  his  glass,  come  down  from  his 
eminence,  go  back  in  thought  to  those  early  years,  take  his  place  as 
near  as  may  be  by  the  side  of  those  early  Methodists,  enter  into  their 
Hves,  go  to  class-meeting  with  them — it  will  not  be  necessary  to  back- 
slide with  some  of  them — join  in  their  struggles  to  build  a  house  of 
worship,  sing  and  pray  and  shout  with  them  in  the  swift-coming  reviv- 
als, go  down  to  the  sea  with  them  to  meet  the  elders  and  the  Bish- 
op who  come  with  the  benedictions  of  God  and  of  his  servant  John 
"Wesley  upon  their  heads,  invade  the  wilderness  with  "the  saddle- 
bags men,"  listen  at  rude  camp-meeting  altars  where  tongues  of  fire 
are  speaking,  mourn  with  the  faithful  over  the  strife  of  wrong-headed 
brethren,  learn  how  to  mollify  magistrates,  face  down  mobs,  outwit 
the  skulking  Indian,  out-argue  the  well-intrenched  Calvinist,  put  out 
some  of  the  false  lights  of  Unitarianism  and  Universalism  by  preacli- 
ing  a  Gospel  larger  and  a  better  salvation  than  they  ever  offered,  tram- 
ple on  State-churchism  till  it  has  been  ground  into  the  dust,  and  thus, 
step  by  step,  march  down  the  century  hand  in  hand  with  the  grand- 
fathers and  grandmothers,  watching  the  up-springing  steeples  and  lis- 
tening to  the  call  of  college  bells,  till  he  reaches  the  time  when  their 
grandsons  and  granddaughters  are  numbered  by  millions  at  home,  and 
have  actually  put  a  missionary  girdle  around  the  earth.  If  the  his- 
torian can  make  this  journey  and  not  get  lost,  he  may  be  able  to  con- 
struct an  outline  of  the  history  of  Methodism  out  of  the  notes  he  has 
taken  by  the  way. 

When  he  enters  the  cabins,  the  class-meetings,  and  the  congrega- 
tions of  these  pioneers,  he  finds  that  they  are  made  of  the  same  mate- 
rials, and  in  about  the  same  proportions,  with  the  same  strong  points 
and  the  same  weak  ones  which  he  observes  in  his  brethren  and  in 
himself.  Is  it  disloyalty  in  him  that  he  ventures  for  a  moment  to 
prefer  the  preaching  of  Simpson  to  that  of  Asbury,  and  thinks  he 
«ees  a  large  improvement  in  the  Church  during  its  first  hundred  years, 
.not  only  in  its  methods  but  in  the  average  of  its  men? 


372  Illusteated  History  of  Methodism. 

Here  comes  Jesse  Lee ;  a  man  so  large  that  it  actually  takes  two 
horses  to  transport  him ;  starting  off  to  explore  the  wilderness  of 
Maine ;  and  as  the  historian  keeps  his  jocund  company,  and  hears  him 
preach  some  three  or  four  great  sermons  over  and  over  till  he  has 
come  to  know  and  love  them  wondrous  well,  is  it  heresy  to  hint  that 
it  were  easier  to  do  the  work  this  man  is  doing  than  to  build  the  Peo- 
ple's Church,  or  face  the  self-same  Boston  congregation  with  two  fresh 
sermons  a  Sunday  for  three  successive  years  ?  Can  it  be  possible,  after 
all  he  has  dreamed  and  heard  and  read  of  the  "  old-fashioned  Meth- 
odists," that  the  former  days  were  no  better  than  these  ? 

While  he  hesitates,  a  few  significant  facts  straggle  into  his  recol- 
lection. Methodism  is,  as  it  always  was,  a  training  school.  Asbury 
came  to  be  great  by  trying  to  grow  as  fast  as  his  diocese ;  and  must  it 
not  still  further  broaden  a  Bishop  to  span  the  earth  in  his  thought 
and  his  journey,  and  deepen  him  to  stand  where  he  continually  feels 
the  thrill  of  the  life  of  a  great,  strong,  happy,  aggressive  Church, 
whose  place  is  in  the  vanguard  of  Christendom,  and  whose  song? 
akeady  echo  round  the  world  ? 

There  were  giants,  too,  among  the  old  Presiding  Elders,  with  dis- 
tricts large  enough  to  form  whole  States ;  but  the  circuits  also  wer& 
large  in  proportion,  and  the  membership  widely  scattered.  The  chief 
struggle  of  that  day  was  with  distance.  Does  not  the  Discipline  hint 
at  this  when  it  divides  the  regular  ministry  into  "  traveling  deacons  "" 
and  "  traveling  elders?"  as,  also,  when  it  says,  "  The  duties  of  a  Presid- 
ing Elder  are,  To  travel  through  his  district  ? " 

But  a  traveling  elder  might  get  on  more  easily  atop  of  a  good 
horse,  such  as  the  fathers  used  to  ride,  with  Methodist  houses  miles 
apart,  than  on  the  pavements  of  a  great  city  with  a  crammed,  crowded,, 
jostling  district  on  his  hands,  across  which  he  can  travel  luxm*iously 
in  half  a  day. 

Again,  the  broader  culture  of  the  men,  the  larger  opportunities  oi 
the  women,  and  the  earlier  conversion  of  the  children,  stand  forth  as 
prominent  and  encouraging  facts  in  the  recent  life  of  the  Church  ;  and 
thus,  in  spite  of  poetry  and  tradition,  the  historian  comes  at  length  to 
doubt  if  the  golden  age  of  Methodism  be  not  out  of  sight  before  him, 
instead  of  on  the  dim  horizon  behind. 

Does  he  thus  lose  sight  of  the  "  heroic  period  ? " 


Methodism  a  Theological  Kefokm.  378 

By  no  means :  the  Heroic  period  has  lasted  until  now.  When  it 
shall  have  ended  Methodism  itself  will  have  come  to  an  end. 

The  true  philosophy  of  Methodist  history,  therefore,  does  not  seek 
to  account  for  its  success  by  assigning  great  abilities  to  those  who 
wrought  in  its  first  fields.  Its  force  is  not  in  its  personahty,  but  in  its 
divine  inspiration. 

Methodism  a  Theological  Reform. — The  theology  of 
most  of  the  Colonial  Churches  was  overloaded  with  logic.  Some  of 
its  peculiar  and  prominent  features  (which,  since  they  have  become  so 
odious  it  were  almost  a  discourtesy  to  exhibit,  if  this  history  could 
be  at  all  complete  without  them)  were  mere  inferences  deduced  from 
selected  texts  in  the  argumentative  portions  of  the  Pauline  epistles : 
a  heavy  burden  for  believers  to  carry,  and  one  which,  like  other 
borrowed  trouble,  they  were  forced  to  bear  alone.  There  were  vital 
truths  in  this  theology  common  to  all  evangelical  creeds,  which  used 
to  reach  men's  consciences,  generally  rather  late  in  life  ;  but  the  great 
theological  doctors  of  the  country,  with  occasional  grand  exceptions 
like  Edwards  and  Jarratt,  were  so  occupied  in  drawing  inferences  in 
support  of  their  doctrinal  system  that  the  preaching  of  the  Gospel, 
pure  and  simple,  was  very  much  neglected ;  and  it  was  in  spite  of 
these  doctrinal  peculiarities,  which  were  temporarily  laid  aside  in 
times  of  revival,  that  the  work  of  grace  went  on  at  all. 

And  what  shall  be  said  of  the  God  who  was  feared — not  loved — 
under  the  teachings  of  this  theological  system  ? 

He  was,  indeed,  a  trinity  in  unity  ;  but  he  was  a  being  who  was,  first 
of  all,  a  governor :  hence,  whatever  deity  this  may  have  been,  it  could 
not  have  been  "  The  Father."  A  Son  of  God  was  preached  who  did 
not  die  for  "  every  man :"  or,  if  he  did,  the  benefits  of  his  sacrifice 
were  carefully  fended  off  from  all  but  a  favored  few :  hence,  whatever 
Saviour  this  may  have  been,  it  was  not  "  Our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus 
Christ."  A  Holy  Spirit  was  described  who  either  could  not  or  would 
not  save  a  soul  except  by  slow  degrees,  and  then  would  not  suffer  him 
to  know  whether  he  were  saved  or  not :  thus,  whatever  Spirit  this  may 
have  been,  it  certainly  was  not  "  The  Comforter." 

With  such  fundamental  errors  in  the  conception  of  the  Divine 
Being  it  was  no  wonder  that,  while  the  population  was  rapidly  increas- 
ing, true  religion  was  rapidly  declining. 


374  Illusteated  History  of  Methodism. 

Against  the  so-called  orthodoxy  of  the  time  three  chief  opponents 
had  risen  up :  UniversaKsm,  Unitarianism,  and  Infidelity ;  eacli,  in  its 
way,  a  protest  against  the  Calvinistic  idea  of  the  Deity,  and  each,  in  its 
way,  a  serious  danger  to  the  rising  young  nation.  It  was  in  such  a 
time  of  need  that  the  Lord,  whose  tender  mercies  are  over  all  his 
works,  sent  Methodism  across  the  sea  to  declare  him  to  his  children, 
just  as  he  has  declared  himself  in  his  word. 

When  the  Methodist  preachers  began  to  set  forth  a  Father  who  in 
not  willing  that  any  of  his  children  should  perish ;  a  Saviour  who  tasted 
death  for  every  man ;  and  a  Spirit  whose  special  work  it  is  to  sanctify 
believers,  and  to  witness  with  their  spirits  that  they  are  the  children 
of  God,  the  Lord  owned  their  word  as  he  did  not  own  the  words  of 
much  more  able  and  classical  and  theological  men  in  the  pulpits  oi 
America ;  and  multitudes  of  sinners,  finding  out  who  God  really  was, 
began  to  believe  on  him,  seek  him,  and  love  him. 

The  Methodists  taught  a  plan  of  salvation  large  enough  to  save 
completely  all  who  stood  in  need  of  it ;  plain  enough  for  any  one  to 
find  who  looked  for  it ;  actually  within  the  reach  of  any  one  who 
sought  it ;  and  free  for  any  one  who  would  take  it. 

John  Calvin's  God  was  an  absolute  autocrat ;  an  infinite  Will, 
whose  subjects  had  no  rights  which  he  was  bound  to  respect ;  Meth- 
odism preached  the  Deity  whose  other  name  is  Love,  whose  kingdom 
of  grace  is  a  constitutional  monarchy,  the  basis  of  which  is  pardon 
for  penitents,  purity,  joy,  and  power  for  believers,  and  for  all  sinners, 
however  weak  and  wicked,  the  tenderest  patience  and  absolute  fair 
play.  No  wonder,  then,  that  a  Church  with  such  a  theology  should 
have  distanced  all  others.  Ko  wonder  that  it  should  have  modified  the 
theology  to  which  it  opposed  itself ;  and  that  even  the  overflow  of 
Methodism  should  have  been  among  the  large  benedictions  enjoyed 
by  other  evangelical  communions.  This  was,  doubtless,  God's  set  time, 
and  his  appointed  way,  in  which  to  favor  his  American  Zion. 

1766  and  Before. — The  event  officially  chosen  from  which 
to  reckon  the  age  of  Methodism  in  America  is  the  preaching  of  the 
first  sermon  by  Phihp  Embury  in  his  own  house  in  New  York  in 
1Y66 ;  but  there  are  events  of  no  little  interest  that  appear  to  have 
preceded  this,  which,  if  too  small  to  form  the  first  chapter  of  Ameri- 
can Methodism,  are,  nevertheless,  worthy  to  stand  as  a  preface. 


Robert  Strawbridge. 


375 


N'eitlier  the  mission  of  the  Wesleys  nor  tlie  jDreaching  tours  of 
Whitefield  can  be  regarded  as  the  beginning  of  any  thing  permanent 
in  America.  Wesley  in  Savannah  was  a  grievous  faihire  ;  and  White- 
field  formed  no  Societies  out  of  the  fruits  of  his  labors,  but  left  the 
ingatherings  of  the  harvest  to  the  regular  ministry,  N'o  doubt  this  was 
the  onl}^  course  open  to  him,  for  if  he  had  interfered  in  any  way  witli 
the  established  order  of  things,  even  his  fiery  eloquence  would  not 
have  saved  him  from  the  religious  wrath  of  orthodox  Colonial 
believers. 


t      '/, 


W 


"^^: 


-s^-^;^.// 


ROBERT    STRAWBRIDGE. 

From  Dr.  Roberts's  "Centennial  Album."  Baltiuioro.  1866. 


Robert  8trawl>rid§-e.— The  first  Methodist  immigrant  who 
opened  liis  commission  as  a  local  preacher  in  the  American  Colonies— 
if  the  statement  of  Bishop  Asbury  and  of  certain  other  contemporary 
authorities  is  to  l:>e  accepted — was  Eobert  Strawbridge,  a  genuine 
Irishman,  lively,  improvident,  full  of  religion,  who  came  to  America 
with  his  family  about  the  year  1760,  and  settled  on  Sam's  Creek  in 
the  woods  of  Maryland. 

Strawbridge  was  born  in  Dramsnagh,  County  of  Leitrim,  the  south 


576  Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 

western  county  of  the  northern  Province  of  Ulster,  on  the  borders  oi 
that  section  of  Ireland  which  is  famous  in  Methodist  history  as  the 
field  traversed  by  Gideon  Ouseley,  and  swept  by  the  great  revivals 
which  followed  his  labors  and  those  of  his  comrades  in  preaching, 
praying,  and  circulating  the  Scriptures  in  the  Irish  language. 

It  was  no  light  thing  to  set  up  for  a  Methodist  preacher  in  that 
day  and  place,  and  young  Strawbridge  was  forced  to  leave  his  native 
county  and  take  refuge  in  Sligo,  where  the  Wesleyans  were  numerous 
enough  to  protect  themselves. 

As  a  man  of  business  he  was  not  successful.  His  mission  seemed 
to  be  that  of  a  roving  exhorter ;  nevertheless,  he  married  a  wife  whose 
patience  was  quite  as  admirable  as  her  husband's  zeal,  and  in  1T60  he  set 
oS.  for  America,  to  better  his  unpromising  fortunes.  Having  settled 
his  family  in  a  small  cabin  on  Sam's  Creek,  in  Frederick  County,  a 
few  miles  north-west  from  the  town  of  Baltimore,  he  began  the  double 
work  of  farming  and  preaching ;  his  own  house  serving  as  a  chapel.  * 

It  appears  that  his  preaching  throve  better  than  his  farming,  for  he 

*  The  date  of  Strawbridge's  arrival  in  America  has  been  variously  stated ;  sometimes  as 
late  as  1'766.  The  latest  researches  into  this  much  disputed  historic  territory  indicate  that 
the  time  set  down  by  the  Rev.  W.  Hamilton,  in  his  article  in  the  "  Methodist  Quarterly  Re- 
view," of  July,  1856,  is  approximately  correct.  He  says  Strawbridge  emigrated  to  this  country 
"in  1Y59  or  1760."  He  also  states  that  "a  Society  consisting  of  twelve  or  fifteen  persons 
was  formed  as  early  as  1763  or  1764,  and  soon  after  a  place  of  worship  was  erected,  called 
'The  Log  Meeting-house,'  about  a  mile  from  the  residence  of  Mr.  Strawbridge."- -Jfe/Aorfisi 
Quarterly  Review,  vol.  viii,  pp.  435,  436. 

Mr.  Michael  Laird,  of  Philadelphia,  whose  father  was  intimate  with  Strawbridge,  is 
quoted  by  the  late  Dr.  Roberts,  of  Baltimore,  in  his  "  Centenary  Album,"  as  authority  for  the 
statement  that  "Mr.  Strawbridge  came  to  America  in  1760  with  his  family,  and  settled  on 
Sam's  Creek.  He  opened  his  house  for  divine  worship  at  once,  and  continued  preaching 
therein  regularly.  His  congregations  were  large,  many  of  whom  came  to  see  and  hear  the 
man  who,  for  a  wonder,  was  reported  to  preach  and  pray  extemporaneously."  If  he  opened 
his  house  for  preaching  "  at  once,"  instead  of  waiting  for  five  or  six  years,  as  was  the  case 
with  Embury,  who  reached  New  York  that  same  year,  then,  of  course,  he  takes  precedence  of 
all  American  Methodist  preachers  except  Captain  Webb. 

The  following  extracts  from  Bishop  Asbury's  Journal  are  also  cited  as  proof  texts.  In 
1801  the  Bishop  held  a  Conference  at  the  house  of  Henry  Willis,  on  Pipe  Creek,  in  the  vicin- 
iiy  of  Mr.  Strawbridge's  cabin  and  log  chapel,  and  in  his  "  Journal,"  vol.  iii,  page  24,  new 
edition,  he  makes  this  entry :  "  Here  Mr.  Strawbridge  formed  the  first  Society  in  Maryland 
and  America."     The  italics  are  his  own. 

"  This,"  says  Dr.  Roberts,  "  was  written  after  the  reception  of  information  on  the  gi'ound 
itself.  By  reference  to  his  Journal  it  will  be  found  that  he  arrived  on  April  30,  1801,  at 
Alexander  Warfield's  on  Sam's  Creek,  and  from  there  went  to  Henry  Willis's,  on  Pipe 
Creek,  where  he  proposed  to  hold  the  Conference  with  about  forty  preachers.  From  the  re- 
lation of  the  Warfield  family  to  the  Log  Meeting-house,  and  from  the  full  knowledge  of 
Henry  Willis  himself,"  (who  yam  one  of  Asbury's  most  distinguished  preachers,)  "  concern- 


Robert  Strawbridge. 


377 


THE    STONE    CHAPEL, 


«oon  had  organized  several  little  Societies;  and,  as  is  stated  on  hia 
monument  in  Mount  Olivet 
Cemetery,  Baltimore:  "He 
built  the  Log  Meeting-house 
in  Frederick  County,  Mary- 
land, 1764,  the  first  in  Amer- 
ica." This  structure,  which 
has  now  been  replaced  by 
"  The  Stone  Chapel,"  at  once 
became  the  center  of  attrac- 
tion to  large  numbers  of  peo- 
ple, both  white  and  black. 
It  was  a  twice-sacred  spot  to 
the  Strawbridge  household, 
because  under  its  rude  altar 
two  of  their  children  were 
buried  ;  it  was  also  the  cathe- 
dral chm*ch  of  Strawbridge's  little  diocese,  into  which  he  organized  his 
Societies,  and  over  which  he  presided  in  true  episcopal  fashion;  travel- 
ing it,  it  is  rendered  indubitable  that  the  Bishop  here  received  more  correct  information 
than  he  had  previously,  and  was  induced  to  write  in  his  Journal  what  he  did." 

Dr.  Wakeley,  on  the  other  hand,  in  his  "  Lost  Chapters  of  Methodist  History,"  doubts  the 
correctness  of  the  above  entry,  as,  indeed,  of  many  other  of  the  Bishop's  notes ;  they  being  often 
jotted  down  hastily,  sometimes  in  the  saddle,  and  thus  likely  to  be  full  of  errors  in  dates,  as 
they  certainly  are  in  names  of  persons  and  places. 

As  a  reply  to  this.  Rev.  Isaac  P.  Cook,  a  prominent  Baltimore  authority,  has  pointed  out 
another  entry  by  Bishop  Asbury  in  his  Journal,  vol.  iii,  page  454 :  "  We  came  to  son  Francis 
Hollingsworth's,  Little  York.  ...  I  sit  seven  hours  a  day  looking  over  and  hearing  read 
my  transcribed  Journal;  we  have  examined  and  approved  up  to  1807.  As  a  record  of  the 
early  history  of  Methodism  in  America  my  Journal  will  be  of  use."  This  would  seem  to  do 
away  with  Dr.  Wakeley's  objection  to  the  Journals  up  to  a  point  far  past  the  entry  con- 
cerning Mr.  Strawbridge.  An  error  so  great  as  that  assumed  by  Wakeley  could  not  reason- 
ably be  supposed  to  escape  the  notice  of  both  the  author  and  the  transcriber,  and  thus  the 
probability  remains  that  the  disputed  entry  is  correct. 

This,  however,  does  not  invalidate  the  generally  accepted  date  of  116&,  as  the  time  from 
which  to  reckon  the  commencement  of  the  Methodist  era  in  America.  Bishop  Simpson,  in 
his  "  Cyclopaedia  of  Methodism  "  points  out  the  fact  that  the  Log  Meeting-house  was  never 
finished,  and  indeed  never  became,  in  the  ordinary  sense,  a  Methodist  Church  at  all,  since  it 
was  never  owned  by  a  Methodist  Society.  Those  who  are  interested  in  this  discussion  will 
not  fail  to  remember  that  in  the  settlement  of  the  proper  date  from  which  to  count  the  first 
century  of  British  Methodism  there  was  a  similar  difficulty ;  which  was  at  length  overcome 
by  balancing  the  importance  of  one  event  against  the  priority  of  another.  Such,  also,  ap- 
pears to  have  been  the  official  action  of  ouv  own  Church  authorities  in  a  precisely  similar 
<;ase. 

24 


378  Illusteated  History  of  Methodism. 

iug  and  preaching  to  the  neglect  of  his  worldly  affairs,  and  even  taking 
it  upon  himself  to  baptize  the  children  and  celebrate  the  Lord's 
Supper;  an  assumption  which  afterward  brought  him  into  conflict 
with  Asburj ;  who,  fresh  from  the  training  of  Mr.  Wesley,  regarded 
the  celebration  of  sacraments  as  the  exclusive  prerogative  of  the  regu- 
lar clergy. 

It  was  evident  that  the  Lord  was  with  this  little  Church  in  the 
wilderness  in  spite  of  its  alleged  irregularity,  for  its  numbers  in- 
creased in  an  encouraging  manner,  and  in  the  log  chapel  on  Sam's 
Creek  as  many  as  four  or  five  preachers  were  raised  up,  who,  under 
the  direction  of  Strawbridge,  traveled  little  circuits  on  Sabbath,  and 
worked  for  their  daily  bread  on  the  other  days  of  the  week.  If 
this  was  not  Methodism  it  was  something  very  much  hke  it ;  and 
when  the  regular  preachers  arrived  from  England  they  found  in  tliis 
zealous  lay  minister  and  his  band  of  lay  helpers  a  very  hopeful  begin- 
ning for  a  regular  Methodist  circuit. 

From  1760  to  177G  Strawbridge  lived  on  his  farm  on  Sam's  Creek ; 
which,  had  it  not  been  for  the  toil  of  his  wife  and  the  charity  of 
his  neighbors,  -would  have  failed  to  keep  himself  and  family  from 
want.  At  length  one  of  his  wealthy  friends.  Captain  Charles  Ridgely, 
of  Baltimore  County,  gave  him  the  life  lease  of  a  plantation  at  Long 
Green,  where  he  ended  his  days  in  plenty  and  peace.  A  considerable 
number  of  Methodists  had  by  this  time  been  raised  up  in  the  vicinity 
of  the  Log  Meeting-house,  and  in  1783  it  was  replaced  by  a  larger  one, 
built  of  stone.  This  church  was  the  scene  of  a  great  revival  in  1800, 
in  wliich  year  it  was  again  rebuilt  as  it  appears  on  the  preceding  page. 

Methoclisiii  in  Ne\¥  York. — "  Behold  how  great  a  matter 
a  little  fire  kindleth !  " 

It  was  during  the  early  part  of  the  year  1766  that  the  people  of 
one  of  the  humbler  quarters  of  the  city  of  New  York  were  startled 
by  the  outbreak  of  a  new  form  of  religion  in  their  midst.  A  carpen- 
ter, by  the  name  of  Embury,  who  lived  in  a  cottage  on  Barrack-Street, 
(now  Park  Place,)  had  taken  it  upon  himseK  to  be  a  preacher,  and  had 
set  up  a  Church  in  his  own  house.  The  place  was  soon  crowded  with 
people,  who  were  astonished  at  the  preaching,  delighted  with  the  sing- 
ing, and  struck  by  the  common-sense  doctrines  proclaimed  by  their 
quiet  neighbor. 


Methodism  m  ISTew  Yoek.  379 

In  addition  to  the  preacliing  and  praying,  all  of  wliicli  was  done 
with  neither  manuscript  nor  prayer  book,  there  were  secret  meetings  to 
which  only  the  initiated  were  admitted  ;  where  it  was  said  that  women 
often  prayed,  and  even  stood  up  and  made  speeches  just  like  the  men 

'   Who  are  these  strange  peopled'  was  the  eager  inquiry 


OLD    "WKSLET    CHAPEL,"    JOHN-STREET,    NEW    YORK. 

"  They  call  themselves  Methodists." 

"  Methodists  !     What  are  they  ^ " 

"  O,  they  are  professors  of  a  new-fangled  religion  set  up  by  one 
John  Wesley  in  England.     These  are  some  of  his  disciples." 

''  Just  come  over,  have  they  ? " 

"No;  they  have  lived  in  New  York  five  or  six  years." 

"How  does  it  happen  that  nobody  has  heard  of  them  before  ?" 

"Well,  they  are  a  modest,  quiet  sort  of  people:  come  originally 
from  some  place  in  Germany  called  the  Palatinate,  a  little  principality 


380 


Illustka'J'ed  IIisrouY  of  Metiiodis.ai. 


on  the  French  side  of  the  Ilhine  ;  Init  l)eing  of  the  Protestant  rehgion 
they  were  driven  ont  of  their  own  country  by  the  Popish  King  Louis 
XIY.,  and  scattered  over  SM'itzerhmd,  EngLand,  and  Ireland.  Tliis 
was  somewhere  about  1690.  In  1710  the  Britisli  Government  sent  out 
nearly  three  thousand  of  them  to  the  colonies  of  N'ew  York,  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  I^orth  Carolina,  and  more  are  occasionally  arriving  along 
with  the  native  English  and  Irish  imnpgrants." 

"  Are  these  Palatines  all  Methodists  ^  " 

"  By  no  means.     Embury  and  his  wife,  a  woman  named  Heck,  and 


September  16,  1769,     '^ 

two  or  three  others,  are  the  only  ones  ever  heard  of  here.  A1)0ut  fifty 
families  of  these  Palatines  settled  in  the  county  of  Limerick,  in  Ireland, 
some  fifty  years  ago :  fine  people  they  were,  too ;  some  of  the  very 
best  in  the  whole  island.  After  awhile  Mr.  "Wesley's  jireachers  went 
into  these  parts  and  converted  some  of  them,  and  tins  little  handful 
of  Irish-German  Methodists  has  somehow  been  thrown  into  TvTeAv 
York." 

Such   was    the    scanty    inftn-mation    obtainable    concerning    these 
t^trange  people,  who,  instead  of  waiting,  as  ordinary  colonists  did,  for 


Philip  Embuey.  381 

a  minister  of  their  owti  faith  to  establish  a  Church  for  them,  set  about 
estabhshing  a  Church  for  themselves. 

Philip  Embury. — Whether  the  first  male  Methudist  of  New 
York  was  born  in  Ireland  or  in  that  French  province  of  German-speak- 
ing people  formerly  called  the  Rhine  Palatinate — and  since  included 
in  the  territory  of  Bavaria,  which  is  now  a  part  of  the  great  German 
empire — is  not  certainly  known.  The  date  of  his  birth  is  also  un- 
certain ;  it  may  have  been  in  1T28  or  1730.  His  first  schooling  was 
in  the  German  language,  but  he  afterward  attended  an  Enghsh  school. 
He  was  simply  a  fair  specimen  of  the  boys  of  the  Palatine  village 
of  Ballingran,  or  Balligarrane ;  which  was  a  charming  bit  of  German 
thrift  and  Protestant  morality  in  the  midst  of  the  Papist  population 
of  Limerick  County.  When  his  school  days  were  over  he  learned  the 
carpenter's  trade ;  learned  it  thoroughly,  to  his  praise  be  it  spoken ; 
married  a  wife  of  his  own  people,  and  emigrated  to  New  York  when 
he  was  about  thirty  years  of  age. 

Concerning  the  great  event  of  his  life,  that  is  to  say,  his  exiDcri- 
ence  of  saving  grace,  there  is,  fortunately,  no  uncertainty.  Dr. 
Wakeley  has  produced,  in  Embury's  own  clear  and  beautiful  hand,  the 
following  personal  testimony  :  "  On  Christmas  day,  being  Monday,  the 
25th  of  December,  in  the  year  1752,  the  Lord  shone  into  my  soul  by  a 
glimpse  of  his  redeeming  love,  being  an  earnest  of  my  redemption  ii> 
Jesus  Christ,  to  whom  be  glory  for  ever  and  ever.     Amen." 

Of  course  this  is  a  Methodist  testimony ;  it  would  have  been  diflS- 
cult  to  find  any  hke  it  which  were  not  Methodistic  at  that  day. 

In  spite  of  his  diffidence,  the  clearness  of  his  experience  and  the 
substantial  qualities  of  his  mind  caused  him  to  be  promoted  to  the 
position  of  class-leader,  and  afterward  to  that  of  local  preacher ;  but 
preaching  appears,  from  the  first,  to  have  been  a  cross  for  him,  and 
his  word  was  often  with  trembhng  and  tears  ;  but  one  look  at  his 
gentle  German  face  must  have  been  enough  to  show  his  hearers  that 
he  was  honestly  trying  to  do  them  good,  that  he  was  not  ambitious 
for  priestly  honors,  but  was  only  venturing  to  preach  because  his  duty 
to  God  and  to  them  demanded  it. 

It  was  this  native  diffidence,  no  doubt,  that  led  him  into  the  serious 
error  of  hiding  his  light  for  the  first  five  years  of  his  Hfe  in  New 
York  ^  but  it  is  plain  that  he  did  not  fall  into  sin,  as  some  of  his 


;}82 


Illustrated  Hiistoky  of  Metiiodis^ai. 


countrymen  did,  for  when  suddenly  called  on  for  a  sermon,  after  five 
years'  silence,  lie  was  able  to  stand  up  at -once  in  the  name  of  the 
Lord,  and  to  preach  in  his  own  house  to  a  little  handful  of  his  most 
intimate  acquaintances — a  task  which  he  could  not  have  j^erformed, 
and  one  to  which  he  would  not  have  been  invited,  if  his  friends  and 
neighbors  had  seen  him  falling  from  grace. 

The  First  Methodist  Sermon  in  New  Tork. — The 
circmnstance  wdiich  has  become  historic  as  the  beginning  of  American 
Methodism  Ijrings  out  the  fiicc  of  a  woman  whose  piety  was  of   a 


more  aggressive  type,  and  by  whose  earnest  appeal  and  energetic 
efforts  a  buried  talent  was  brought  forth,  and  the  graces  of  the  feeble 
company  were  strengthened,  which  seemed  almost  ready  to  perish. 

Ba.ebara    IIeck  *    was   also    of    the    Palatine    stock;    a   woman 
of  piety,  persistence,  and  genius  for  affairs,  in  which  last  respect  she 

*  In  view  of  the  controversy  concerning  the  name  of  this  first  Methodist  woman  in  New 
York,  whether  it  should  be  spelled  with  an  "  e  "  or  an  "  i " — a  question  quite  as  large  as 
some  others  on  which  much  time  and  labor  have  been  spent  to  less  purpose — the  author 
wrote  to  her  grandson,  Mr.  George  Heck,  now  residing  in  Prescott,  Ontario,  asking  whether 
the  heroine  of  early  Methodism  in  New  York  were  Barbara  Hick  or  Heck.  His  reply  is 
here  inserted. 

A  yellow  leaf  from  an  old  copy  of  "  The  Nature,  Design,  and  General  Rules  of  the  United 
Societies  in  London,  Bristol,  Kingswood,  and  Newcastle-upon-Tyne,"  printed  in  London  in 


Bakbaha  iIeck. 


383 


far  excelled  her  cousin,  Philip  Enihuiy.  She  was  the  wife  of  Paul 
Heck,  and  the  family  were  among  the  party  of  emigrants  which  sailed 
from  tlic  2)ort  of  Limerick 
for  ISTew  York  in  IT'JO. 
There  w^ere  a  few  Method- 
ists among  them,  but  for 
the  most  part  they  be- 
longed to  the  Irish  Church  ; 
a  Protestant  body,  but  one 
in  which  there  was  little 
]3reaching  or  profession  of 
experimental  r  e  1  i  g  i  o  )i . 
After  their  arrival  in  New 
York,  Avith  the  exception 
of  Embury  and  three  <>r 
four  others,  thej^  all  finally 
lost  their  sense  of  the  fear 
of  God,  became  open 
worldlings,  and  some  of 
them  subsequently  fell  into 
still  greater  depths  ot  sm. 

Late  in  the  year  1765  another  vessel  arrived  in  Xew  York,  Ijring- 
ing  over  Paul  Ruckle,  Luke  Eose,  Jacob  Heck,  Peter  Barkman,  and 

1766,  and  once  the  property  of  the  husband  of  this  lady,  bears  the  following,  in  clear,  unmis- 
takable letters:  "Paul  Heck,  his  book;  price,  tAvelve  shillings."  "The  Christian  Advocate 
and  Journal,"  New  York,  September  30  and  October  1,  1858,  contains  a  number  of  affidavits 
of  persons  who  were  well  acquainted  with  the  family,  all  of  whom  call  this  lady  "Barbara 
Heck."     These  are  now  before  me:  Init  doubtless  the  following  letter  will  suffice: — 

"Prescott,  June  23,  18*79. 
"  To  the  Rev.  W.  H.  Daniels  :  Paul  and  Barbara  Heck,  my  grandfather  and  grandmother, 
came  to  New  York  in  1*760,  remained  there  till  the  year  1*770,  and  moved  to  a  place  called 
Camden,  on  Lake  Champlain.  They  remained  there  till  the  year  1774,  and  then  moved  into 
Canada.  Paul  Heck  and  his  sons,  John,  Jacob,  and  Samuel,  were  all  well  educated,  and  would 
not  be  likely  to  change  the  way  of  spelling  their  names,  and  I  have  never  seen  it  spelled  any 
other  way  than  Heck.  In  the  late  Rev.  J.  B.  Wakeley's  history  called  '  Lost  Chapters,'  etc., 
you  will  see  facsimiles  of  signatures  of  parties  connected  with  early  Methodism  in  New  York, 
and  among  them  you  will  see  one  written  by  my  grandfather  (Paul  Heck)  while  he  resided 
there.  I  will  also  inclose  you  two  leaves  out  of  an  old  book  belonging  to  my  grandfather, 
and  I  suppose  he  wrote  his  name  in  them  when  in  New  York,  and  you  will  see  that  ne  spells 
his  name  Heck.  I  will  also  send  you  an  old  'New  York  Christian  Advocate  and  Journal,'  of 
October  7,  1858,  in  which   you  will  see  an  article   from   tlic    pen  of  one  of  our  ministers, 


384  Illustrated  Histoey  of  Methodism. 

Henry  Williams,  Palatines  all ;  some  of  them  relatives  of  Embury^ 
while  Ruckle  was  a  brother  of  Barbara  Heck  ;  but  it  does  not  appear- 
that  any  of  them  were  Methodists.  In  one  of  her  visits  to  the  new- 
comers Mrs.  Heck  found  a  party  engaged  in  a  game  of  cards.  This 
had  the  effect  of  awakening  her  to  a  sense  of  the  danger  which  threat- 
ened them  in  their  new  homes,  where  many  old  restraints  were  weak- 
ened and  many  new  temptations  beset  them ;  she  therefore  seized  the^ 
cards,  threw  them  into  the  fire,  and  gave  her  friends  a  solemn,  warning 
against  sin  and  an  exhortation  to  holiness. 

She  was  now  thoroughly  aroused.  If  the  new  people  were  falling 
into  careless  and  vdcked  ways  it  was  no  more  than  some  of  the  pre- 
vious company  of  emigrants  had  already  done ;  and  what  was  to  pre- 
vent them  from  all  becoming  backsliders  together  unless  they  resumed 
the  use  of  the  means  of  grace  which  they  used  to  enjoy  at  home? 

(Rev.  J.  Carroll,  and  who  still  lives  in  the  city  of  Toronto,  Canada,)  that  Barbara  Heck,  who 
broke  up  the  card  party  in  New  York,  came  to  Canada  with  her  husband,  Paul  Heck,  and 
lived  the  remainder  of  her  life  here,  died,  and  was  buried  in  the  old  Blue  Church  burying- 
ground,  about  three  miles  west  of  Prescott. 

"  When  my  brother  John  and  myself  went  to  New  York,  in  the  summer  of  1859,  in  com- 
pany with  the  Rev.  John  Carroll,  we  took  along  with  us  the  Rev.  J.  B.  Wakeley,  from  Pough- 
keepsie,  where  he  was  then  residing ;  and  when  we  got  to  New  York  we  all  met  at  the  Book 
Room,  and  the  then  editor,  the  Rev.  Dr.  A.  Stevens,  and  Bishop  Janes,  and  a  few  others 
were  present ;  and  after  comparing  notes  and  documents  and  some  old  relics.  Dr.  Stevens 
remarked,  after  comparing  the  signatures  of  Paul  Heck  from  Canada  and  that  produced 
by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Wakeley  from  the  old  recording  steward's  book  of  New  York,  that  they  must 
have  been  written  by  one  person ;  and  he  (Dr.  Stevens)  said  that  there  was  something  about 
the  handwriting  of  Paul  Heck  which  made  the  evidence  incontestible.  Bishop  Janes  was  also 
satisfied  that  we  were  correct  and  Dr.  Wakeley  wrong.  A  year  or  two  after  the  interview  in 
New  York  the  Rev.  Mr.  Wakeley  made  us  a  short  visit,  and  promised  to  have  it  corrected  in 
his  next  edition,  but  I  have  never  heard  whether  the  second  edition  was  published. 

"On  page  91  of  Wakeley's  'Lost  Chapters '  you  will  see  Paul  Heck's  signature,  and  this 
same  Paul  Heck  was  one  of  the  first  trustees  of  John-street  Church,  and  also  one  to  whom 
the  land  (on  which  the  church  stood)  was  originally  leased,  and  he  was  the  husband  of  Bar- 
bara Heck,  not  the  son,  as  Wakeley  has  it  on  the  same  page,  (91.)  You  will  see  in  the 
'  Advocate  and  Journal,'  which  I  send  you,  that  Wakeley  mixes  up  Paul  Hick,  of  New  York, 
who  married  Hannah  Dean,  as  one  of  the  first  trustees ;  but  he  was  not  one  of  the  first  trust- 
ees for  he  was  only  sixteen  years  old  when  the  first  John-street  Church  was  built,  and 
he  was  not  a  member  of  the  Church  till  two  years  after  it  was  built,  as  you  will  see  by  read- 
ing page  544  of  'Lost  Chapters.'  On  page  578  of  'Lost  Chapters'  you  will  see  the  names 
of  all  the  first  trustees,  appointed  in  the  year  1768,  and  among  them  the  name  of  Paul  Hick, 
(should  be  Paul  Heck,)  and  on  page  581  ('Lost  Chapters')  you  will  see  that  in  1786  a  new 
batch  of  trustees  were  appointed,  and  among  the  number  one  Paul  Hick.'  This  Paul  was 
Hannah  Dean's  husband,  not  Barbara  Ruckle's  husband. 

"Yours  truly, 

'GEORGE  HECK." 


The  I'ikst  Methodist  Sermon  in  New  Yoek.      38 & 

Her  cousin  was  a  licensed  preacher;  he  must  open  the  Bible  and  open 
his  mouth ;  there  were  a  few  surviving  Methodists  within  her  acquaint- 
ance ;  these  must  be  gathered  into  a  Society  just  such  as  they  used  to 
have  in  BaUigarrane.  With  this  new  purpose  firmly  settled  in  her 
mind,  she  started  for  the  house  of  Embury,  gave  him  an  account  of 
what  she  had  seen  and  done,  and  begged  him  to  take  up  his  cross  at 
once  and  begin  to  preach  in  his  own  house. 

It  was  no  easy  task  for  a  modest  man  hke  Embury  to  resume  in 
cold  blood  the  duty  which  was  always  a  heavy  task  for  him,  and  which 
had  now  for  so  long  been  laid  aside ;  but  the  woman  was  determined ; 
she  argued,  urged,  and  finaUy,  faUing  upon  her  knees,  adjured  him  in' 
God's  name  to  preach ;  and  when  he,  with  a  sense  of  horror  lest  hi& 
neglect  might  result  in  the  loss  of  souls,  consented,  she  hastily  went 
out  and  brought  in  five  or  six  of  their  neighbors,  and  to  this  httle  con- 
gregation PhiHp  Embury,  in  his  own  house,  preached  his  first  sermon^ 
in  America.  Two  classes  were  presently  organized,  one  of  women  and 
the  other  of  men ;  doubtless  Barbara  Heck  was  the  leader  of  one,  and 
Philip  Embury  of  the  other. 

1^0  small  excitement  was  caused  by  these  little  assemblies.  Specta- 
tors came  in  crowds,  including  some  soldiers  from  the  barracks  near 
by,  and  among  the  first-fruits  of  the  revival  which  crowned  their  fee- 
ble labors  were  three  members  of  the  regimental  band,  who  had  been 
attracted  by  the  singing,  and  who  became  very  useful  afterward  as 
exhorters.  The  next  victory  was  among  the  inmates  of  the  poor-house, 
to  whom  Embmy  was  invited  to  preach.  Auspicious  beginning! 
"  Hath  not  God  chosen  the  poor  of  this  world  rich  in  faith,  and  heirs 
of  the  kingdom  which  he  hath  promised  to  them  that  love  him  ? " 
Was  it  not  one  of  the  proofs  which  Christ  gave  of  his  Messiahship 
that  "the  poor  have  the  Gospel  preached  unto  them ? "  Herein,  also, 
appears  the  divine  authenticity  of  Methodism,  both  in  England  and 
America. 

The  cottage  of  Embury  being  far  too  small  for  the  new  uses  to 
which  it  was  put,  a  larger  room  was  secured  near  by ;  and  to  pay  the 
rent  of  this  room  another  means  of  grace,  to  wit,  a  collection  of  money, 
was  added  to  those  abeady  in  use.  -  The  Society  flourished,  was  of  one 
heart  and  one  mind,  and  evidently  increased  in  favor  both  with  God 
and  man. 


■386 


Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 


Captain  Webb. — The  fame  of  these  doings  spread  far  and  wide ; 
it  reached  even  to  Albany,  where  was  a  man  who  seems  to  have  been 

divinely  stationed  there  as  a 
re-enforcement  to  the  little 
band  in  New  York ;  awaiting 
only  its  getting  into  position, 
hoisting  its  colors,  and  opening 
the  spiritual  campaign. 

In  the  joint  English  and 
Colonial  expedition,  in  1745, 
against  the  French  stronghold 
of  Louisburg,  which  command- 
ed the  main  entrance  to  the 
Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence,  there 
was  a  young  British  captain  by 
the  name  of  Webb.  He  was  a 
man  of  some  wealth,  good  ed- 
ucation, and  may  have  adopted 
the  profession  of  arms  for  the 
love  of  adventure,  or  to  escape 
a  life  of  idleness — that  bane  of  so  many  gentlemen  of  fortune. 

It  was  a  dark  day  for  Captain  Webb  on  which  they  stormed  and 
•carried  that  fort,  for  he  lost  his  right  eye  in  the  battle,  and  it  was 
almost  a  miracle  that  he  did  not  lose  his  life.  A  bullet  liit  him  in  the 
eyebrow  and  glanced  into  the  eye,  but,  instead  of  keeping  straight  on 
into  the  brain,  it  again  turned  downward  into  his  mouth.  When  the 
fight  was  over  he  heard  himself  pronounced  a  dead  man,  but  his  senses 
had  so  far  returned  that  he  was  able  to  deny  it,  and  after  three  months 
in  hospital  he  again  returned  to  duty. 

His  next  campaign — if  the  somewhat  conflicting  reports  may 
be  harmonized — was  with  General  Braddock,  in  1T55,  against  the 
French  Fort  Duquesne,  where  the  smoky  city  of  Pittsburgh  now 
stands.  Here  he  was  one  of  the  very  few  officers  who  survived  the 
ambush  and  slaughter  of  that  terrible  battle  known  as  "Braddock's 
•defeat;"  but,  hke  Washington,  with  whom  he  fought  that  day,  he 
■could  not  be  killed,  for  God  had  further  work  for  him  to  do,  though 
in  quite  a  different  field  from  that  of  fighting  the  French  and  Indians 


CAPTAIN   WEBb. 


Captain  Webb.  ;^87 

Four  yeai-s  afterward  he  scaled  the  heights  of  Abraham  with  Gen- 
eral Wolfe,  on  which  occasion  he  was  again  wounded ;  this  time  in  the 
arm.  The  last  of  the  French  Canadian  wars  having  ended  with 
the  capture  of  Quebec,  which  followed  this  victory,  Captain  Webb 
returned  with  his  regiment  to  England,  disabled  for  hard  cainpaign- 
ing,  though  still  in  the  prime  of  life. 

The  conversion  of  this  man  under  a  sermon  by  Mr.  Wesley,  at 
Bristol,  which  occurred  in  the  year  1Y65,  was  a  notable  event  for  the 
Methodist  Society,  with  which  he  at  once  united.  It  was  not  long  be- 
fore it  was  discovered  that  he  was  a  great  preacher  as  well  as  a  brave 
soldier.  Entering  a  Methodist  congregation  at  Bath,  which  was  dis- 
appointed by  its  circuit  preacher,  he  advanced  to  the  altar  in  his  regi- 
mentals, and  addressed  them  with  great  effect,  chiefly  narrating  his 
ovm  Christian  experience.  Wesley,  who  delighted  in  the  disciplinary 
regularity,  the  obedience,  and  courage  of  mihtary  men,  not  a  few  of 
whom  entered  his  itinerant  ranks,  lost  no  time  in  persuadino-  him  to 
accept  a  preacher's  license,  and  straightway  Captain  Webb  became  one 
of  the  great  lights  of  English  Methodism.  Wesley  has  left  on  record 
his  very  high  opinion  of  this  soldier  of  the  Cross.  After  hearing  him 
preach  in  the  Old  Foundry,  he  writes  : — 

"  I  admire  the  wisdom  of  God  in  still  raising  up  various  preachers, 
according  to  the  various  tastes  of  men.  The  captain  is  full  of  life 
and  iire  ;  therefore,  although  he  is  not  deep  or  regular,  yet  many  who 
would  not  hear  a  better  preacher  flock  to  hear  him,  and  many  are 
convinced  under  his  preaching." 

Of  his  personal  piety  one  of  his  intimate  friends  at  Bath  says  :— 
"  He  experienced  much  of  the  power  of  religion  in  his  own  soul. 
He  wrestled  day  and  night  with  God  for  that  degree  of  grace  which 
he  stood  in  need  of,  that  he  might  stand  firm  as  the  beaten  anvil  to  the 
stroke,  and  he  was  favored  with  those  communications  from  above 
which  made  him  bold  to  declare  the  whole  counsel  of  God.  His  evi- 
dence of  the  favor  of  God  was  so  bright  that  he  never  lost  a  sense  of 
that  blessed  truth,  '  the  blood  of  Jesus  Christ  .  .  .  cleanseth  us  from 
.all  sin.' " 

His  natural  powers  of  oratory  greatly  delighted  John  Adams— 
^afterward  President— who  declared  that  the  old  soldier  was  one  of 
the  most  eloquent  men  he  ever  heard.     Another  admirer  calls  him 


388  Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 

"  a  perfect  Whitefield  in  declamation ;"  and  still  another  tlius  describes' 
his  power  over  his  audiences :  "  They  saw  the  warrior  in  his  face, 
and  heard  the  missionary  in  his  voice.  Under  his  holy  eloquence  they 
trembled,  they  wept,  and  fell  down  under  his  mighty  word."  He  trav- 
eled widely  in  his  own  country,  preaching  to  great  crowds,  which  he 
attracted  partly  by  his  preaching  and  partly  by  his  regimentals,  and 
he  was  the  means  of  the  conversion  of  great  numbers  of  people. 

How  this  Boanerges  happened  to  be  at  Albany  in  1T66,  living  in 
his  own  house,  which  he  opened  for  religious  services,  and  acting  as 
barrack-master  of  the  EngHsh  garrison,  does  not  fully  appear ;  but  it 
was  doubtless  a  part  of  the  providential  scheme  for  planting  Meth- 
odism in  America;  and  to  his  faith,  his  zeal,  his  talents,  and  his 
liberality,  the  human  side  of  this  movement  owes  the  largest  measure 
of  its  initial  success. 

The  news  of  a  Methodist  Society  in  New  York,  and  of  a  revival 
of  religion  already  crowning  its  efforts,  straightway  brought  Captain 
"Webb  down  from  Albany  to  see  it.  His  first  appearance  in  the 
preaching  room,  in  full  uniform,  which  he  wore  at  Church  as  well' 
as  on  any  other  soldierly  duty,  was  a  rather  startling  event  to  the 
congregation  ;  but  their  surprise  soon  gave  place  to  delight  when  they 
found  that  he  was  a  Methodist,  and,  what  was  more,  a  preacher.  The 
captain  was,  as  has  already  been  seen,  a  great  man  in  his  way ;  or, 
rather,  in  several  ways ;  and  jvist  those  ways  in  which  the  little  Society 
stood  most  in  need  of  help.  They  needed  a  leader — "Webb  was  bom  to 
command.  They  needed  another  preacher  of  more  experience,  learn- 
ing, and  power — Webb  was  one  of  the  best  preachers  then  on  the  Con- 
tinent of  America.  They  needed  money  wherewith  to  house  their 
young  Society — Webb  was  both  rich  and  generous.  Truly,  if  they  had 
been  indulged  by  a  choice  out  of  all  the  Methodist  preachers  in  exist- 
ence, except  Wesley  himself,  it  would  have  been  a  hard  matter  to  suit' 
themselves  better  than  God  had  suited  them,  and  that,  too,  before- 
they  had  asked  him  for  a  preacher  at  all. 

The  WUgS^ng  Lort. — Of  course,  with  such  a  preacher  came  a- 
large  increase  of  congregation.  The  Methodist  meeting,  with  its  hearty 
fellowship,  its  delightful  singing,  and  its  red-coated  minister,  who 
preached  with  two  swords  lying  on  the  desk  before  him — one  of  them- 
the  sword  of  the  Spirit,  the  other  the  sword  of  a  captain  in  his  Majes- 


The  Rigging  Loft,  New  York. 


389 


■ty's  regalars — was  now  one  of  the  marvels  of  New  York ;  and  to  accom- 
modate the  increasing  crowds  a  loft  over  a  sail-maker's  shop  in  "William- 
street  was  secured.  It  was  eighteen  feet  in  width  by  sixty  in  length, 
but  it  would  not  hold  half  the  people  who  came  twice  a  week  to  hear 
the  brave  Captain  Webb  and  his  faithful  Lieutenant  Embury.  How 
happy  they  were !  •  How  happy  people  always  are  in  revivals  till 
somebody  gets  "  hurt ;"  or  becomes  too  proud  or  stubborn  to  I'^se 
himself  in  the  greatness  of  the  work ! 


THE    RIGGING    LOFT. 

The  First  Hethodist  Chnrch  in  America.— And  now 

-that  "  elect  lady,"  Barbara  Heck,  receives  what  she  believes  to  be  an 
inspiration  in  answer  to  her  prayers  on  this  very  subject,  in  the  form  of 
a  plan  for  a  meeting-house.  It  is  a  large  house,  two  stories  in  height, 
built  of  stone — will  cost,  with  the  land  to  build  it  on,  nearly  a  thousand 
pounds ;  and  where  is  all  the  money  to  come  from  ? 


390  Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 

Embury,  with  liis  German  caution  and  his  mannish  sagacity,  pro- 
posed that  they  should  lease  a  bit  of  ground  for  twenty-one  years,  and 
build  a  cheap  wooden  meeting-house ;  but  Sister  Barbara  had  seen  her 
church  in  a  vision,  and  had  heard  the  words,  "/,  tlie  Lord,  will  do  it^^ 
and  a  woman  of  that  stamp,  with  such  a  vision  in  her  soul,  knows 
nothing  of  failure  or  fear.  Did  she  not  project  the  Society  out  of 
almost  notliing  ?  Who  knows,  then,  but  she  can  show  them  how  to 
build  a  church  ?  Thus  the  scheme  which  looked  so  wild  and  hopeless 
to  merely  speculative  eyes  was,  after  two  days  of  solemn  prayer  and 
fasting,  deliberately  adopted,  and  Captain  Webb  led  the  subscription 
list  with  the  sum  of  thirty  pounds,  the  largest  amount  given  by  any 
one  subscriber.     This  was  in  the  early  part  of  1Y68. 

The  subscription  paper  bears  the  names  of  nearly  two  hundred  and 
lifty  persons,  including  all  classes,  from  his  worship  the  Mayor,  the 
aristocracy,  and  certain  of  the  clergy,  down  to  negro  servants  who 
were  so  poor  that  they  had  only  a  single  word  for  a  name. 

The  chapel  was  built  of  stone,  faced  with  blue  plaster.  It  was  sixty 
feet  in  length  by  forty-two  in  breadth.  Dissenters  were  not  yet 
allowed  to  erect  "  regular  cliurches "  in  the  city ;  the  new  building 
was,  therefore,  provided  with  a  fire-place  and  chimney  to  avoid  trans- 
gressing the  law.  There  were  side  galleries  to  the  building,  which  for 
a  long  time  were  accessible  only  by  rude  ladders ;  the  seats  had  na 
backs  :  it  was  a  rough,  unfinished  place,  but  it  was  very  neat  and  clean, 
and  the  floor  was  sprinkled  over  with  sand  as  white  as  snow.  Embury, 
being  a  skilKul  carpenter,  wrought  diligently  upon  the  structure. 
With  his  own  hands  he  built  the  pulpit,  and  on  the  memorable  SOtli  of 
October,  1768,  mounted  the  desk  he  had  made,  and  dedicated  the  hum- 
ble temple  by  a  sermon  on  Hosea  x,  12  :  "  Sow  to  yourselves  in  right- 
eousness, reap  in  mercy ;  break  up  your  fallow  ground :  for  it  is  time  to 
seek  the  Lord,  till  he  come  and  rain  righteousness  upon  you." 

The  house  was  soon  thronged.  Within  two  years  from  its  conse- 
cration the  building  and  the  yard  in  front  of  it  had  a  congregation  of 
nearly  a  thousand  people.  It  was  called  Wesley  Chapel ;  the  first  in 
the  world  that  ever  bore  that  name. 

From  IN^ew  York  as  a  center  the  good  work  began  to  spread  in 
various  directions,  especially  south  and  south-west.  Captain  Webb, 
who  was  now  free  to  travel,  having  been  placed  on  the  retired  list 


Captain  Webb's  Labors.  391 

with  full  pay  on  account  of  his  soldierly  services,  gave  himself  up  to 
the  work  of  an  evangelist,  besides  taking  the  church  building  enter- 
prise under  his  especial  care.  In  addition  to  his  gift  he  advanced  the 
sum  of  three  hundred  pounds  without  interest  to  help  on  that  work 
begged  money  for  it,  sold  religious  books  and  gave  the  profits  to  it, 
and  did  a  great  deal  of  good  preaching  in  the  house  after  it  was  opened; 
for  divine  worship.  There  were  relatives  of  his  wife  living  at  Jamaica,, 
on  Long  Island  ;  thither  he  went,  hired  a  house  to  preach  in,  and  had 
the  joy  of  seeing  twenty-four  persons  converted.  In  New  Jersey  he 
formed  Societies  at  Pemberton,  Burlington,  and  Trenton.  In  Dela- 
ware he  preached  at  Newcastle,  Wilmington,  and  in  the  woods  on  the 
shores  of  the  Brandywine.  He  was  the  pioneer  of  Methodism  in  Phil- 
adelphia, where  he  preached  in  a  sail-loft  and  formed  a  class  of  seven 
members  in  1767  or  '68,  and  where  he  collected  over  thirty  pounds  for 
his  beloved  Wesley  Chapel  in  New  York.  He  also  gave  hberally 
toward  the  purchase  of  St.  George's  Church,  in  Philadelphia,  two 
years  afterward ;  for  Captain  Webb  was  as  generous  as  he  was  brave, 
and  it  was  his  firm  belief  that  a  covetous  Christian,  a  stingy  Methodist, 
a  convert  whose  purse  was  not  converted,  was  no  Christian,  no  Meth- 
odist, no  convert  at  all. 

Having  now  a  work  on  his  hands  which  was  increasing  and  spread- 
ing with  great  rapidity,  he  appealed  to  his  British  brethren  for  money, 
and  to  Mr.  Wesley  for  preachers  to  help  in  carrying  it  on.  Not  satis- 
fied with  this,  and  having  American  Methodism  so  much  at  heart,  he 
went  to  England  in  1772  in  its  interest ;  preached  in  London,  Dubhn, 
and  elsewhere;  made  a  stirring  appeal  for  recniits  for  America  in  the 
Leeds  Conference,  and  in  1773  brought  back  with  him  Messrs.  Eankin 
and  Shadford ;  Messrs.  Pihnoor  and  Boardman  having  already  been 
sent  out  in  response  to  his  and  other  appeals.  He  continued  his  evan- 
gelistic labors  with  unabated  zeal  till  after  the  breaking  out  of  the 
War  of  the  Kevolution,  being  one  of  the  last  of  the  English  preachers 
to  leave ;  but  finally  the  country  became  too  hot  for  him,  and  he  bade 
a  reluctant  good-bye  to  America,  the  scene  of  so  many  struggles  and 
victories  in  his  varied  and  eventful  life. 

On  his  return  to  England  he  secured  a  home  for  his  family  in  Port- 
land, on  the  heights  of  Bristol,  but  still  traveled  and  preached  exten- 
si^'ely  in  chapels,  in  market-places,  and  in  the  open  air,  attended  by 


592  Illusteated  History  of  Methodism. 

immense  congregations.  Having  escaped  so  many  dangers  and  deaths, 
he  believed  to  the  end  of  his  days  that  a  ministering  spirit,  a  guardian 
angel,  had  through  divine  mercy  attended  him  all  the  way  in  his 
diversified  pilgrimage.  From  the  year  1T76  to  1782,  a  time  of  war  by 
land  and  sea,  he  annually  made  a  summer's  visit  to  the  French  prison- 
ers at  Winchester,  addressing  them  in  their  own  language,  which  he 
had  studied  while  in  Canada.  When  he  preached  at  Portsmouth 
crowds  of  soldiers  and  sailors  listened  to  him  with  all  possible  venera- 
tion, and  in  Bristol  and  the  neighboring  country  much  spiritual  good 
was  effected. 

In  1792  he  was  liberal  and  active  in  erecting  the  Portland  Chapel, 
at  Bristol,  one  of  the  most  elegant  chapels  in  the  Methodist  Connec- 
tion if  not  in  the  kingdom,  in  which  he  preached  his  last  sermon.  He 
appeared  to  have  had  a  presentiment  for  some  time  of  his  approaching 
end,  and  shortly  before  his  death  he  spoke  to  an  intimate  friend  of  the 
place  and  manner  of  his  interment,  observing :  "  I  should  prefer  a  tri- 
umphant death;  but  I  may  be  taken  away  suddenly.  However,  I 
know  I  am  happy  in  the  Lord,  and  shall  be  with  him  whenever  he 
calls  me  hence,  and  that  is  sufficient." 

One  of  the  leading  Wesleyan  preachers  thus  writes  of  his  closing 
life :  "  I  spent  a  profitable  hour  with  that  excellent  man.  Captain 
Webb,  of  Bristol.  He  is,  indeed,  truly  devoted  to  God,  and  has  main- 
tained a  consistent  profession  for  many  years.  He  is  now  in  his  sev- 
enty-second year,  and  as  active  as  many  who  have  only  attained  their 
fiftieth.  He  gives  to  the  cause  of  God  and  to  the  poor  of  Christ's 
flock  the  greater  part  of  his  income.  He  is  waiting  with  cheei'ful 
anticipation  for  his  great  and  full  reward.  He  bids  fair  to  go  to  the 
grave  like  a  shock  of  corn  fully  ripe." 

On  the  21st  of  December,  1796,  Captain  Webb  suddenly  entered 
into  the  joy  of  his  Lord. 

The  venerable  soldier  and  evangelist  was  laid  to  rest  in  a  vaalt 
made  for  him  imder  the  communion  table  at  Portland  Chapel;  and 
the  trustees  erected  a  marble  monument  to  his  memory  within  its 
walls ;  the  inscription  whereon  pronounced  him  "  Brave,  Active,  Cou- 
rageous— Faithful,  Zealous,  Successful — the  principal  instrument  in 
■erecting  this  chapel."  His  name  must  be  forever  illustrious  in  our 
ecclesiastical  history,  as,  aside  from  the  mere  question  of  priority,  he 


Taylor's  Letter  to  Wesley.  393 

<mu8t  be  considered  the  principal  founder  of  the  Methodist  Church  in 
America. 

Taylor's  Letter  to  Wesley. — The  following  letter  to  Mr. 
Wesley,  written  by  Mr.  Thomas  Taylor,  who  had  recently  arrived  from 
England  and  joined  the  ]^ew  York  Methodists,  is  well  worth  reading, 
for  some  side  glimpses  it  gives  at  other  things  besides  American 
Methodism.     Only  purely  personal  matter  is  omitted  : — 

"New  York,  llth  April,  1768. 
"Rev.  and  very  Dear  Sir: — I  intended  writing  to  you  for  several  weeks 
past ;  but  a  few  of  us  had  a  very  material  transaction  in  view ;  I  therefore  post- 
poned writing  until  I  could  give  you  a  particular  account  thereof.  This  was  the 
purchasing  of  ground  for  building  a  preaching  house  upon,  which,  by  the  bless- 
ing of  God,  we  have  now  concluded.  But  before  I  proceed,  I  shall  give  you  a 
■short  account  of  the  state  of  religion  in  this  city. 

"By  the  best  intelligence  I  can  collect,  there  was  little  either  of  the  form  or 
power  of  it  until  Mr.  Whitefield  came  over,  thirty  years  ago ;  and  even  after  his 
first  and  second  visits  there  appeared  but  little  fruit  of  his  labors.  But  during 
his  visit  fourteen  or  fifteen  years  ago  there  was  a  considerable  shaking  among 
the  dry  bones.  Divers  were  savingly  converted ;  and  this  work  was  much  in- 
creased in  his  last  journey,  when  his  words  were  really  like  a  hammer  and  like  a 
fire.  Most  part  of  the  adults  were  stirred  up:  great  numbers  pricked  to  the 
heart,  and,  by  a  judgment  of  charity,  several  found  peace  and  joy  in  believing. 
TJie  consequence  of  this  work  was,  churches  were  crowded,  and  subscriptions 
raised  for  building  new  ones.  Mr.  Whitefield's  example  provoked  most  of  the 
ministers  to  a  much  greater  degree  of  earnestness.  And  by  the  multitudes  of 
people,  old  and  young,  rich  and  poor,  flocking  to  the  churches,  religion  became 
an  honorable  profession. 

''There  was  now  no  outward  cross  to  be  taken  up  therein.  Nay,  a  person  who 
could  not  speak  about  the  grace  of  God  and  the  new  birth  was  esteemed  unfit 
for  genteel  company.  But  in  awhile,  instead  of  pressing  forward  and  growing 
in  grace,  (as  he  exhorted  them,)  the  generality  were  pleading  for  the  remains  of 
sin  and  the  necessity  of  being  in  darkness.  They  esteemed  their  opinions  as 
the  very  essentials  of  Christianity,  and  regarded  not  holiness,  either  of  heart  or 
life. 

"The  above  appears  to  me  to  be  a  genuine  account  of  the  state  of  religion 
in  New  York  eighteen  months  ago,  when  it  pleased  God  to  rouse  up  Mr.  Embury 
to  employ  his  talent  (which  for  several  years  had  been  hid,  as  it  were,  in  a  nap- 
kin) by  calling  sinners  to  repentance,  and  exhorting  believers  to  let  their  light 
shine  before  men.  He  spoke  at  first  only  in  his  own  house.  A  few  were  soon 
■collected  together  and  joined  into  a  little  Society,  chiefly  his  own  countrymen, 
25 


394  Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 

Irisli-Germans.  In  about  three  months  after,  Brother  White  and  Brother  Souse^ 
from  Dublin,  joined  them.  Then  they  rented  an  empty  room  in  their  neighbor- 
hood, which  was  in  the  most  infamous  street  in  the  city,  adjoining  the  barracks. 
For  some  time  few  thought  it  worth  their  while  to  hear :  but  God  so  ordered  it 
by  his  providence  that  about  fourteen  months  ago  Captain  Webb,  barrack-master 
at  Albany,  (who  was  converted  tliree  years  since  at  Bristol,)  found  them  out,  and 
preached  in  his  regimentals.  The  novelty  ol  a  man  preaching  in  a  scarlet  coat 
soon  brought  greater  numbers  to  hear  than  the  room  could  contain.  But  his 
doctrines  were  quite  new  to  the  hearers;  for  he  told  them  point-blank  '  that  all 
their  knowleilge  and  religion  were  not  worth  a  rush,  unless  their  sins  were  for- 
given, and  they  had  "  the  witness  of  God's  Spirit  with  theirs  that  they  were  the 
children  of  Qod."  '  This  strange  doctrine,  with  some  peculiarities  in  his  person, 
made  him  soon  taken  notice  of ;  and  obliged  the  little  Society  to  look  out  for  a 
larger  house  to  preach  in.  They  soon  found  a  place  that  had  been  built  for  a 
rigging-house,  sixty  feet  in  length  and  eighteen  in  breadth. 

"About  this  period  Mr.  Webb,  whose  wife's  relations  lived  at  Jamaica,  Long 
Island,  took  a  house  in  that  neighborhood,  and  began  to  preach  in  his  own  house, 
and  several  other  places  on  Long  Island.  Within  six  months  about  twenty- 
four  persons  received  justifying  grace,  nearly  half  of  them  whites — the  rest 
negroes.  While  Mr.  Webb  was  (to  borrow  his  own  phrase)  '  felling  trees  on 
Long  Island,'  Brother  Embury  was  exhorting  all  who  attended  on  Thursday 
evenings,  and  Sundays,  morning  and  evening,  at  the  rigging-house,  to  flee  from 
the  wrath  to  come.  His  hearers  began  to  increase,  and  some  gave  heed  to  his 
report,  about  the  time  the  gracious  providence  of  God  brought  me  safe  to  New 
York,  after  a  very  favorable  passage  of  six  weeks  from  Plymouth.  It  was  the 
26th  day  of  October  last  when  I  arrived,  recommended  to  a  person  for  lodging; 
I  inquired  of  my  host  (who  was  a  very  religious  man)  if  any  Methodists  were  in 
New  York ;  he  answered  that  there  was  one  Captain  Webb,  a  strange  sort  of 
man,  who  lived  on  Long  Island,  and  who  sometimes  preached  at  one  Embury's, 
at  the  rigging-hduse.  In  a  few  days  I  found  out  Embury.  I  soon  found  of  what 
spirit  he  was,  and  that  he  was  personally  acquainted  with  you  and  your  doctrines, 
and  that  he  had  been  a  helper  in  Ireland.  He  had  formed  two  classes,  one  of 
the  men,  and  the  other  of  the  women,  but  had  never  met  the  Society  apart  from 
the  congregation,  although  there  were  six  or  seven  men,  and  as  many  women, 
who  had  a  clear  sense  of  their  acceptance  in  the  Beloved. 

' '  You  will  not  wonder  at  my  being  agreeably  surprised  in  meeting  with  a 
few  here  who  have  been,  and  desire  again  to  be,  in  connection  with  you.  God 
only  knows  the  weight  of  affliction  I  felt  on  leaving  my  native  country.  But 
I  have  reason  now  to  conclude  God  intended  all  for  my  good.  .  .  . 

' '  Mr.  Embury  lately  has  been  more  zealous  than  formerly,  the  consequence  of 
which  is,  that  he  is  more  lively  in  preaching,  and  his  gifts  as  well  as  graces  are 
much  increased.     Great  numbers  of  serious  persons  came  to  liear  God's  word  8/ 


Taylor's  Letter  to  Wesley.  395 

for  their  lives ;  and  their  numbers  increased  so  fast  that  our  house  for  six  weeka 
past  would  not  contain  half  the  people, 

"We  had  some  consultations  how  to  remedy  this  inconvenience,  and  Mr. 
Embury  proposed  renting  a  small  lot  of  ground  for  twenty-one  years,  and  to 
exert  our  utmf>st  endeavors  to  build  a  wooden  tabernacle.  A  piece  of  ground 
was  proposed ;  the  ground  rent  was  agreed  for,  and  the  lease  was  to  be  executed 
in  a  few  days.  We,  however,  in  the  meantime,  had  two  several  days  for  fasting 
and  prayer  foi  the  direction  of  God  and  his  blessing  on  our  proceedings,  and 
J*rovidence  opened  such  a  door  as  we  had  no  expectation  of.  A  young  man,  a 
sincere  Christian  and  constant  hearer,  though  not  joined  in  Society,  not  giving 
any  thing  toward  this  house,  offered  ten  pounds  to  buy  a  lot  of  ground,  went  of 
his  own  accord  to  a  lady  who  had  two  lots  to  sell,  on  one  of  which  there  is  a 
house  that  rents  for  eighteen  pounds  per  annum.  He  found  the  purchase  money 
of  the  two  lots  was  six  hundred  pounds,  which  she  was  willing  should  remain  in 
the  purchasers'  possession,  on  good  security.  We  called  once  more  on  God  for 
his  direction,  and  resolved  to  purchase  the  whole.  There  are  eight  of  us  who 
are  joint  purchasers,  among  whom  Mr.  Webb  and  Mr.  Lupton  are  men  of  prop- 
erty. I  was  determined  th-e 'house  should  be  on  the  same  footing  as  the  Orphan 
House  at  Newcastle,  and  others  in  England ;  but  as  we  were  ignorant  how  to 
draw  the  deeds,  we  purchased  lor  us  and  our  heirs,  until  a  copy  of  the  writing  is 
sent  us  from  England,  which  we  desire  may  be  sent  by  the  first  opportunity. 

"Before  we  began  to  talk  of  building  the  devil  and  his  children  were  very 
peaceable ;  but  since  this  affair  took  place  many  ministers  have  cursed  us  in  the 
uame  of  the  Lord,  and  labored  with  all  their  might  to  stop  their  congregations 
from  assisting  us.  But  He  that  sitteth  in  the  highest  laughed  them  to  scorn  I 
Many  hav-  broken  through,  and  given  their  friendly  assistance.  We  have 
collected  aoove  one  hundred  pounds  more  than  our  own  contributions,  and  have 
reason  to  hope  in  the  whole  we  shall  have  two  hundred  pounds;  but  the  house 
will  cost  us  four  hundred  pounds  more,  so  that  unless  God  is  pleased  to  raise  up 
friends  we  shall  yet  be  at  a  loss.  I  believe  Mr.  Webb  and  Mr.  Lupton  will  bor- 
row or  advance  two  hundred  pounds,  rather  than  the  building  should  not  go 
forward;  but  the  interest  of  money  here  is  a  great  burden — being  seven  per  cent. 

"Some  of  our  brethren  proposed  writing  to  you  for  a  collection  in  England 
but  I  was  averse  to  this,  as  I  well  knew  our  friends  there  are  overburdened 
already.  Yet  so  far  I  would  earnestly  beg :  if  you  would  intimate  our  circum- 
stances to  particular  persons  of  ability,  perhaps  God  would  open  their,  hearts 
to  assist  this  infant  Society,  and  contribute  to  the  first  preaching  house  on  the 
original  Methodist  plan  in  all  America,  (excepting  Mr.  Whitefield's  Orphan  House 
in  Georgia:)  but  I  shall  write  no  more  on  this  subject. 

"There  is  another  point  far  more  material,  and  in  which  I  must  importune 
your  assistance,  not  only  in  my  own  uame,  but  also  in  the  name  of  the  whole 
Society.      We  want  an  able  and  experienced  preacher;  one  who  has  both  gift* 


396  Illustrated  History  of  Methodise. 

and  grace  necessary  for  the  work.  God  has  not,  indeed,  despised  the  day  of 
small  things.  There  is  a  real  work  of  grace  begun  in  many  hearts  by  the  preach- 
ing of  Mr.  Webb  and  Mr.  Embury;  but  although  they  are  both  useful,  and 
their  hearts  in  the  work,  they  want  many  qualifications  for  such  an  undertaking; 
and  the  progress  of  the  Gospel  here  depends  much  upon  the  qualifications  of 
preachers. 

"  In  regard  to  a  preacher,  if  possible  we  must  have  a  man  of  wisdom,  of  sound 
faith,  and  a  good  disciplinarian:  one  whose  heart  and  soul  are  in  the  work;  and 
I  doubt  not  but  by  the  goodness  of  God  such  a  flame  will  be  soon  kindled  as 
would  never  stop  until  it  reached  the  great  South  Sea.  We  may  make  many 
shifts  to  evade  temporal  inconveniences ;  but  we  cannot  purchase  such  a  preacher 
as  I  have  described.  Dear  sir,  I  entreat  you,  for  the  good  of  thousands,  to  use 
your  utmost  endeavors  to  send  one  over.  I  would  advise  him  to  take  shipping 
at  Bristol,  Liverpool,  or  Dublin,  in  the  month  of  July,  or  early  in  August:  by 
embarking  at  this  season  he  will  have  fine  weather  in  his  passage,  and  probably 
arrive  here  in  the  month  of  September.  He  will  see  before  winter  what  prog- 
ress the  Gospel  has  made. 

"With  respect  to  money  for  the  payment  of  the  preachers'  passage  over,  if 
they  could  not  procure  it,  we  would  sell  our  coats  and  shirts  to  procure  it  for 
them. 

"I  most  earnestly  beg  an  interest  in  your  prayers,  and  trust  you,  and  many 
of  our  brethren,  will  not  forget  the  Church  in  this  wilderness. 
' '  I  remain  with  sincere  esteem.  Rev.  and  dear  sir, 

"  Your  very  aflfectidnate  brother  and  servant, 

"Thomas  Taylor."* 

Early  Hethodisiii  in  Philadelphia.— In  1768  Captain 
Webb  extended  his  evangelistic  labors  to  the  city  of  Philadelphia. 
The  way  had  been  opened  for  him  by  the  good  words  of  a  Kev.  Mr. 
"Wrangle,  a  Swedish  missionary,  who  had  visited  the  city,  and  whose 
favorable  impressions  of  Methodism  from  reading  Mr.  Wesley's 
vrritings  induced  him  to  advise  his  friends  to  receive  the  Methodist 
preachers ;  who,  from  their  well-known  •  enterprising  spirit,  he  was 
sure  could  not  be  long  in  making  their  appearance.  A  class  of 
seven  members  was  organized,  and  the  Methodist  head-quarters  was 
•estabhshed  in  a  sail-loft  on  Front-street,  near  Dock  Creek.  This 
new  appointment,  also,  the  missionary  captain  added  to  his  already 
wide  preaching  circuit,  and  the  little  vine  grew  and  flourished  under 
the  sunshine  of  God's  favor  and  the  dews  of  his  grace. 

♦  Bangs,  vol.  i,  p.  52. 


St.  George's  Church. 


'^9^7 


St.  (JiJeorge's  rinir«*h,  the  oldest  Methodist  Church  now  stand- 
ing in  America,  was  for  a  quarter  of  a  century  the  most  spacious  edi 
Hce  owned  by  the  denomination.  Its  walls  and  roof  were  erected  by 
a  Reformed  German  congregation,  in  1T63.  It  was  a  large  building; 
for  those  days,  being  no  less  than  fifty-five  by  eighty-five  feet,  and  its. 
size  and  grandeur  were  the  talk  of  all  the  country  round.  For  nearly 
six  years  the  congregation  worshiped  under  it's  roof  with  its  rough 
walls  unfinished,  and  only  the  bare  earth  for  a  flooi- ;  at  the  end  of 


ST.    GEORGE'S    CHURCH,    PHILADELPHIA. 


that  time,  being  ho})elessly  in  debt,  its  trustees  were  arrested  by  the 
creditors,  thrown  into  prison,  and  the  house  was  put  np  at  public 
aution  to  satisfy  their  demands.  Among  the  bidders  was  a  young 
man  of  feeble  intellect,  but  of  a  wealthy  family,  who,  from  some 
foolish  impulse,  ran  the  building  up  to  seven  hundred  and  fifty  pounds, 
Pennsylvania  currency,  (the  "  pound  "  in  that  colony  was  worth  two 
dollars  and  sixty-six  cents,)  and  he  was  declared  its  purchaser.  The 
young  mail's  father,  not  wishing  to  publicly  expose  his  son's  infirniity,. 


398  Illusteated  Histoey  of  Methodism. 

paid  the  money  for  the  church,  and  then  began  to  look  about  him 
to  dispose  of  the  property  with  which  he  was  encumbered;  and, 
hearing  of  Captain  Webb  and  his  little  congregation,  he  offered  to  sell 
them  the  building  for  fifty  pounds  less  than  it  had  cost  him.  Captain 
Webb  advised  an  acceptance  of  the  offer ;  his  martial  spirit  suggested 
the  name;  and  thus  St.  George's  Methodist  Church  was  founded. 
The  building  then  consisted  of  nothing  but  the  four  walls  and  a  roof, 
but  Captain  Webb  in  full  regimentals  stood  upon  the  bare  ground 
and  preached  Sunday  after  Sunday  to  large  and  admiring  crowds,  who 
could  well  spare  the  elegances  and  even  the  conveniences  of  churcb 
architecture  with  such  a  preacher  and  such  congregations. 

For  a  long  time  this  state  of  things  continued,  the  Society  being 
too  poor  to  finish  the  church,  so  that  its  use  for  a  riding-school  by  the 
British  Army,  when  General  Howe  had  his  winter-quarters  among 
the  rebels  in  Philadelphia,  was  somewhat  less  suprising  than  if  it  had 
been  possessed  of  doors,  windows,  floor,  and  the  other  usual  appurte- 
nances of  a  house  of  worship. 

When  peace  was  restored  the  congregation  set  about  placing  the 
church  on  a  sound  financial  basis,  and  with  this  end  in  view  adopted, 
as  the  church  record  shows,  the  somewhat  questionable  method  of  a 
lottery.  Whether  or  not  this  brought  money  into  the  Church  purse 
is  not  known.  Every  thing  about  the  church  was  conducted  in  an 
economic  way,  and  so  late  as  1800  sand  and  not  carpets  covered  its 
floors. 

The  rear  wall  on  either  side  of  the  pulpit  contains  two  high  monu- 
mental tablets,  on  which  are  recorded  the  names  of  the  long  list  of  the 
pastors  of  "Old  St.  George's,"  as  the  place  is  affectionately  called; 
among  which  will  be  found  the  names  of  four  Bishops  of  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Church,  Asbury,  Whatcoat,  Roberts,  and  Scott ;  E.ev. 
Charles  Pitman,  a  noted  revivalist,  under  whose  ministry  the  member- 
ship of  the  Church  increased  to  the  number  of  fifteen  hundred ;  the 
late  lamented  AKred  Cookman ;  and  others  of  great  mark  and  sainted 
memory. 

In  a  little  room  in  the  building  which  the  iconoclast's  hand  has  yet 
spared  several  Conferences  were  held.  In  it  still  stands  the  chair  in 
which  Bishop  Asbury  sat,  the  desk  at  which  he  wrote,  the  hard  benches 
which  the  preachers  occupied,  and  around  the  wall  are  the  same  old 


OUR  PASTORS. 


1769. 

JOSEPH   PILMOOR, 

RICHARD  BOARD.\I\N. 

FRANCIS  ASBURY. 

RICHARD  WRIGHT. 

THOMAS  RANKIN. 

GEORGE  SHADFORD. 

SAMUEL  SPRAGG. 

WILLIAM   DUKE. 

FREEBORN    GARRETTSON 

PHILIP  COX. 

JOSHUA   DUDLEY, 

DANIEL  RUFF. 

JOHN   COOPER. 

GEORGE  MAIR. 

iVILLIAM  GLENDENNING 

SAMUEL  ROWE. 

ISAAC   ROLLINS. 

JOHN    COLEMAN. 

REUBEN   ELLIS. 

JOHN   HAGERTY. 

THOMAS  HASKINS. 

LEE  ROY  COLE. 

JOSEPH  CROMWELL. 

JEREMIAH   LAMBERT. 

IRA  ELLIS. 

JAMES    THOMAS. 

HENRY  OGBURN. 

PETER  MORIARTY. 

SAMUEL  DUDLEY. 

WILLIAM  THOMAS. 

LEMUEL  GREEN. 

JOHN   DICKINS. 

RICHARD  WHATCOAT. 

HENRY  WILLIS. 

THOMAS  MORRELL. 

JOHN   M'CLASKEY. 

EZEKIEL  COOPER. 

WILSO.N   LEE. 

JAMES  MOORE 

CHARLES  CAVE.NDER. 

PHILIP  BRUCE. 

LAWRENCE  .M'COMBS. 

SAMUEL  COATE. 

DANIEL  HIGBY. 

WILLIAM   P.  CHANDLER. 

GEORGE  ROBERTS. 

SOLO.MON  SHARP. 

THOMAS  F.  SARGENT. 

WILLIAM  BISHOP. 

WILLIAM    COLBERT. 

JAMES  S.MITH. 

JOSEPH  TOTTEN. 

THOMAS    EVERARD. 

THOMAS  WARE. 
RICHARD  SNEATH. 
THOMAS  DUNN. 
DAVID  BARTINE, 
JOHN  WALKER. 
THOMAS  S.MITH. 


1808. 


1809. 


JAMES  BATEMAN. 

THOMAS  BUDD. 
THOMAS  BURCH. 
STEPHEN  G.   ROSZEL. 
THOMAS  BORING. 
WILLIAM    HUNTER. 
ROBERT  R.  ROBERTS. 
MANNING  FORCE. 
DAVID  BEST. 
ROBERT  BURCH. 
STEPHEN   MARTINI 
\WRENCE    LAWRF 
JOHN    PRICE. 
MARTIN    RUTE 
SYLVESTER  G.  H 
JOSEPH   RUSLIN 

WILLIAM  ryla; 

JAMES  SMITH,  of 

JAMES  SMITH,  of 

JAMES  SMITH,  S 

THOMAS  MILLE 

WILLIAM  THACH 

HENRY   G.  KIN( 

DANIEL   PARISI 

CHARLES  riTMA 

WILLIAM   BARNI 

JOSEPH  HOLDIC 

SAMUEL  MERWI 

LEVIN   M.   PRETTYl 

ROBERT  LUTTo; 

SAMUEL  DOUGHT 

JOHN    LEDNUM 

JACOB  GRUBER 

LEVI  SCOTT. 

THOMAS  J.  THOMP 

BARTHOLOMEW   W 

ANTHONY  ATWO 

LEVI  STORKS. 

GEORGE  6.  COOKN 

FRANCIS    HODGS( 

WILLIAM  COOPE 

JEFFERSON    LEW 

HENRY    WHITE 

ROBERT    GERRT 

THOMAS  M'CARRO 

JOHN   S.  PORTE 

WILLIAM    ROBER 

CHARLES    A.    DAV 

JOSEPH  LYBRAN 

JOHN    B.  HAGAN 

EDWIN   L.  JANE 

IGNATIUS  T.  COOI 

JOSEPH  CASTLI 

WILLIAM  M.  D.   R\ 

JOHN    A.   ROCHl 

JOHN   D.  CURTIS 

JOHN   F.  BOONE 

WILLIAM  C.   ROBIN 

ROBERT  H.  PATTIS 


18C5. 


Il   I 


400  Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 

wooden  pegs  on  whicli  tliey  hung  their  broad-brimmed  hats.  It  was 
in  this  Church  that  the  first  American  Methodist  Conference  was  held 
in  the  month  of  June,  lYTS. 

This  is  the  parent  Society,  from  which  have  sprung  the  great  fam- 
ily of  ninety-three  Methodist  Churches  that  now  stand  in  the  city 
of  Philadelphia  and  its  immediate  suburbs,  with  a  membership  of 
nearly  twenty-five  thousand,  and  Church  property  valued  at  over  two 
and  one  haK  millions  of  dollars. 

Methodist  Beg^innin^s  in  Baltimore. — The  honor  of 
preaching  the  first  Methodist  sermon  in  Baltimore  belongs  to  John 
King,  an  li^nghsh  local  preacher,  who  landed  at  Philadelpliia  in  1769. 
Finding  that  a  large  field  was  here  opened  for  the  Gospel,  he  felt 
moved  to  devote  himself  wholly  to  the  work  of  the  ministry,  and  at 
once  offered  his  services  to  the  Society  in  Philadelphia,  and  desired  of 
them  a  license  to  preach.  "While  the  brethren  hesitated  about  the 
matter  King  made  an  appointment  to  preach  in  the  Potter's  Field, 
and  there  demonstrated  his  abihty  by  a  rousing  gospel  sermon  among 
the  graves  of  the  poor. 

It  was  not  long  before  he  fell  in  with  Strawbridge  on  his  embryo 
circuit  in  Maryland,  and  for  some  length  of  time  the  two  men  traveled 
and  preached  right  lovingly  and  powerfully  together.  Perhaps  there 
was  over  much  power  of  one  sort  in  the  sermons  of  Brother  King,  for 
he  was  the  man  to  whom  Mr.  Wesley  gave  that  solemn  charge; 
"Scream  no  more  at  the  peril  of  your  soul.  It  is  said  of  our 
Lord,  'He  shall  not  cry;'  the  word  properly  means,  He  shall  not 
scream." 

King  was  accused  by  Mr.  Wesley  of  being  "  stubborn  "  and  "  head- 
strong ; "  but  these  were  qualities  likely  to  be  of  good  service  amid  the 
difficulties  of  a  new  country. 

His  pulpit,  on  the  occasion  of  his  first  advent  at  Baltimore,  was  a 
blacksmith's  block,  as  represented  in  the  accompanying  picture,  the 
topography  of  which  was  studied  from  the  location  itself.  The  shop 
stood  on  what  is  now  Front-street,  near  French-street,  now  renamed 
Bath-street,  W.  The  foot-bridge  here  shown  spanned  the  stream  near 
Jones's  Falls.  The  mansion  in  the  distance  is  Howard  Park,  at  that 
time  the  residence  of  Colonel  John  Eager  Howard,  the  hero  of  the 
battle  of  Cowpens,  in  South  Carohna      These  grounds  now  comprise 


402 


Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 


one  of  tlie  finest  portions  of  Baltimore,  containing,  among  other  not- 
able structures,  the  famous  Washington  Monument  and  the  elegant 
Mt.  Yernon  Place  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 

His  next  sermon  was  from  a  table,  at  the  junction  of  Baltimore  and 
Calvert-streets.  His  courage  was  tested  on  this  occasion,  for  it  was  the 
militia  training-day,  and  the  drunken  crowd  charged  upon  him  so 
effectually  as  to  upset  the  table  and  lay  him  prostrate  on  the  earth. 
He  knew,  however,  tliat  the  noblest  preachers  of  Methodism  had  suf- 
fered like  trials  in  England,  and  he  maintained  his  ground  coura- 
geously.    The  commander  of  the  troops,  an  Englishman,  recognized 


MOUNT    VERNON   PLACE   M.    E.    CIIURCII,    BALTIMORE. 

him  as  a  fellow-countryman,  and,  defending  him,  restored  order  and 
allowed  him  to  proceed.  Victorious  over  the  mob,  he  made  so  favoi-- 
able  an  impression  as  to  be  invited  to  preach  in  the  English  Church 
of  St.  Paul's,  but  improved  that  opportunity  witli  such  fervor  as  to 
receive  no  repetition  of  the  courtesy. 

It  is  recorded  that  he  "  made  the  dust  fly  from  the  old  velvet  cush- 
ion "  of  the  pulpit,  and  it  is  to  be  feared  that,  under  the  exhilarating 


Begij^jvings  in  Baltimore. 


403 


effects  of  such  unwonted  good  fortune,  lie  may  have  partly  forgotten 
Mr.  Wesley's  adjuration  not  to  scream. 

As  tins  sturdy  pioneer  may  not  be  met  with  again  in  these  pages, 
let  it  here  be  recorded  that  he  served  in  the  ranks  of  the  itinerant 
ministry,  except  an  enforced  location  during  the  War  of  the  Eevolu- 
tion,  until  1803.  At  his  death,  in  North  Carolina,  in  a  ripe  old  age, 
he  M^as  believed  to  be  the  last  of  the  Methodist  preachers  who  had 
shared  in  the  pioneer  service  before  the  Independence  of  America. 


ST.    PAUL'S   METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH,    NEW    YORK, 


RICHARD    BOARDMAN. 


JOSEPH   PILMOOR. 


CHAPTER   XVL 

THE  ENGLISH  MISSIONARIES. 

Tolimteers  for  America. — Neither  Strawbridge,  Embury,. 
Webb,  nor  King,  came  to  America  for  the  purpose  of  preaching  the- 
Gospel,  thongh  this  was  evidently  the  divine  purpose  in  sending 
them.  Their  work  was  owned  of  God,  and  enjoyed  by  the  people  ; 
but  there  was  also,  in  the  judgment  of  these  pioneers,  a  need  of 
regularly  ordained  ministers.  They  did  not  conceive  the  "Holy 
Catholic  Church  "  to  be  a  "  rope  of  sand ; "  but  their  hearts  turned 
toward  their  sj)iritual  father,  Mr.  "Wesley,  not  only  as  a  man  who 
might  send  them  ministerial  re-enforcements,  but,  also,  as  the  divinely 
appointed  head  of  a  system  of  churchly  order. 

The  call  of  the  American  Methodists  for  preachers  produced  a  pro- 
found impression  in  England.  The  news  of  the  rapid  progress  of  the 
work  of  grace  among  them  kindled  the  enthusiasm  of  the  Wesleyan 
itinerants,  and  before  the  Conference  met  at  which  missionaries  could 
be  duly  appointed,  some  humbler  men,  imbued  with  the  enthusiasm 
of  the  new  movement,   were   ready  to  throw  themselves   upon  the 


Robert  Williams.  405 

liazards  of  the  distant  field,  that  they  might  share  in  the  first  combats 
^nd  help  win  the  first  victories  in  the  name  of  the  Lord. 

Robert  Williaiii§.— One  of  these  men,  whose  soul  was  all 
•ablaze  with  missionary  zeal,  was  Eobert  Williams,  an  English  local 
preacher,  who,  in  view  of  the  call  from  America,  applied  to  Mr.  Wesley 
for  permission  to  go  there  and  preach ;  which  was  granted,  on  condition 
that  he  should  labor  under  the  direction  of  the  regular  missionaries 
whenever  they  should  arrive.  Williams  had  no  money  for  his  passage, 
but  he  had  a  friend  in  Ireland  named  Ashton,  a  richer  man  than  him- 
self, who  was  just  about  to  embark  for  America ;  he  therefore  hastily 
sold  his  horse  to  pay  his  debts,  and  with  empty  pockets  but  a  full 
heart  hastened  to  the  ship,  quite  sure  that  his  Irish  friend  would 
not  leave  him  behind.  In  this  he  was  not  disappointed,  and  Williams 
landed  in  E"ew  York  in  October,  1769,  nearly  two  months  before  the 
regular  Conference  missionaries  arrived. 

To  him  belongs  the  honor  of  introducing  Methodism  into  Yirginia. 
After  some  successful  soul-saving  work  along  with  Strawbridge  and 
King  in  Maryland,  he  passed  on  to  Norfolk,  Ya.,  in  1772,  where  he 
commenced  his  mission  by  a  song,  a  prayer,  and  a  sermon,  from  the 
steps  of  the  Court-house ;  and  soon  formed  a  little  Society. 

Williams  was  the  first  publisher  of  Mr.  Wesley's  books  in  America. 
In  the  year  1773  he  was  received  by  the  first  Conference,  at  Philadel- 
phia; and  he  was  the  first  of  the  English  missionaries  who  found  a 
grave  on  American  soil.  His  death  occurred  near  JNTorfolk,  Ya.,  Sep- 
tember 26,  1775.  His  funeral  sermon  was  preached  by  Mr.  Asbury, 
in  which  he  says :  "  Perhaps  no  man  in  America  has  been  an  instni- 
ment  of  awakening  so  many  souls  as  God  has  awakened  by  him." 

Boardinan  and  Pilmoor.— The  records  of  the  twenty- 
sixth  Methodist  Conference,  held  at  Leeds  August  3,  1769,  contain 
these  memorable  questions  and  answers  : — 

"Q.  We  have  a  pressing  call  from  our  brethren  of  New  York 
(who  have  built  a  preaching  house)  to  come  over  and  help  them.  Who 
is  wilHng  to  go  ? 

"  Ans.  Richard  Boardman  and  Joseph  Pilmoor. 

"  Q.  What  can  we  do  further  in  token  of  our  brotherly  love  ? 

"  Ans.  Let  us  now  take  a  collection  among  ourselves. 

"This  was  immediately  done,  and  out   of   it  £50  were  allotted 


406  Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 

toward  the  paj^nent  of  their  debt,  and  about  £20  given  to  our  brethren 
for  their  passage." 

Boardman,  the  senior  of  the  two,  was  about  thirty-one  years  of  age. 
He  is  described  as  vigorous,  zealous,  a  man  of  deep  piety  and  strong 
understanding,  and  of  an  amiable  disposition.  He  had  been  six  years 
an  itinerant  preacher,  and  was  at  this  time  mourning  the  recent  death 
of  his  wife.  His  Irish  brethren  at  Cork,  when,  thirteen  years  later, 
they  laid  him  in  his  grave,  pronounced  a  high  eulogy  upon  him  as  an 
eloquen ;  and  powerful  preacher ;  but  his  memory  in  America  is  pre- 
cious rather  on  account  of  his  loving,  gentle  disposition,  than  of  any 
distinguished  pulpit  ability. 

Pilmoor  had  been  converted  in  his  sixteenth  year  through  the 
preaching  of  "Wesley ;  had  been  educated  at  Wesley's  Kingswood 
school ;  and  had  now  itinerated  about  four  years,  having  been 
admitted  to  the  Conference  in  1765.  He  was  a  man  of  high  courage, 
commanding  presence,  much  executive  skill,  and  ready  discourse.  His 
term  of  service  in  America  closed  in  17T4:,  in  which  year  he  returned 
to  England ;  fell  out  with  Mr.  Wesley,  who  had  failed  to  include  him 
in  the  "  Legal  Hundred  ;  "  returned  again  to  America ;  received  ordi- 
nation in  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church,  and  preached  for  some 
years  in  the  cities  of  Philadelphia  and  New  York,  where  he  died  in 
1821.  If  we  may  judge  by  his  portrait  he  was  a  courtly  gentleman, 
and  possessed  of  natural*  abilities  of  a  very  high  order. 

The  Arrival  of  the  Missionaries  at  Philadelphia 
was  a  memorable  event.  After  a  rough  voyage  across  the  ocean,  as 
they  approached  the  Delaware  Bay  they  encountered  a  most  terrific 
gale,  that  strewed  the  coast  with  wrecks ;  a  fate  which  for  a  time 
their  ship  was  expected  to  share ;  but  in  the  midst  of  danger,  look- 
ing death  in  the  face,  Boardman  says  :  "  I  found  myself  exceedingly 
happy,  and  rested  satisfied  that  death  would  be  gain.  I  do  not  re- 
member to  have  had  one  doubt  of  being  eternally  saved  should  the 
mighty  waters  swallow  us  up." 

At  length,  after  a  voyage  of  nine  weeks,  they  landed  at  Philadel- 
phia on  the  24th  of  October,  1769.  During  part  of  this  time  the  Rev. 
George  Whitefield  was  also  on  the  sea,  which  for  the  thirteenth  time 
he  was  crossing  to  preach  and  die  in  America.  All  the  old  theolog- 
caJ  quarrels  between  him  and  Wesley  had  ceased  long  ago ;  and  on 


BOAKDMAN   AND    PiLMOOK.  407^ 

reaching  Pliiladelpliia,  from  his  beloved  Orphan  House  at  Savannah, 
he  met  the  Wesleyan  missionaries,  hailed  them  with  joy,  and  gave 
them  his  blessing. 

The  good  work  thus  re-enforced  went  on  more  rapidly  than  ever. 
Captain  Webb,  who  was  on  the  shore  at  Philadelphia  to  greet  them, 
put  into  their  hands  a  plan  of  the  American  circuit,  which,  with  the 
help  of  himself,  Williams,  and  King,  they  were  to  travel.  Kew  York, 
however,  desired  the  full  service  of  Boardman,  while  Philadelphia 
wished  to  monopolize  Pilmoor,  and  thus  at  the  outset  the  itinerant 
system,  so  vital  to  the  success  of  Methodism  in  America,  was  in  danger 
of  being  replaced  by  a  settled  ministry. 

Shortly  after  his  arrival  Boardman,  who  was  the  senior  preacher^ 
wrote  to  Wesley  from  New  York,  under  date  of  November  4, 1Y69,  as 
follows : — 

"  Ther",  appears  such  a  wilhngness  in  the  Americans  to  hear  the 
word  as  I  never  saw  before.  They  have  no  preaching  in  some  parts 
of  the  rack  settlements.  I  doubt  not  but  an  effectual  door  will  be 
opened  among  them.  O !  may  the  Most  High  now  give  his  Son  the 
heathen  for  his  inheritance.  The  number  of  blacks  that  attend  the 
preaching  affects  me  much." 

In  April,  1T71,  he  reports  a  "great  awakening,"  in  which  thirty 
persons  had  been  added  to  the  Society,  "  five  of  whom  have  received  a 
clear  sense  of  the  pardoning  love  of  God." 

Pilmoor  was  more  abundant  than  Boardman  in  travels  and  advent- 
ures, if  not  more  abundant  in  success.  He  opened  his  commission  in 
Philadelphia  with  a  sermon  from  the  Court-house  steps ;  filled  his  six 
months'  term  at  St.  George's  Church  acceptably,  and  then,  after  an 
exchange  of  parishes  with  the  senior  preacher,  he  took  a  wide  range 
far  to  the  south.  He  preached  on  the  sidewalk  in  Baltimore;  pro- 
duced quite  a  sensation  at  Norfolk,  Ya.;  held  forth  in  the  theater  at 
Charleston,  S.  C,  where  he  could  find  no  other  door  open  to  him ; 
reached  Savannah  at  last,  where  he  paid  a  visit  to  Whitefield's  Orphan 
.House,  every-where  winning  his  way  with  all  classes  of  people. 

His  theater  service  at  Charleston  was  interrupted  in  a  manner 
which  would  have  embarrassed  a  more  diffident  man.  In  the  midst  of 
his  sermon  what  was  his  surprise  to  find  himself,  pulpit  and  all,  sud- 
denly lowered  into  the  cellar !     Some  sons  of  Belial,  who  were  familiar 


408  Illustrated  Histoey  of  Methodism. 

with  the  mysteries  of  the  stage,  had  contrived  to  have  him  placed  on 
•one  of  the  traps  in  the  floor,  whereby  he  was  made  to  disappear  in 
spite  of  himself  ;  but,  nothing  harmed  or  frightened,  he  sprang  upon 
the  stage,  regained  the  table  which  had  served  him  for  a  pulpit,  and 
taking  it  in  his  arms  he  invited  his  hearers  to  adjourn  with  him  to 
the  adjoining  yard,  where  there  were  no  trap-doors  to  trouble  him. 
'"  Come  on,  my  friends,"  cried  he ;  "  we  will,  by  the  grace  of  God, 
defeat  the  devil  this  time,  and  not  be  driven  by  him  from  our  work ; " 
and  when  they  had  gathered  again  about  him  he  finished  his  sermon 
in  triumph  in  the  open  air. 

His  plain  preaching  on  his  first  appearance  at  Norfolk  had  roused 
the  opposition  of  the  regular  clergyman  of  that  parish,  who,  after  his 
departure,  made  an  attack  on  the  Methodists  from  his  pulpit,  taking 
for  his  text  the  words,  "  Be  not  righteous  overmuch."  This  was  duly 
reported  to  Pilmoor,  who  soon  took  a  second  occasion  to  preach  in  the 
town ;  which  was  then  a  notoriously  wicked  place.  He  gave  out  that 
he  would  take  for  his  text  the  verse  of  Scripture  next  following  the 
one  which  the  parish  parson  had  used  against  him,  and  when  a  great 
<5rowd  had  assembled,  expecting  something  exciting,  Pilmoor  com- 
menced his  sermon  from  the  words,  "  Be  not  overmuch  wicked." 
^'  I  have  been  informed,"  said  he,  "  that  a  minister  in  this  town  has 
given  its  citizens  a  solemn  caution  against  being  overmuch  righteous :  " 
then,  lifting  his  hands  in  amazement,  he  exclaimed,  "And  he  hath 
given  this  caution  in  ISTorfolk  !  " 

The  effect  of  such  a  turning  of  the  tables  can  be  better  imagined 
than  described.  The  incident  is  of  value  as  giving  a  glimpse  of  one 
of  the  men — and  there  were  many  like  him — who  helped  to  lay  the 
foundation  of  the  Methodist  Church  in  America ;  men  who  were  in- 
capable of  fear,  who  were  surprised  at  nothing,  and  who  did  not  know 
the  meaning  of  defeat. 

Francis  Asbury. — And  now  appears  a  name  ever  memorable 
in  the  history  of  the  Methodist  Church  in  America;  a  character  of 
the  purest  and  strongest  that  is  possible  to  mortals,  and  a  career  the 
most  heroic  that  was  ever  witnessed  under  this  "Western  sky.  Like  all 
•the  other  great  Methodists,  he  was  first  the  product  and  then  the  pro- 
moter of  Methodism.  He  grew  with  its  growth  and  strengthened  with 
its  strength,  till,  from  a  good,  conscientious,  savingly-converted  man  of 


Francis  Asbury. 


409 


eoimd  common  sense,  and  only  fair  ministerial  talent,  lie  became  the 
John  Wesley  of  the  West ;  a  man  who,  in  the  fullness  of  his  strength, 
had  no  other  peer  as  a  captain  of  the  Lord's  hosts  in  all  the  Enghsh- 
speaking  world. 

A  careful  study  of  his  Journals  affords  no  evidence  of  superior 
genius.  Under  ordinary  circumstances  he  would  have  come  to  no 
greater  glory  and  honor  than  that  to  which  many  of  the  better  class 
of  Methodist  preachers  have  attained ;  but  God  called  him  to  be  the 


FKAKCIS    ASBUBY. 
For  portrait  of  Asbuiy  In  his  younger  days  see  frontispiece  of  Part  II, 

"Bishop  of  the  Methodists  in  America,  as  he  called  Wesley  to  be  their 
Bishop  in  Great  Britian,  and  to  both  these  chosen  servants  he  gave 
that  broad,  deep  culture  of  episcopal  experience  and  responsibility,  and 
that  heavenly  grace  and  power,  which  lifts  their  heads  so  far  above  the 
ordinary  level  of  the  Christ  i  m  ministry.  The  pre-eminent  greatness 
of  these  men  was  not  natural,  but  supernatural ;  a  further  proof  of  the 
•divine  origin,  character,  and  mission  of  that  form  of  religion  called 
Methodism. 

But  this  is  not  the  place  to  sum  up  and  set  forth  the  character  of 

26 


410  Illusteated  Histoey  of  Methodism. 

the  Pioneer  Bishop :  that  task,  at  best  a  difficult  one,  can  better  be  per- 
formed at  the  close  than  at  the  commencement  of  his  career.  It  i» 
always  allowable  in  art  to  paint  a  man  at  his  best. 

At  the  Wesleyan  Conference  of  1771  volunteers  for  America  were 
again  called  for,  and  of  the  five  who  offered  themselves  two  were 
chosen — Francis  Asburj  and  Richard  "Wright.  The  latter  of  these, 
after  a  short  period  of  service  returned  to  England,  and  disappeared 
from  the  ranks  of  traveling  preachers;  the  former  remained  to  win 
immortal  fame. 

Asbury  was  then  one  of  the  young  preachers ;  he  had  been  in 
the  ministry  but  five  years,  and  was  only  about  twenty-six  years'  old. 
He  was,  however,  thoroughly  groimded  in  Methodist  experience,  fairly 
well  taught  in  Methodist  doctrine,  was  a  thoughtful,  devoted  young 
man,  who  could  endure  hardness,  and  one  who  could  learn  and  grow. 
These  solid  qualifications  won  him  the  appointment  as  Mr.  "Wesley's 
"  assistant "  in  America ;  which  title  implied  the  general  superintend- 
ence over  all  the  American  work,  though  he  was  by  far  the  youngest 
man  in  it. 

Asbury  was  the  only  son  of  poor  parents.  He  was  born  in  the  parish 
of  Handsworth,  Staffordshire,  about  four  miles  from  Birmingham, 
on  the  20th  of  August,  1745.  Through  childhood  he  was  faithfully 
taught  in  the  things  of  religion  by  his  godly  mother,  was  brought  to  a 
saving  knowledge  of  Christ  when  a  youth  of  fifteen,  was  a  class-leader 
and  a  local  preacher  at  seventeen,  and  at  twenty-one  an  itinerant  in 
the  regular  work.  His  school-days  were  neither  long  nor  pleasant.  It 
was  his  misfortune  to  fall  into  the  hands  of  a  brutal  master,  of  whom 
he  had  such  a  dread  that,  though  he  was  fond  enough  of  his  book,  the 
school  was  quite  insufferable  ;  he,  therefore,  left  it  when  about  thirteen 
years  of  age  and  went  to  learn  a  trade.  His  want  of  early  instruction 
was  a  great  affliction  to  him  in  after  life,  concerning  which  he  writes 
in  his  Journal :  "  While  I  was  a  traveling  preacher  in  England  I  waa 
much  tempted,  finding  myseK  exceedingly  ignorant  of  almost  every 
thing  a  minister  of  the  Gospel  ought  to  know."  This  deficiency  he 
made  up  in  part.  As  he  traveled  his  great  American  circuits  it  was 
his  custom  to  ride  with  his  book  open  before  him,  and  in  this  "  irreg- 
ular" manner  he  made  himseK  master  of  the  Greek  and  Hebrew 
Scriptures,  and  other  essential  branches  of  sound  learning.     But  the 


Francis  Asbury. 


411 


great  requirements  were,  a  conscious  experience  of  regenerating  grace, 
and  a  divine  call  to  the  ministry  of  the  word ;  it  being  presumed  that 
if  God  called  a  man  to  preach,  he  could  preach ;  and  that  if  he  did 
his  best  God  was  willing  to  be  responsible  for  the  consequences.  On 
these  two  points  young  Asbury  was  clear.  Here  is  his  own  account 
thereof : — 

"  Soon  after  I  entered  business  God  sent  a  pious  man,  not  a  Meth- 
odist, into  our  neighborhood,  and  my  mother  invited  him  to  our  house ; 
by  his  conversation  and  prayers  I  was  awakened  before  I  was  fourteen 
years  of  age.    It  was  now  easy  and  pleasing  to  leave  my  company,  and 


HOME    OF  ASBURT  S    CHILDHOOD. 


I  began  to  pray  morning  and  evening.  I  soon  left  our  blind  2^riest, 
and  went  to  West-Bromwick  church :  here  I  heard  Eyland,  Stilling- 
fleet,  Talbot,  Bagnall,  Mansfield,  Hawes,  and  Yenn ;  great  names,  and 
esteemed  gospel  ministers.  I  became  very  serious,  reading  a  great 
deal — ^Whitefield's  and  Cennick's  sermons,  and  every  good  book  I 
could  meet  with.  It  was  not  long  before  I  began  to  inquire  of  my 
mother  who,  where,  and  what  were  the  Methodists ;  she  gave  me  a 
favorable  account,  and  directed  me  to  a  person  who  could  take  me  to 
Wednesbury  to  hear  them.  I  soon  found  this  was  not  the  Church — 
but  it  was  better.  The  people  were  so  devout — men  and  women 
kneehng  down — saying  Amen.     Now,  behold !    they  were   singing 


412  Illustrated  Histoey  of  Methodism. 

hymns — sweet  sound!  Why,  strange  to  tell!  the  preacher  had  no 
prayer  book,  and  yet  he  prayed  wonderfully!  What  was  yet  more 
extraordinary,  the  man  took  his  text,  and  had  no  sermon-book :  thought 
I,  this  is  wonderful  indeed  !  It  is  certainly  a  strange  way,  but  the  best 
way.  He  talked  about  confidence,  assurance,  etc.,  of  which  all  my 
flights  and  hopes  fell  short.  I  had  no  deep  convictions,  nor  had  I  com- 
mitted any  deep  known  sins.  At  one  sermon,  some  time  after,  my 
companion  was  powerfully  wrought  on:  I  was  exceedingly  grieved 
that  I  could  not  weep  like  him ;  yet  I  knew  myself  to  be  in  a  state  of 
unbelief. 

"  On  a  certain  time  when  we  were  praying,  I  believe  the  Lord  par- 
doned my  sins,  and  justified  my  soul ;  but  my  companions  reasoned 
me  out  of  this  belief.  I  gave  up  my  confidence,  and  that  for  months ; 
yet  I  was  happy ;  free  from  guilt  and  fear,  and  had  power  over  sin, 
and  felt  great  inward  joy. 

"  After  this  we  met  for  reading  and  prayer,  and  had  large  and  good 
meetings,  and  were  much  persecuted,  until  the  persons  at  whose  houses 
we  held  them  were  afraid,  and  they  were  discontinued.  I  then  held 
meetings  frequently  at  my  father's  house,  exhorting  the  people  there, 
as  also  at  Sutton-Cofields,  and  several  souls  professed  to  find  peace 
through  my  labors.  I  met  class  awhile  at  Eromwick  Heath,  and  met 
in  band  at  Wednesbury.  I  had  preached  some  months  before  I  pub- 
licly appeared  in  the  Methodist  meeting-houses;  when  my  labors 
became  more  public  and  extensive,  some  were  amazed,  not  knowing 
how  I  had  exercised  elsewhere. 

"  My  mother  used  to  take  me  with  her  to  a  female  meeting,  wliich 
she  conducted  once  a  fortnight,  for  the  purpose  of  reading  the  Script 
urcs,  and  giving  out  hymns.  After  I  had  been  thus  employed  as  a 
clerk  for  some  time,  the  good  sisters  thought  Frank  might  venture  a 
word  of  exhortation.  So,  after  reading,  I  would  venture  to  expoimd 
and  paraphrase  a  little  on  the  portion  read.  Thus  began  my  gospel 
efforts,  when  a  lad  of  sixteen  or  seventeen ;  and  now  I  would  rather 
have  a  section  or  chapter  for  a  text  than  a  single  verse  or  part  of  a 
verse.  When  the  Society  called  me  forth  from  obscurity  my  perform- 
ance in  public  surpassed  all  expectation.  But  they  knew  not  that  the 
stripling  had  been  exercising  his  gifts  in  his  mother's  prayer-meeting. 

"  Behold  me  now  a  local  preacher ;  the  humble  and  willing  servant  of 


Frajstcis  Asbury. 


413 


any  and  of  every  preaclier  tliat  called  on  me  by  night  or  hy  day ;  being 
ready,  with  hasty  steps,  to  go  far  and  wide  to  do  good ;  vidting  Derby- 
shire, Staifordshire,  Warwickshire,  Worcestershire,  and  indeed  almost 
every  place  within  my  reach  for  the  sake  of  precious  souls ;  preach- 
ing, generally  three,  four,  and  five  times  a  week,  and  at  the  same 
time  pursuing  my  calling.  I  think  when  I  was  between  twenty-one 
and  twenty-two  years  of  age  I  gave  myself  up  to  God  and  his  work, 
after  acting  as  a  local  preacher  near  the  space  of  five  years. 


ELIZABETH  ASBURY MOTHER   OF   BISHOP   ASBURY. 


"  Some  time  after  I  had  obtained  a  clear  witness  of  my  acceptance 
with  God,  the  Lord  showed  me,  in  the  heat  of  youth  and  youthful 
blood,  the  evil  of  my. heart:  for  a  short  time  I  enjoyed,  as  I  thought, 
the  pure  and  perfect  love  of  God ;  but  this  happy  frame  did  not  long 
continue,  although,  at  seasons,  I  was  greatly  blessed. 

"  On  the  7th  of  August,  1771,  the  Conference  began  at  Bristol,  in 
England.  Before  this,  I  had  felt  for  half  a  year  strong  intima- 
tions in  my  mind  that  I  should  visit  America ;  which  I  laid  before 


414  Illusteated  History  of  Methodism. 

the  Lord,  being  unwilling  to  do  my  own  will,  or  to  run  before  1 
was  sent.  During  this  time  my  trials  were  very  great,  which  the 
Lord,  I  believe,  permitted  to  prove  and  try  me,  in  order  to  prepare 
me  for  future  usefulness.  At  the  Conference  it  was  proposed  that 
some  preachers  should  go  over  to  the  American  continent.  I  spoke 
my  mind,  and  made  an  offer  of  myseK,  It  was  accepted  by  Mr. 
"Wesley  and  others,  who  judged  I  had  a  call.  From  Bristol  I  went 
home  to  acquaint  my  parents  with  my  great  undertaking,  which  I 
opened  in  as  gentle  a  manner  as  possible.  Though  it  was  grievous 
to  flesh  and  blood,  they  consented  to  let  me  go.  My  mother  is  one 
of  the  tenderest  parents  in  the  world:  but  I  believe  she  was  blest 
in  the  present  instance  with  divine  assistance  to  part  with  me. 

"  I  returned  to  Bristol  in  the  latter  end  of  August,  where  Richard 
Wright  was  waiting  for  me,  to  sail  in  a  few  days  for  Philadelphia. 
When  I  came  to  Bristol  I  had  not  one  penny  of  money;  but  the 
Lord  soon  opened  the  hearts  of  friends,  who  supplied  me  with 
clothes,  and  ten  pounds.  Thus  I  found  by  experience  that  the  Lord 
will  provide  for  those  who  trust  in  him." 

It  was  in  Asbury's  native  county  of  Staffordshire  that  some  of 
the  most  violent  persecutions  of  the  Methodists  occurred.  The 
parish  of  Handsworth  was  in  "the  Black  Country,"  of  infamous 
memory,  and  Asbury  and  his  mother  had  some  experience  of  mobs 
and  riots,  though  the  worst  of  these  occurred  at  an  earKer  date. 
This  was  the  country  of  which  Charles  Wesley  writes,  that  in  riding 
through  it  one  might  distinguish  the  houses  of  the  Methodists  by 
the  marks  of  violence  upon  them ;  and  where,  on  one  occasion,  John 
Wesley  was  clubbed  almost  to  death.  "  The  mob,"  he  says,  "  reigned 
for  nearly  a  week,  and  the  noise  on  every  side  was  like  the  roaring 
of  the  sea."  It  was  at  the  risk  of  the  repetition  of  these  horrors 
that  young  Asbury  commenced  his  work  as  a  local  preacher ;  an 
experience  well  calculated  to  save  him  from  "  softness,"  that  special 
abomination  of  John  Wesley. 

The  last  sermon  of  Francis  Asbury  in  England  was  on  the  text, 
"  From  the  end  of  the  earth  will  I  cry  unto  thee,  when  my  heart  is 
overwhelmed."  Psa.  Ixi,  2.     And  this  was  the  plan  of  it : — 

"  I.  Where  should  the  missionary  herald  be  ?    The  end  of  the  earth. 

"  n.  And  whose  heart  should  be  overwhelmed,  swallowed  up,  if 


Asbuey's  Views  on  Itlnerai^^oy  415 

not  the  heart  of  him  to  whom  a  dispensation  of  the  Gospel  is  com- 
mitted ? 

"  III.  And  whence  should  he  look  for  succor  but  to  Christ,  the 
Rock  that  is  higher  than  he  ? 

"  TV.  How  should  he  obtain  that  succor  but  by  constant,  fervent 
prayer  ? " 

In  referring  many  years  afterward  to  this  farewell  discourse, 
Asbury  said: — 

"  Ah !  often  has  my  heart  been  overwhelmed  during  my  forty 
years'  pilgrimage  in  America.  And  if  I  had  been  a  man  of  tears  I 
might  have  wept  my  hf e  away ;  but  Christ  has  been  a  hiding-place,  a 
covert  from  the  stormy  blast ;  yea,  he  has  been  the  shadow  of  a  great 
rock  in  a  weary  land."  "  Here,"  says  the  narrator  to  whom  he  was 
speaking,  "the  Bishop's  voice  trembled  a  Kttle — his  Hp  quivered — 
and  the  tears  started  from  his  half-closed,  clear  blue  eye.  But  present- 
ly he  was  gay  ;  '  For,'  said  he,  '  if  I  were  not  sometimes  to  be  gay  with 
my  friends  I  should  have  died  in  gloom  long  ago.' "  * 

The  arrival  of  Messrs.  Asbury  and  Wright  at  Philadelphia,  October 
7,  ITYl,  was  hailed  with  joy.  "  The  people,"  says  Mr.  Asbury,  "  looked 
on  us  with  pleasure,  hardly  knowing  how  to 'show  their  love  sufficiently, 
bidding  us  welcome  with  fervent  affection,  and  receiving  us  as  angels 
of  God." 

Asbury's  Views  on  Itinerancy. — There  is  something  fan- 
ciful in  the  saying  of  Wesley,  "  The  world  is  my  parish."  He  did, 
indeed,  cross  the  Atlantic  in  his  early  life  to  preach  to  the  Indians 
under  the  auspices  of  General  Oglethorpe,  in  the  Colony  of  Georgia, 
but  his  stay  was  a  brief  one,  and  after  his  real  life  work  commenced 
he  never  left  the  British  Islands  ;  though  the  sturdy  claim  of  his  right 
to  go  every-where,  and  to  preach  every-where,  was  a  most  astounding 
doctrine  to  the  localized  Church  dignitaries  of  those  days.  There  is 
nothing  fanciful,  however,  in  saying  of  Asbury  that  he  had  the  new ' 
world  for  his  parish,  for  he  made  it  into  one  great  circuit ;  and  trav- 
eled it  in  true  itinerant  fashion  for  over  thirty  years :  preaching  inces 
eantly,  day  and  night,  week  days  and  Sundays ;  stopping  not  for  storms, 
without  shelter ;  for  forests,  without  roads ;  for  rivers,  without  bridges ; 
or  for  a  purse,  without  money. 

*  Wakelet's  "  Heroes  of  Methodism." 


416  Illusteated  History  op  Methodism. 

When  he  landed  at  Philadelphia  in  ITYl  there  were  about  600 
Methodists  scattered  over  his  parish;  with  10  preachers,  including 
Embury  and  the  brave  old  soldier,  Captain  Webb.  His  warm  recep- 
tion gave  him  fresh  vigor,  and  he  plunged  at  once  into  the  work ;  first 
of  all,  like  a  skillful  general,  starting  out  to  reconnoiter  his  position 
and  view  the  fields  of  his  future  triumphs. 

Ilis  first  afiliction  was  the  habit  of  the  preachers  of  going  into 
winter  quarters  in  the  snug  city  churches.  "  At  present  I  am  dissatis- 
fied," says  he.  "  I  judge  we  are  to  be  shut  up  in  the  cities  this  win- 
ter. My  brethren  seem  unwilling  to  leave  the  cities,  but  I  think  1 
shall  show  them  the  way.  I  am  in  trouble,  and  more  trouble  is  at 
hand,  for  I  am  determined  to  make  a  stand  against  all  partiality.  1 
have  nothing  to  seek  but  the  glory  of  God ;  nothing  to  fear  but  his 
displeasure.  I  am  come  over  with  an  upright  intention,  and  through 
the  grace  of  God  I  will  make  it  appear ;  and  I  am  determined  that  no 
man  shall  bias  me  with  soft  words  and  fair  speeches ;  nor  will  I  ever 
fear  (the  Lord  helping  me)  the  face  of  man,  or  know  any  man  after  the 
flesh,  if  I  beg  my  bread  from  door  to  door ;  but  whomsoever  I  please 
or  displease  I  will  be  faithful  to  God,  to  the  people,  and  to  my  own 
soul." 

Asbury  was  as  good  as  his  word.  He  organized  a  circuit  embrac- 
ing a  large  region  around  New  York,  and  kept  the  Gospel  soui^ding 
through  it  all  winter ;  preaching  in  log-cabins,  in  court-houses,  in  pris- 
ons, and  even  at  public  executions,  though  but  rarely  in  churches  ;  for, 
including  Strawbridge's  log  hut,  there  were  as  yet  only  three  Methodist 
preaching  houses  in  all  North  America. 

Beyond  all  doubt  this  young  Englishman,  by  his  sagacious  manage- 
ment of  this  very  question,  saved  the  cause  of  Methodism  in  America 
from  early  and  inglorious  death.  The  itinerant  feature  of  its  ministry 
was  already  disappearing,  and  if  that  had  been  lost  the  whole  move- 
ment must  have  failed.  Colonial  Methodism  and  a  settled  ministry 
were  entirely  incompatible.  Asbury  saw  this,  and  contended  for  a 
movable  force  of  preachers ;  the  only  order  that  could  find  the  scat- 
tered sheep  in  the  wilderness,  or  keep  pace  with  the  restless  pioneers 
His  theory  was,  that  a  minister  should  be  rooted  and  grounded  in  love ; 
settled  and  established  in  sound  doctrine ;  but  that  in  every  thing  else 
he  should  be  as  movable  as  a  soldier  on  the  land  or  a  sailor  on  the  sea. 


Rankin  and  Shadfoed.  417 

No  great  captain  has  been  fond  of  long  encampments.  So  with  the 
great  leaders  of  Methodism.  They  prized  the  itinerancy,  not  only  as 
an  economy  which  afforded  a  variety  of  gifts  to  the  different  Societies, 
the  most  of  which  would  have  languished  under  the  exclusive  care  of 
any  one  of  the  average  preachers,  but  also  a  kind  of  military  drill  to 
the  preachers  themselves.  It  kept  them  energetic  by  keeping  them  in 
motion.  For  a  time  the  length  of  a  preacher's  stay  on  one  circuit  was 
only  six  months ;  it  has  now  been  lengthened  to  thirty-six ;  but  it  is  to 
be  hoped  that  the  Church  will  forbid  further  progress  in  that  direction^ 
except  in  cases  of  evident  emergency ;  for  if  the  plan  of  permanent,^ 
or  even  indefinite,  pastorates  should  ever  largely  prevail,  then  fare- 
well to  the  spirit,  the  unity,  and  the  power  of  Methodism. 

Rankin  and  ^hadTord. — In  1772  Captain  Webb  returned 
from  England  with  another  re-enforcement.  He  had  made  a  very  deep 
impression  upon  Mr.  Wesley  and  the  Conference  at  large;  though 
Charles  Wesley  thought  him  a  fanatic  because  of  his  glowing  descrip- 
tion of  the  American  field.  Webb  demanded  two  of  their  chief  men ; 
Christopher  Hopper  and  Joseph  Benson ;  but  as  these  could  not  be 
spared,  Thomas  Rankin  and  George  Shadford  were  appointed  in  their 
stead. 

Rankin  was  a  Scotchman ;  one  of  the  few  men  of  that  nation  who 
have  found  their  way  into  the  itinerant  ranks ;  and  one  of  the  com- 
manding men  of  the  Methodist  fraternity.  He  had  been  awakened  by 
hearing  the  prbaching  of  some  of  John  Haime's  Methodist  troopers 
who  were  converted  and  called  out  at  the  time  of  the  great  revival 
among  the  army  in  Flanders,  in  1745,  and  who  returned  to  preach  a 
free  salvation  in  Presbyterian  Scotland.  He  had  listened  to  the  preach- 
ing of  Whitefield,  Wesley,  and  Mather ;  had  stood  by  the  latter  in 
showers  of  dirt,  stones,  rotten  eggs,  etc.  :  arguments  with  which  the 
doctrines  of  that  class  of  preachers  were  often  controverted  in  those 
days  :  but  in  spite  of  them  he  came  into  the  enjoyment  of  saving  grace, 
and  in  1761  joined  Wesley's  band  of  itinerants ;  rode  a  circuit  with 
sturdy  John  Nelson ;  became  a  notable  revival  preacher ;  showed  the 
points  of  a  strict  disciplinarian,  and  after  eleven  years  of  hard  work 
was  appointed  by  Wesley  in  1772  to  the  head  of  all  the  Methodist 
ministry  in  America. 

At  first  Asbury,  who  was  thus  superseded,  submitted  with  good 


418 


Illusteated  History  of  Methodism. 


grace,  as  a  younger  man  to  an  elder,  but  presently  tliere  began  to  be 
■evidences  of  a  good  deal  of  human  nature  in  tliese  "  old-fashioned 
Methodists,"  of  very  much  the  same  quality  as  that  which  sometimes 
causes  friction  with  the  modern  machinery  of  the  itinerant  work. 
Rankin  was  disappointed  in  not  finding  more  and  larger  Societies  in 
America,  as  well  as  greatly  scandalized  at  their  want  of  form  and  order. 
Whether,  on  the  other  hand,  the  young  bishop  in  embryo  did  not  rel- 
ish the  same  treatment  from  Rankin  as  he  was  inclined  to  give  to  his 


THOMAS    KANKIN. 


own  subordinates,  or  whether  the  Scotchman's  notions  of  the  powers 
of  an  "  assistant "  exceeded  his  knowledge  of  the  situation,  does  not  at 
this  distance  plainly  appear.  But  the  unfavorable  opinions  of  Asbury 
which  Rankin  wrote  to  Mr,  Wesley,  and  which  led  to  Asbury' s  recall 
to  England,  were  afterward  shown  to  be  erroneous,  and  the  young 
pioneer  was  reinstated  in  the  favor  of  his  chief,  whose  letter  of  recall 
was,  fortunately,  never  received.  Of  Rankin  Mr.  Asbury  makes  this 
significant  note :  "  Though  he  will  not  be  admired  as  a  preacher,  yet 
as  a  disciplinarian  he  will  fill  his  place." 


Geoege  Shadford.  419 

Georg'e  Shadford  was  a  man  after  Captain  Webb's  own  heart. 
Like  him,  Shadford  had  been  a  soldier  ;  Hke  him,  he  was  "  full  of  life 
and  fire ;  "  a  successful  revival  preacher ;  a  genial,  not  to  say  jovial, 
companion ;  and  capable  of  comprehending  and  revelling  in  the  wild, 
wide,  adventurous  work  which  opened  before  him  in  the  new  world. 
If  these  two  men,  Webb  and  Shadford,  could  have  been  converted 
to  the  Continental  Congress  instead  of  holding  steadfast  in  their  loy- 
alty to  their  king,  they  might  have  been  two  princes  in  our  Israel; 
but  this  was  hardly  to  be  expected  of  two  old  red-coats ;  and  thus  on 
the  breaking  out  of  the  war,  which  soon  followed,  they  were  lost  to 
America  :  and  what  was  her  loss  was  by  no  means  their  gain. 

During  his  term  of  service  in  the  English  militia  Shadford  had 
been  deeply  convicted  of  sin  at  a  Methodist  meeting  in  Gainsborough, 
of  which  experience  he  says  :  "  I  was  tried,  cast,  and  condemned.  I 
then  made  a  vow  to  Almighty  God,  that  if  he  would  spare  me  until 
that  time  twelvemonth,  (at  which  time  I  should  be  at  liberty  from  the 
mihtia,  and  intended  to  return  home,)  I  would  then  serve  him.  So  1 
resolved  to  venture  another  year  in  the  old  way,  damned  or  saved.  O 
what  a  mercy  that  I  am  not  in  hell !  that  God  did  not  take  me  at  my 
word  and  cut  ine  off  immediately ! 

"  In  Kent  the  Lord  arrested  me  again  with  strong  convictions,  so 
that  I  was  obliged  to  leave  my  comrades  at  noonday,  and,  running  up 
into  my  chamber,  I  threw  myself  upon  my  knees  and  wept  bitterly. 
I  thought,  '  Sin,  cursed  sin,  will  be  my  ruin ! '  I  was  ready  to  tear  the 
very  hair  from  my  head,  thinking  I  must  perish  at  last,  and  that  my 
sins  would  sink  me  lower  than  the  grave.  .  .  .  Wherever  I  traveled, 
I  found  the  Methodists  were  spoken  against  by  wicked  and  ungodly 
persons  of  every  denomination ;  and  the  more  I  looked  into  the 
Bible  the  more  I  was  convinced  that  they  were  the  people  of  God." 

On  his  release  from  the  militia  service  he  was  received  at  home 
with  great  rejoicings,  and  a  ball  was  given  in  his  honor  by  the  young 
people,  with  whom  he  was  a  great  favorite  ;  but  on  his  way  home  from 
the  dance  his  old  convictions  of  sin  again  overwhelmed  him,  and  he 
found  no  rest  till  he  resolved  to  perform  his  vow. 

Of  the  vivid  experiences  of  his  soul  when  light  first  broke  in  upon 
(it,  he  gives  the  following  account : — 

"  My  sins  pressed  me  sore,  and  the  hand  of  the  Lord  was  very  heavy 


420  Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 

upon  me.  Thus  I  continued  until  Sunday,  May  5,  1762 ;  coming  ont' 
of  church,  the  farmer  that  received  the  preachers  told  me  a  stranger 
was  to  preach  at  his  house.  I  went  to  hear  him,  and  was  pleased  and 
much  affected.  He  gave  notice  that  he  would  preach  again  in  the 
evening.  In  the  meantime  I  persuaded  as  many  neighbors  as  I  could 
to  go.  We  had  a  full  house,  and  several  were  greatly  affected  while- 
he  pubHshed  his  crucified  Master.  Toward  the  latter  part  of  the  ser- 
mon I  trembled,  I  shook,  I  wept.  I  thought,  '  I  cannot  stand  it ;  I 
shall  fall  down  amid  all  this  people.'  O  how  gladly  would  I  have  been- 
alone  to  weep !  for  I  was  tempted  with  shame.  I  stood  guilty  and- 
condemned.  Like  the  publican  in  the  temple,  I  cried  out,  (so  that 
others  heard,)  being  pierced  to  the  heart  with  the  sword  of  the  Spirit,. 
*  God  be  merciful  to  me  a  sinner.'  No  sooner  had  I  expressed  these 
words  than  by  the  eye  of  faith  (not  with  my  bodily  eyes)  I  saw  Christ, 
my  Advocate,  at  the  right  hand  of  God,  making  intercession  for  me. 
I  believed  he  loved  me,  and  gave  himseK  for  me. 

"  In  an  instant  the  Lord  filled  my  soul  with  divine  love,  as  quick 
as  lightning.  Immediately  my  eyes  flowed  with  tears,  and  my  heart 
with  love.  Tears  of  joy  and  sorrow  ran  down  my  cheeks.  O  what 
sweet  distress  was  this !  I  seemed  as  if  I  could  weep  my  hfe  away  in- 
tears  of  love.  I  sat  down  in  a  chair,  for  I  could  stand  no  longer,  and 
these  words  ran  through  my  mind  twenty  times  over :  'Marvelous  are 
thy  works,  and  that  my  soul  knoweth  right  well.'  As  I  walked  home 
along  the  streets  I  seemed  to  be  in  paradise.  When  I  read  my  Bible, 
it  seemed  an  entirely  new  book.  When  I  meditated  on  God  and  Christ, 
angels  or  spirits — when  I  considered  good  or  bad  men,  any  or  all  the 
creatures  that  surrounded  me — everything  appeared  new,  and  stood  iu' 
a  new  relation  to  me.  I  was  in  Christ  a  new  creature  ;  old  things 
were  done  away,  and  all  things  become  new.  I  lay  down  at  night  in 
peace,  with  a  thankful  heart,  because  the  Lord  hath  redeemed  me,  and) 
given  me  peace  with  God  and  all  mankind. 

"  But  no  sooner  had  I  peace  within  than  the  devil  and  wicked  men 
began  to  roar  without,  and  pour  forth  floods  of  hes  and  scandal  in 
order  to  drown  the  young  child.  And  no  marvel,  for  the  devil  had  lost 
one  of  the  main  pillars  of  his  kingdom  in  that  parish ;  and  therefore- 
he  did  not  leave  a  stone  unturned,  that  he  might  cast  odium  upon  the 
work  of  God  in  that  place.     But  none  of  these  things  moved  me,  forr 


Geokge  Shadford.  421 

•I  was  happy  m  my  God ;  clothed  witli  the  sun,  and  the  moon  under 
•my  feet ;  raised  up,  and  made  to  sit  in  heavenly,  holy,  happy  places 
in  Christ  Jesus.     In  a  fortnight  after  I  joined  the  Society." 

He  soon  began  to  exhort  his  friends,  neighbors,  and  whosoever 
came  in  his  way,  to  "flee  from  the  wrath  to  come."  After  one  cf  his 
exhortations  he  returned  home  and  found  his  father  reading  in  the 
Psalms  of  David.  "I  saw,"  he  says,  "the  tears  running  down  his 
cheeks;  yet  there  appeared  a  joy  in  his  countenance.  I  said,  'Pray, 
father,  what  now  ?  What  now  ?  What  is  the  matter  ? ' 
,  "  lie  instantly  answered,  '  I  have  found  Christ ;  I  have  found 
Clu-ist  at  last.  Upward  of  sixty  years  I  have  Hved  without  him  in 
the  world  in  sin  and  ignorance.  I  have  been  aU  the  day  idle  and 
entered  not  into  his  vineyard  till  the  eleventh  hour.  O  how  merciful 
was  he  to  spare  me,  and  hire  me  at  last !  He  hath  set  my  soul  at  lib- 
erty. O  praise  the  Lord  !  Praise  the  Lord,  O  my  soul ;  and  aU  that 
is  within  me,  bless  his  holy  name ! '  I  left  him  rejoicing  in  God  his 
Saviour,  and  retired  to  praise  God  for  answering  my  prayers." 

His  mother  next  found  peace  in  believing ;  then  his  sister ;  and 
the  Httle  Society  of  the  town  grew  vigorous  by  his  humble  labors,  in  a 
short  time  increasing  from  the  original  twelve  to  forty. 

Shadford  now  became  a  local  preacher,  and  when  Wesley  met  him, 
in  1768,  he  summoned  him  into  the  itinerant  field.  His  first  circuit 
was  in  Cornwall,  the  next  in  Kent,  and  the  next  in  Norwich.  In  1772, 
hearing  Webb's  appeal  for  America  in  the  Leeds  Conference,  his  spirit 
was  stirred  within  him  to  go ;  and  Kankin,  who  was  first  appointed, 
chose  him  for  his  companion.  Both  of  them,  however,  continued  their 
Enghsh  work  tiU  the  spring  of  1773,  when,  on  Good  Friday,  April  9th, 
they  set  sail,  and  on  the  first  of  June  anchored  in  Delaware  Bay. 

Previous  to  their  departure  Wesley  wrote  Shadford  a  cheery  and 
affectionate  letter,  saying,  among  other  tilings:  "Dear  George,  the 
time  has  arrived  for  you  to  embark  for  America.  You  must  go  down 
to  Bristol,  where  you  wiU  meet  with  Thomas  Kankin,  Captain  Webb, 
and  his  wife.  I  let  you  loose,  George,  on  the  great  continent  of 
America.  Publish  your  message  in  the  open  face  of  the  sun,  and  do 
all  the  good  you  can." 

When  he  reached  the  wharf  where  the  ship  lay  he  was  reminded 
•of  a  dream  which  he  had  six  years  before,  and  in  which  a  written 


422 


Illustrated  History  of    Methodism. 


message  seemed  sent  him  from  heaven,  requiring  him  "to  go  and 
preach  the  Gospel  in  a  foreign  land."  "I  thonght,"  says  he,  "I  was 
conveyed  to  the  j^lace  where  the  ship  lay,  in  which  I  was  to  embark 
in  an  instant.  The  wharf  and  ship  appeared  as  ]3lain  to  me  as  if  1 
were  awake.  I  replied,  '  Lord,  I  am  willing  to  go  in  thy  name,  but  1 
am  afraid  a  people  of  different  nations  and  languages  will  not  under- 
stand me.  An  answer  to  tliis  was  given :  '  Fear  not,  for  I  am  with 
thee.'     I  awoke,  awfully  impressed  with  the  presence  of  God,  and 


riKST  jMetiiuuist  conference. 


was  really  full  of  divine  love ;  and  a  relish  of  it  remained  upon  my 
spirit  for  many  days.  I  could  not  tell  what  this  meant,  and  revolved 
these  things  in  my  mind  for  a  long  time.  But  when  I  came  to  Peel,  and 
saw  the  ship  and  wharf,  then  all  came  fresh  to  my  mind."  Shadford 
made  full  proof  of  his  ministry  during  his  stay,  and,  as  will  duly  appear 
was  the  last  of  the  English  preachers  to  abandon  the  American  work. 
The  First  Metliodist  Conference  in  America  was 
held  in  what  tliere  was  of  St.  George's  Churcli  in  Philadelphia — little 


First  Methodist  Cokference  in  America.  42a 

else  but  four  rough  walls  and  a  roof.  It  began  on  Wednesday,  the 
14th  of  July,  17T3,  and  continued  two  days.  Eankin,  of  course,  waa 
the  presiding  officer  of  the  little  assembly,  which  numbered  ten  men 
all  told,  including  Messrs.  Boardman  and  Pihnoor,  who  were  just 
about  to  return  to  England. 

Asbury  was  detained  on  his  New  York  Circuit,  and  did  not  appear 
till  the  second  day  of  the  session.  He  was  the  tenth  member,  making 
the  number  the  same  as  in  Wesley's  first  English  Conference,  held 
twenty-nine  years  before.  The  members  of  this  first  American  Confer- 
ence were  all  Europeans.  They  were:  Thomas  Ranldn,  Richard 
Boardman,  Joseph  Pilmoor,  Francis  Asbury,  Richard  Wright,  George 
Shadford,  Thomas  Webb,  John  King,  Abraham  Whitworth,  ajid 
Joseph  Tearbry,  who  had  accompanied  Rankin  and  Shadford  from 
England.* 

Here  are  the  minutes  of  this  first  Conference  in  full;  the 
Wesleyan  form  of  question  and  answer  being  faithfully  retained : — 

The  following  queries  were  proposed  to  every  preacher: — 

1.  Ought  not  the  authority  of  Mr,  Wesley  and  that  Conference  to  extend  to 
the  preachers  and  people  in  America,  as  well  as  in  Great  Britain  and  Ireland? 

Ans.  Yes. 

2.  Ought  not  the  doctrine  and  discipline  of  the  Methodists,  as  contained  in 
the  Minutes,  to  be  the  sole  rule  of  our  conduct,  who  labor  in  the  connection  with 
Mr.  Wesley,  in  America? 

Ans.  Yes. 

3.  If  so,  does  it  not  follow,  that  if  any  preachers  deviate  from  the  Minutes,t 
we  can  have  no  fellowship  with  them  till  they  change  their  conduct? 

Ans.  Yes. 

The  following  rules  were  agreed  to  by  all  the  preachers  present  :— 

1.  Every  preacher  who  acts  in  connection  with  Mr.  Wesley  and  the  brethren 
who  labor  in  America  is  strictly  to  avoid  administering  the  ordinances  of  baptism 
and  the  Lord's  supper. 

2.  All  the  people  among  whom  we  labor  to  be  earnestly  exhorted  to  attend 
the  Church,  and  to  receive  the  ordinances  there;  but  in  a  particular  manner  to 
press  the  people  in  Maryland  and  Virginia  to  the  observance  of  this  minute. 

3.  No  person  or  persons  to  be  admitted  into  our  love-feasts  oftener  than  twice 

*  Stkvens's  "  History  of  Methodism." 

t  The  Mmutes  of  Mr.  Wesley's  Conferences  in  England  were  the  only  rules  for  Church 
government.  The  decisions  recorded  therein  were  held  as  law  by  the  Methodists  on  both  side*, 
of  the  ocean. 


424  Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 

or  tlirice,  unless  they  become,  members ;  and  none  to  be  admitted  to  the  Society 
meetings  more  than  thrice. 

4.  None  of  the  preachers  in  America  to  reprint  any  of  Mr.  Wesley's  books, 
'without  his  authority  (when  it  can  be  gotten)  and  the  consent  of  their  brethren. 

5.  Robert  Williams  to  sell  the  books  he  has  already  printed,  but  to  print  no 
more,  unless  under  the  above  restrictions. 

6.  Every  preacher  wlio  acts  as  an  assistant,  to  send  an  account  of  the  work 
once  in  six  mouths  to  the  general  assistant. 

Ques.  1.  How  are  the  preachers  stationed  ? 

Ans.  New  York,         Thomas  Rankin,     )  .„  ^,  ,„„„  .     ,  „„  .v,„„4.u«, 
Philadelphia,     George  Shadf  ord,  [  *°  ^^^°S«  ^"^  ^°^'  '^°"*^'- 

New  Jersey,       John  King,  William  Watters. 

T>  ,.•  \  Francis  Asbury,  Robert  Strawbridge,   Abraham  Whit- 

Jialtimore,       .j      ^^^^^^  Joseph  Yearbry. 

Norfolk,  Richard  Wright. 

Petersburgh,       Robert  Williams. 
Ques.  2.   What  nurribers  are  there  in  the  Society  ? 

Ans.  New  York,  180;  Philadelphia,  180;  New  Jersey,  200;  Maryland,  500; 
Virginia,  100  ;  (preachers  10.)     Total,  1,170. 

Alas !  even  at  the  first  meeting  of  these  "  old-fashioned  Method- 
ists," there  was  a  contention  among  them.  The  irrepressible  Brother 
Strawbridge  had  violated  Mr.  Wesley's  rale  and  taken  upon  himself 
to  celebrate  the  sacraments  of  baptism  and  the  Lord's  supper,  and  the 
fii-st  three  questions  and  answers  were  doubtless  aimed  at  him.  They 
were,  however,  ineffectual,  as  will  presently  appear,  and  out  of  this 
very  question  arose  one  of  the  storms  which  shook  early  American 
Methodism  to  its  center. 

Asbwry  "  Settles  "  the  Societies  in  Baltimore. — At 
this  first  Conference  Asbury  was  appointed  to  the  Baltimore  Circuit, 
which  embraced  all  the  Societies  in  Maryland,  and  included  nearly 
one  half  of  all  the  Methodists  then  in  America.  These  Societies  had 
been  formed  in  a  very  unmethodical  manner ;  indeed,  the  whole  body 
was  thought,  by  Eankin  and  Asbury,  to  be  sadly  wanting  in  order 
and  disciphne ;  and  one  of  the  first  cares  of  the  new  preacher  was  to 
organize  the  Societies  into  classes,  one  of  men  and  one  of  women,  on 
the  true  Wesleyan  plan. 

It  is  worthy  of  note  that  Asbury  had  great  difficulty  in  finding 
leaders  for  the  classes  of  men,  while  there  was  no  lack  of  female  talent 
to  lead  the  classes  of  women. 


Strawberky  Alley  M.  E.  Church. 


425 


It  was  now  needful  to  house  the  Baltimore  Society,  as  it  had  out 
grown  the  hospitable  dwellings  at  which  it  had  hitherto  been  enter 
tained ;  and  another  sail-loft,  as  in  :N'ew  York,  was  fixed  upon,  which 
place,  at  the  corner  of  Mills  and  Block  streets,  was  generously  allowed 
them  for  their  meetings  free  of  charge.  Though  a  sizable  room,  it 
was  soon  filled  to  overflowing ;  and  so  wide  was  the  spread  and  so 
rapid  the  progress  of  the  good  work,  that  it  was  determined  to  build 
two  new  houses  of  worship,  about  a  mile  and  a  half  apart. 

Strawberry  Alley.— The  first  of  these  to  be  commenced, 
though  the  last  to  be  finished,  as  well  as  the  last  original  Methodist 


INTEBIOR   OF    OLD    STRAWBERRY  ALLEY  M.   E.    CHURCH. 

■Structure  now  remaining  in  the  city,  was  the  church  in  Strawberry 
Alley.  It  was  begun  in  November,  1773,  under  the  over-sight  of  Mr. 
Asbury,  assisted  by  Jesse  Hollingsworth  and  others,  but  was  somewhat 
delayed  in  its  completion.  It  was  a  large,  low  brick  building,  with 
an  old-fashioned  tub  pulpit,  and  a  "sounding  board"  above  it ;  a  con- 
trivance weU  adapted  to  assist  the  feeble  reading  of  manuscript  in  a 
lofty,  spacious  edifice,  but  scarcely  needed  in  a  house  about  40  by  60, 
%vdth  low,  plain  ceilings,  wherein  was  to  be  given  that  powerful  voicing 
-of  the  Gospel  which  characterized  the  early  Methodist  ministry  The 
27 


426  iLLUSTKAlTiD    HiSTORY    OF   MeTHODISM. 

place  was  as  plain  as  Methodism  itseK,  its  only  ornament  being  a  wide 
liaK  circle  of  blue,  painted  on  tbe  wall  behind  the  pulpit,  on  which,  in 
letters  of  gold,  appeared  the  words,  THOU  GOD  SEEST  ME. 

This  structure,  which  has  since  been  modified  within  and  without, 
is  now  used  as  a  society  hall,  in  which  colored  lodges,  divisions, 
councils,  etc.,  hold  their  respective  meetings.  The  narrow,  dirty  alley 
on  which  it  stands  is  now  called  Dallas-street. 

LiOvely  I^ane. — This  edifice,  memorable  as  the  place  of  the 
organization  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  at  the  "  Christmas 
Conference"  in  1784,  was  located  and  erected  in  1774,  by  William 
Moore  and  Philip  Rogers,  two  of  the  Baltimore  converts  under 
Asbury's  ministry ;  both  of  whom  had  been  far  from  God,  and  one  of 
them  notoriously  wicked.  Such  a  transition  from  sin  to  holiness, 
followed  by  such  enterprising  benevolence,  was  proof  that  God  was 
with  his  itinerant"  gospellers,  and  that  the  work  of  grace  wrought 
under  their  ministry  was  of  a  genuine  and  substantial  sort.  This 
building  has  disappeared,  but  its  succession  of  sanctity  has  been  kept 
up,  first  by  the  old  Light-street  Church,  and  its  famous  parsonage,  (of 
which  more  in  its  place,)  and  afterward  by  the  present  First  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Church,  on  Charles-street.  Even  the  lovely  name  of 
the  lane  has  vanished,  and  it  is  now  called  German-street. 

The  l<ast  Mi§sionaries  from  England  appointed  by 
Mr.  "Wesley,  were  James  Dempster  and  Richard  Rodda.  They  were 
accompanied  by  William  Glendenning,  who  came  as  a  volunteer. 
Dempster  was  a  Scotchman  of  good  education  and  a  man  of  power. 
He  was  appointed  to  New  York,  in  1775 ;  but  ill  health,  the  excite- 
ments of  the  coming  war,  a  latent  attachment  to  the  Church  of 
Scotland,  and  last,  but  not  least,  matrimony,  all  combined  to  make  his 
position  an  unhappy  one,  and  after  only  about  a  year  of  service  in  the 
American  work,  added  to  his  ten  years  of  itinerancy  in  England,  he 
took  his  departure  to  the  Presbyterians ;  taking  with  him  also,  by 
special  declaration,  all  his  Methodist  theology,  of  which  he  made  good 
use  among  that  people  until  his  death,  in  1804. 

Rodda,  like  Wesley,  labored  under  the  impression  that  loyalty  to 
King  George  was  an  essential  part  of  an  Englishman's  religion. 
The  rebellious  spirit  of  the  colonists  aroused  his  wrath,  and  in  his 
efforts  to  withstand  the  manifest  destiny  of  America  he  was  accused 


Death  of  Geokge  Whitefield.  427 

of  circulating  over  his  district,  in  Delaware,  the  Eojal  Proclamation 
against  the  rebels ;  on  which  account  he  was  obliged  to  fly  for  his  life. 
He  took  refuge  on  board  a  British  man-of-war,  which  had  been  sent 
out  to  chastise  these  uudutiful  subjects ;  and  at  length  was  carried  to 
England. 

Glen  denning  followed  the  example  of  Dempster,  and  left  the  de- 
nomination ;  Pilmoor  and  Boardman  had  departed  in  1Y72 ;  and  now, 
with  the  difficulties  of  their  situation  daily  increasing,  which  in  a  large 
measure  were  the  results  of  the  indiscretions  of  Eodda  and  RanMuy 
the  country  became  too  hot  for  the  English  Methodists ;  and,  following 
the  example  of  their  neighbors,  the  Episcopal  clergy,  they  every  one^ 
with  the  exception  of  Asbury,  forsook  the  little  Church  in  the  wilder- 
ness and  returned  to  the  mother  country. 

George  H^liitelield :  Death  of  in  Aiiieriea  i«  1 77a. 
— The  thirteenth  and  last  voyage  of  this  tireless  traveler  and  match- 
less master  of  the  art  of  preaching,  was  in  the  autumn  of  1769  ;  the 
same  gale  driving  him  across  the  ocean  which  nearly  wrecked  tlae 
first  Wesleyan  missionaries,  Boardman  and  Pilmoor,  in  the  Delaware 
Bay.  For  more  than  tliirty  years  he  had  carried  two  great  countries 
in  his  heart,  crossing  the  sea  between  them  again  and  again  at 
the  call  of  his  Savannah  Orphanage  on  the  one  side,  and  of  his 
London  congregation  at  the  Tottenham  Court  Eoad  Tabernacle,  on 
the  other. 

When  in  England  he  must  needs  range  about  with  the  wildest  free- 
dom, preaching  incessantly  to  vast  congregations,  usually  in  the  open 
air ;  enduring  persecution  with  cheerfulness ;  emerging  from  a  mob 
with  a  hallelujah!  swaying  the  multitudes  with  his  eloquence,  and 
leaving  them  to  make  the  most  of  it  when  he  was  gone.  Unlike  his 
friend,  Wesley,  he  possessed  no  genius  for  organization,  and  had  it  not 
been  for  the  munificence  and  sagacity  of  the  Countess  of  Hunting- 
don, the  lady  "Bishop  of  Calvinistic  Methodism,"  there  would  have 
remained  as  little  in  the  three  kingdoms  as  in  the  thirteen  colonies 
to  remind  them  that  such  a  man  as  Whitefield  ever  lived.  Within  a 
short  distance  of  Wesley's  Old  Foundry  stood  Whitefield's  Tabernacle, 
which,  in  his  new-found  zeal  for  the  doctrine  of  predestination,  he 
caused  to  be  erected  as  a  fortress  from  which,  as  a  base  of  operations, 
he  might  oppose  the  spread  of  the  Arminian  theology.     Alas  !  that  bo 


428 


Illustrated  Histoky  of  Methodism. 


glorious  a  soul  should  have  wasted  so  much  time  and  strength  on  such 
an  ill-fated  cause. 

He  who  was  the  first  to  learn  the  blessed  mystery  of  regeneration, 


and  the  first  to  take  the  Gospel  out  from  its  Gothic  prisons  in  the  State 
Churches,  and  give  it  to  the  multitudes  under  the  open  sky,  was  at 
length  so  fettered  by  theories,  and  so  shut  in  from  fellowship  with 


Whitefield's  Slaves.  429 

the  Christian  communions  in  Great  Britain,  that,  although  attended 
by  admiring  multitudes,  he  remained  almost  alone.  It  was  not  possi- 
ble that  a  great  rehgious  community  should,  at  that  late  day,  grow  up 
in  the  shadow  of  the  Genevan  theology.  Thus  while  the  Wesleyan 
movement  spread  and  flourished,  the  leader  of  Calvinistic  Methodism, 
after  thirty  years  of  labor  and  controversy,  had  but  a  very  diminutive 
body  of  adherents. 

But  in  America  Whitefield's  star  shone  pre-eminent.  His  theology 
was  then  the  doctrine  of  'New  England ;  he  was  cordially  admired  and 
loved  by  the  Orthodox,  and  as  cordially  hated  by  the  Heterodax,  all  the 
way  from  Savannah  to  Portland.  Until  his  last  visit  there  were  no 
Wesley ans  on  all  the  continent  to  vex  him ;  and  thus  again  and  again 
he  swept  along  the  shores  of  the  New  World  on  wave  after  wave  of 
power  and  glory.  But  as  in  England,  so  in  America,  he  built  the 
most  of  his  castles  in  the  air.  His  art  was  hke  that  of  the  frost-work 
on  a  window  pane  or  the  coloring  in  the  clouds  of  sunset  skies. 

What  then?  Does  not  God  employ  himself  in  23ainting  such 
pictures  and  tracing  such  lines  as  well  as  in  hardening  the  rocks  and 
piling  up  mountains  ?  Why,  then,  shall  not  this  angel  of  eloquence 
flying  through  the  midst  of  heaven  be  hailed  as  a  messenger  of  the  Lord, 
even  as  if  his  thoughts  had  taken  on  the  solid  forms  of  history,  and 
his  work  had  been  the  center  around  which  had  crystalhzed  ten 
thousand  Churches  with  their  millions  of  worshiping  souls  ? 

Whitefield's  Slaves. — It  is  not  according  to  the  economy  of 
nature  or  grace  to  bestow  aU  gifts  in  one  direction ;  and  Whitefield  was 
no  exception  to  this  rule  :  but  who  would  expect  to  find  this  English- 
man, this  pattern  of  self -forgetful  heroism,  this  father  of  orphans,  this 
brother  of  prisoners  and  paupers,  an  open  advocate  of  negro  slavery, 
and  an  actual  owner  of  property  in  the  form  of  men,  women,  and 
children  ?     But  such  is  plainly  the  case  ! 

In  the  year  1Y64  Whitefield  informed  the  Council  of  Georgia  that 
he  had  already  expended  £12,000  upon  his  Orphan  House  ;  that  he 
was  now  anxious  to  attach  to  it  a  college,  to  which  the  respectable 
inhabitants  of  Georgia,  Yirginia,  and  the  West  Indies  might  send  their 
sons  to  be  educated ;  that,  in  order  to  accomplish  his  purpose,  he  was 
prepared  to  lay  out  a  considerable  sum  of  money  "  m  jpurcliasing  a 
large  number  of  negroes  "  for  the  cultivation  of  the  lands,  and  for  the 


430  Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 

"  future  support  of  a  president,  professors,  and  tutors ; "  and  that  he 
now  asked  the  Council  to  grant  him,  in  trust,  for  the  purpose  afore- 
said, two  thousand  acres  of  land  on  the  north  fork  of  Turtle  River. 
The  Council  acceded  to  his  request  at  once.  Whitefield  then  memorial- 
ized the  King  to  grant  a  charter  for  the  founding  of  the  college ;  stat- 
ing, that  if  this  were  done  he  was  "  ready  to  give  up  his  present  trust, 
and  make  a  free  gift  of  all  lands,  negroes,  goods,  and  chattels  which 
he  now  possessed  in  Georgia  for  the  support  of  the  proposed  institu- 
tion, to  be  called  by  the  name  of  Bethesda  College,  in  Georgia."  A 
long  official  correspondence  followed.  The  Government  were  not 
unwilling  to  grant  a  charter,  but  they  insisted  that  the  president  of 
the  college  should  be  a  minister  of  the  Church  of  England,  and  that 
there  should  be  a  daily  use  of  the  Church  liturgy.  These  conditions 
he  declined;  and  hence  the  charter  was  refused.  In  place  of  the 
"  college,"  therefore,  Whitefield  added  to  his  Georgia  Orphan  House 
a  public  academy,  for  whose  accommodation  he  enlarged  the  structure 
by  two  wings,  each  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  in  length  ;  obtained  a 
grant  of  3,800  acres  of  land  from  the  Georgia  Council,  and  purchased 
seventy-five  negroes  to  cultivate  it. 

The  cost  of  this  improvement,  (?)  including  the  price  of  the  slaves, 
was  £15,404  2^.  5^d. ;  of  which  £4,471  Os.  Q^d.  was  collected  in  En- 
gland, and  £3,229  Ss.  3^d.  was  set  down  as  "  the  Rev.  Mr.  Whitefield's 
benefactions,  being  the  sums  expended  more  than  received."  The 
whole  number  of  orphans  maintained  and  educated  in  this  institution 
during  the  thirty  years  of  its  existence  was  183 ;  140  boys  and  43 
girls,  besides  a  considerable  number  of  other  children  who  received 
occasional  instruction.  At  the  date  above  mentioned,  February,  ITTO, 
there  were  15  boys  and  1  girl  in  the  establishment,  and  a  working 
force  of  50  negro  slaves. 

In  his  will  Whitefield  transferred  the  whole  of  this  property, 
slaves  and  all,  in  trust,  to  his  noble  patroness  Lady  Huntingdon,  who 
found  no  small  difficulty  in  managing  such  a  bequest ;  but  about  three 
years  after  the  death  of  its  founder  the  main  building  was  struck  by 
lightning  and  burned,  to  the  great  relief  of  the  Countess ;  who  wrote 
concerning  the  event,  "  I  could  never  wish  it  for  one  moment  to  be 
otherwise,  believing  the  Lord  removed  it  out  of  our  way." 

That  the  slavery  which  existed  on  Whitefield's  charity  plantatior 


Whitefield's  Slaves.  431 

was  not  the  result  of  a  stress  of  affairs  brought  on  by  the  increase  of 
its  land  grants  and  the  cost  of  enlarging  its  halls,  appears  from  a  letter 
written  by  him  nearly  twenty  years  before,  in  which  he  gives  thanks  to 
Ood  that,  after  long  prohibition  by  the  terms  of  its  charter,  the  Colony 
of  Georgia  is  at  last  permitted  to  enjoy  the  benefits  of  negro  slavery. 

The  following  is  the  letter  in  full,  as   reproduced  by  Tyerman, 
from  the  second  volume  of  Whitefield's  "Works : — 

"Bkistol,  March  22,  1751. 
"Rev.  and  vert  Dear  Sir:— Thanks  be  to  God,  tliat  the  time  for  favoring 
the  Colony  of  Georgia  seems  to  be  come.     Now  is  the  season  for  us  to  exert  our 
utmost  for  the  good  of  the  poor  Ethiopians.     We  are  told  that  even  they  are 
soon  to  stretcli  out  their  hands  to  God ;  and  who  knows  but  their  being  settled  in 
Georgia  may  be  overruled  for  this  great  end  ?     As  for  the  lawfulness  of  keeping 
slaves  I  have  no  doubt,  since  I  hear  of  some  that  were  bought  with  Abraham's 
money,  and  some  that  were  born  in  his  house.     I  also  cannot  help  thinking  that 
some  of  those  servants  mentioned  by  the  apostles  in  their  epistles  were,  or  had 
been,  slaves.     It  is  plain  that  the  Gibeonites  were  doomed  to  perpetual  slavery ; 
and,  though  liberty  is  a  sweet  thing  to  such  as  are  born  free,  yet  to  those  who 
never  knew  the  sweets  of  it,  slavery,  perhaps,  may  not  be  so  irksome.     However 
this  be,  it  is  plain  to  a  demonstration,  that  hot  countries  cannot  be   cultivated 
without  negroes.     "What  a  flourishing  country  might  Georgia   have   been  had 
the  use  of  them  been  permitted  years  ago  1     How  many  white  people  have  been 
destroyed  for  want  of  them,  and  how  many  thousands  of  pounds  spent  to  no 
purpose  at  all  1     Though  it  is  true  that  they  are  brought  in  a  wrong  way  from 
their  own  country,  and  it  is  a  trade  not  to  be  approved  of,  yet  as  it  will  be  car- 
ried on  whether  we  will  or  not,  I  should  think  myself  highly  favored  if  I  could 
purchase  a  good  number  of  them  in  order  to  make  their  lives  comfortable,  and 
lay  a  foundation  for  breeding  up  their  posterity  in  the  nurture  and  admonition 
of  the  Lord.     I  had  no  hand  in  bringing  them  into  Georgia,  though  my  judgment 
was  for  it,  and  I  was  strongly  importuned  thereto ;  yet,  I  would  not  have  a 
negro  upon  my  plantation  till  the  use  of  them  was  publicly  allowed  by  the 
colony.     Now  this  is  done,  let  us  diligently  improve  the  present  opportunity  for 
their  instruction.     It  rejoiced  my  soul  to  hear  that  one  of  my  poor  negroes  in 
Garolina  was  made  a  brother  in  Christ.     How  know  we  but  we  may  have  many 
fluch  instances  in  Georgia  ?    I  trust  many  of  them  will  be  brought  to  Jesus,  and 
this  consideration,  as  to  us,  swallows  up  all  temporal  inconvenience  whatsoever. 

"I  am,  etc., 

"George  Whitepield." 

Contrasted  with  Mr.  Wesley's  famous  definition  of  slavery  as  the 
^*  sum  of  all  villainies,"  this  letter  of  his  old  pupil  in  the  Holy  Club  is 


432  Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 

somewhat  startling,  and  how  to  account  for  it  is  a  question  for  the 
philosophers.  How  much  of  this  wide  divergence  in  the  views  of 
these  two  excellent  men  on  this  particular  subject  was  the  result  of 
differences  in  their  mental  constitutions,  how  much  was  the  result  of 
surrounding  circumstances,  and  how  much  of  it  came  of  their  respect- 
ive views  of  the  divine  government,  might  be  as  profitable  topics  for 
discussion  as  many  others  to  which  profound  metaphysicians  have 
devoted  their  time.  It  surely  could  be  no  very  difficult  thing  for  a 
man  to  persuade  liimseK  that  God,  for  his  sovereign  pleasure,  had 
appointed  some  small  portion  of  the  human  race  to  endure  a  brief 
lifetime  of  slavery,  who  had  already  come  to  believe  that,  for  the  same 
reason,  he  had  predestined  the  majority  of  the  race  to  the  pains  of 
eternal  hell.  Profitable  iniquity  is  never  at  a  loss  for  logic:  it  can 
even  frame  a  theology  to  suit  its  purpose.  On  the  other  hand,  there 
have  been  multitudes  of  believers  in  the  freest  idea  of  grace  who 
thought  it  was  not  harm  to  make  slaves  of  their  African  brethren 
and  sisters. 

Did  not  Whitefield  hold  his  slaves  avowedly  for  the  glory  of  God 
as  well  as  for  their  own  highest  good  ? 

Alas!  then,  for  the  rehability  of  the  human  conscience  as  an 
ultimate  authority  in  ethics  and  religion. 

The  Quadruple  Alliance. — Before  Whitefield's  last  voyage 
across  the  Atlantic  he  had  re-established  friendly  relations  with  his  old 
friends,  the  Wesleys ;  and  the  doctrinal  zeal  of  Lady  Huntingdon  had 
so  far  cooled  down,  that,  after  having  expelled  every  body  from  her 
Trevecca  College"  who  was  guilty  of  believing  in  Wesleyan  theology, 
she  at  length  admitted  Mr.  Wesley  himself  to  the  pulpits  of  her  chap- 
els, and  thus  a  cordial  peace  was  reached  after  years  of  useless  war. 
This  reunion  of  old  friends,  called  by  Charles  "Wesley  "  the  Quadruple 
Alliance,"  was  made  in  the  year  1767,  and  lasted  till  "Whitefield's  death, 
after  which  the  holy  war  was  resumed  by  Mr.  Whitefield's  friends  in 
the  interest  of  the  doctrines  he  represented  with  even  more  savageness 
than  before. 

During  this  cessation  of  hostilities  it  was  arranged  between  the  two 
great  Methodistic  leaders  that  he  who  survived  the  other  should  preach 
liis  funeral  sermon  ;  and  as  a  codicil  to  his  last  will  and  testament 
Whitefield  inserted  the  following  bequest : — 


The  Quadruple  Alliance.  433 

I  also  leave  a  mourning  ring  to  my  honored  and  dear  friends  and  disinterested 
fellow-laborers,  the  Rev.  Messrs.  John  and  Charles  Wesley,  in  token  of  my  indis- 
soluble union  with  them  in  heart  and  Christian  affection,  notwithstanding  our 
differences  in  judgment  about  some  particular  points  of  doctrine.  Grace  be  with 
all  them,  of  whatever  denomination,  that  love  our  Lord  Jesus,  our  common  Lord, 
in  sincerity. 

As  further  proof  of  his  fraternal  love  he  told  his  congregation  at 
the  Tottenham  Court  Koad  Chapel  that  he  desired  to  be  buried  therein, 
and  that  he  wished  the  Wesley  brothers  might  lie  beside  him.  "  We 
will,"  said  he,  "  all  lie  together.  You  refuse  them  entrance  here  while 
living :  they  can  do  you  no  harm  when  they  are  dead."  Whitefield's 
wish  was  not  realized ;  but  he  lived  long  enough  to  welcome  John 
Wesley  to  his  pulpit,  over  which,  for  various  reasons,  chief  of  which 
was  his  frequent  and  extended  absence,  he  had  very  little  control. 

For  many  years  Whitefield's  health  had  been  feeble,  but  he  per- 
sisted in  preaching,  in  which  he  took  the  most  intense  delight.  IIi& 
spirits  were  hvely,  often  jubilant,  in  spite  of  increasing  infii-mities ;  and 
his  letters  abound  with  expressions  of  joy  and  praise. 

His  last  sermon  was  preached  at  Exeter,  N.  H.,  the  easternmost 
point  of  his  tour  in  the  autumn  of  lYYO. 

"You  are  more  fit  to  go  to  bed  than  to  preach,"  said  one  of  his 
friends  who  noticed  his  extreme  exhaustion. 

"True,  sir,"  replied  Whitefield.  Then,  clasping  his  hands,  he 
looked  up  to  heaven,  and  added :  "  Lord  Jesus,  I  am  weary  in  thy 
work,  but  not  of  it." 

The  subject  of  this  discourse,  which  was  two  hours  in  length — the 
mighty  effort  of  a  dying  man — was  "  Faith  and  Works."  He  labored 
heavily  at  first,  but  at  length  his  soul  roused  up  the  last  forces  of  his 
body,  and  his  voice  rang  out  with  its  old  power.  "  Works !  works !  " 
cried  he,  "  a  man  get  to  heaven  by  works !  I  would  as  soon  think  of 
climbing  to  the  moon  on  a  rope  of  sand." 

From  Exeter  he  hastened  southward  to  Newburyport,  Mass.,  faint- 
ing with  exhaustion  and  struggling  with  the  asthma.  His  coming 
having  been  noised  abroad,  a  crowd  gathered  in  front  of  the  parsonage 
and  pressed  into  its  hall,  eager  to  hear  even  a  word  from  the  most 
eloquent  preacher  on  earth ;  but  he  was  too  ill  to  preach,  and  after  a 
light  supper,  took  his  candle  to  go  to  his  bed-chamber.     The  sight  of 


434 


Illustrated  Histoey  of  Methodism. 


the  eager  throng  moved  him,  and  he  stopped  on  the  stairs,  holding  the 
candle  in  his  hand,  and  spoke  to  them  till  the  candle  burned  out  in  its 
socket. 

The  next  morning  God  had  taken  him.  His  death  occurred  at  six 
o'clock  on  Sunday  morning,  September  30, 1770,  in  the  fifty-fifth  year 
of  his  age.  He  died  of  asthma,  and  of  doing  the  work  of  two  or 
three  men  for  a  period  of  nearly  thirty  years. 

In  accordance  with  his  request  a  tomb  was  made  for  him  under- 


WHITEFIELD'S    LAST    EXHORTATION. 

neath  the  pulpit  of  the  church  at  Newburyport,  and  on  the  folk  wing 
Tuesday  loving  hands  laid  his  mortal  part  therein,  in  the  presence  of 
weeping  thousands  who,  though  he  was  of  another  country,  mourned 
him  not  as  a  stranger,  but  as  a  brother  of  their  own  blood. 

In  Georgia  his  funeral  was  celebrated  with  the  utmost  love  and 
reverence.     In  his    London  Tabernacle  there  were  most   impressive 


The  Quadkuple  Alliance.  435 

memorial  services,  chief  among  which  was  the  funeral  sermon,  by 
Wesley,  from  the  text,  "  Let  me  die  the  death  of  the  righteous,  and  let 
ray  last  end  be  hke  his."  It  was  in  this  sermon,  as  already  mentioned, 
in  Part  I  of  this  volume,  that  Wesley  gave  such  mortal  offense  to 
Toplady  and  Rowland  Hill, 

Perhaps  no  better  summing  up  of  the  character  and  career  of  this 
marvelous  man  can  be  given  than  in  the  words  by  which  another  great 
evangehst  once  described  himself :  "  I  am  the  voice  of  one  crying  in 
the  wilderness,  Make  straight  the  way  of  the  Lord."  Wanting  those 
more  substantial  qualities  of  mind  without  wliich  a  man  may  not  be  a 
great  leader,  he  possessed  those  special  gifts  which  fitted  him  to  be  a 
John  the  Baptist  over  again ;  just  such  a  man  as  it  is  easy  to  imagine 
John  the  Baptist  would  have  been  if  he  had  appeared  seventeen  hun- 
dred years  later.  Whitefield  was,  indeed,  a  voice.  His  very  life  was  to 
speak.  It  was  his  meat  and  drink  to  preach  the  gospel  of  regeneration 
through  faith  in  the  Son  of  God,  and  for  this  particular  work  God 
endowed  him  as  he  has  rarely  ever  endowed  a  man  in  ancient  or  mod- 
ern times.  In  learning  he  did  not  particularly  excel ;  in  business  he 
would  have  been  a  failure  if  that  business  had  been  any  thing  else  than 
building  a  house  for  orphans  in  a  foreign  country,  which  furnished 
him  a  basis  for  continual  voicing  to  vast  multitudes  of  people  the  duty 
of  practical  benevolence,  and  a  reason  for  ranging  over  land  and  sea, 
preaching  to  all  England  and  America.  The  Orphan  House  has  passed 
away^  all  except  a  wing  wliich  escaped  the  fire  and  is  now  used  by  a 
little  congregation  for  a  German  preaching-house ;  but  its  real  mission 
was  not  to  give  a  home  to  a  few  neglected  children ;  it  was  to  caU 
George  Whitefield  back  and  forth  between  the  two  chief  portions  of 
the  English-speaking  world. 

In  theology  he  was  not  a  master.  There  was  one  doctrine,  how- 
ever, that  he  understood,  namely,  the  doctrine  of  regeneration ;  and 
this  he  knew  by  that  best  of  all  means  of  knowledge,  his  experience. 
To  him  the  new  birth  was  the  point  of  all  preaching,  the  central  truth 
of  all  religion.  In  this  appears  the  divinity  of  his  mission.  It  is 
hardly  conceivable  that  God  should  so  gloriously  endow  a  man  to 
preach  any  other  doctrine. 

Now  that  the  voice  is  passed  there  remains  almost  nothing  of  all 
ihis  thinking  or  his  doing.     No  printed  pages  hold  the  substance  of  his 


436 


Illustkated  History  of  Methodism. 


wonderful  discourses,  for  their  substance  was  too  subtle  to  be  captured 
bj  the  crude  processes  of  writing  or  printing,  and  the  reader  turns 
away  from  the  meager  results  of  their  efforts  which  remain  with  a  sigh 
of  disappointment  and  surprise ;  no  system  of  benevolence  has  survived 
him  to  prove  how  devotedly  he  loved  every  body  except  himseK ;  no 
theory  of  preaching  put  forth  by  this  master  of  pulpit  rhetoric  and 
elocution  reveals  the  mystery  of  his  art ;  no  treatise  of  doctrine  sets 
forth  the  distinctive 
faith  of   him  who   be- 


lieved so  mightily ;  no 
record  shows  again  the 
visions  of  him  who  had 
the  eye  of  a  seer,  and 
only  a  single  Church, 
and  the  ruins  of  an  or- 
phan school,  scorched 
with  fire  and  deserted 
by  its  occupation,  helps 
to  account  for  what  he 
did  with  all  the  money 
he  begged  and  gave 
away.  He  was  "a  voice," 
and  his  history  is  an 
echo ;  yet  doubtless  in 
the  upper  sky,  and  on 
the  celestial  air,  it  still 
carries  with'  it  all  the 
music  of  its  sweet  hu- 
manity, and  all  the  res- 
onance of  its  God-given 
power. 


MAP    OF    THE    THIETEEN    COLONIES. 


^^^^^ 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

METHODISM  AND  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION. 

7^  ^/^rjXf  z^^  IirESLEY'S  "  Calm  Address  "  to  the  people 
/  f^  ^4^  -^^^^^^  VV  of  the  British  Colonies  in  North  Amer- 
ica, which,  as  has  been  shown,  caused  him  so  much  trouble  at  liome, 
was  also  a  great  affliction  to  his  friends  abroad.  Some  copies  of  it 
found  their  way  into  tlie  hands  of  prominent  revolutionists,  and 
thenceforth  until  near  the  close  of  the  war  a  Methodist  preacher  was 
an  ol>]ect  of  suspicion  ;  a  man  liable  to  be  robbed  without  protection, 
and  im])risoned  without  even  a  form  of  justice. 

In  view  of  the  increasing  troubles  of  his  brethren  in  America,  of 


438 


Illusteated  History  of  Methodism. 


whicL  his  own  political  course  was  one  cliief  occasion,  Mr.  Wesley 
addressed  tliem  the  following  fatherly  advice,  under  date  of  London, 
March  1,  1775  :— 

*'  My  Deab  Brethren: — You  were  never  in  your  lives  in  so  critical  a  situation  as 
you  are  at  this  time.  It  is  your  part  to  be  peace-makers :  to  be  loving  and  tender 
to  all;  but  to  addict  yourselves  to  no  party.  In  spite  of  all  solicitations,  of 
rough  or  smooth  words,  say  not  one  word  against  one  or  the  other  side.  Keep 
yourselves  pure ;  do  all  you  can  to  help  and  soften  all ;  but  beware  liow  you 
adopt  another's  jar. 


GRACE    M.    E.    CHURCH,    WILMINGTON,    DEL. 

"See  that  you  act  in  full  union  with  each  other:  this  is  of  the  utmost  conse- 
quence. Not  only  let  there  be  no  bitterness  or  anger,  but  no  shyness  or  coldness 
between  you.  Markall  those  that  would  set  one  against  the  other.  Some  such  will 
never  be  wanting.  But  give  them  no  countenance ;  rather  ferret  them  9ut,  i*fld 
drag  them  into  open  day." 

But  it  was  too  late  to  repair  the  mischief  he  had  done.  The  name 
"Methodist"  began  to  have  a  Toryish  flavor,  especially  if  the  bearer 
of  it  were  an  Englishman ;  and  even  the  native  preachers,  into  whose 


William  Watters.  439^ 

hands  the  work  was  soon  to  fall,  were  persecuted  on  account  of  tlieir 
alleged  want  of  devotion  to  the  cause  of  the  Revolution. 

'William  Watters,  the  first  American  itinerant  preacher,^ 
was  born  in  Baltimore  County,  Maryland,  October  16th,  1Y51.  He 
possessed  what  may  be  called  the  religious  temperament,  and  was 
thought  to  be  a  Christian  from  his  youth ;  but  at  the  age  of  twenty  he 
heard  Strawbridge,  "Williams,  and  King,  who  all  preached  the  doctrine 
that  the  Saviour  preached  to  Nicodemus,  but  which,  he  says,  "  was  all 
a  mystery  to  him."  At  length,  after  a  season  of  deep  conviction,  he 
was  clearly  brought  into  a  state  of  regeneration,  and  presently,  through 
the  reading  of  one  of  Mr.  Wesley's  sermons  on  sanctification,  he 
became  a  possessor  and  advocate  of  that  experience  also.  Thus  the 
race  of  native  American  Methodist  preachers  begins  with  an  example 
of  the  divine  power  of  those  great  doctrines  of  the  Gospel  the  preach- 
ing whereof  has  ever  been  attended  with  the  awakening  of  sinners,  the 
pardon  of  penitents,  the  regeneration  of  believers,  and  the  perfecting 
in  love  of  consecrated  souls. 

In  1YT2,  being  then  just  come  of  age,  "Watters  was  "  called  out," 
as  the  phrase  was,  by  Robert  Williams,  who  took  him  with  him  on  his 
Norfolk  Circuit,  to  learn  how  to  preach  by  preaching,  just  as  people 
learn  to  do  other  things  by  doing  them.  The  departure  of  this  young 
recruit  for  the  itinerant  ministry  was  a  very  solemn  and  affecting 
event.  His  friends  hung  about  him  and  wept  over  him  as  if  he  had 
been  a  volunteer  leaving  home  to  join  the  army  in  active  service,  or, 
later  on,  a  foreign  missionary  leaving  his  native  country  to  live  and 
labor  and  die  in  a  heathen  land. 

Whoever  is  inclined  to  smile  at  the  sorrow  and  mourning  with 
which  this  young  man,  the  first  in  America,  was  sent  forth  to  be  a 
Methodist  itinerant,  let  him  remember  that  to  take  upon  himseK  that 
office  in  those  days  implied  the  dehberate  sacrifice  of  all  things  for 
Christ's  sake  and  the  Gospel's.  To  enter  this  ministry  was  to  face  the 
certainty  of  poverty,  privation,  dangers,  ridicule,  and  opposition,  with 
a  good  prospect  of  mob  violence  and  martyi'dom ;  and  in  this  view  of 
the  subject  the  act  of  this  young  man  in  leading  what  was  to  be  the 
long  column  of  American  itinerants  was  one  of  the  most  heroic  things 
ever  done  in  this  country.  l!To  wonder,  then,  that  there  was  sorrow  in  the 
old  home  when  tliis  first  young  minister  set  forth  on  this  strange  career. 


440  Illustkated  History  of  Methodism. 

Tlie  ultimate  test  of  all  things  is,  whether  or  not  they  fulfill  their 
purpose.  Judged  by  any  other  test  than  this,  the  sending  out  of  a 
raw  young  farmer  to  organize  and  preside  over  a  circuit,  after  only  a 
few  weeks  of  training  under  the  senior  preacher,  would  be  pronounced 
a  piece  of  folly  ;  but  Watters  could  preach  in  such  a  manner  as  to  bring 
sinners  to  Christ,  and  that,  in  those  days,  was  understood  to  be  suf- 
ficient. Poorly  furnished  in  every  thing  else  which  is  supposed  to 
constitute  a  fitness  for  the  holy  ofiice,  God  seemed  to  be  well  enough 
pleased  to  use  him  for  some  glorious  soul-saving  work ;  and  if  God 
was  satisfied  who  has  any  right  to  complain  ? 

Pliilip  Gatcli,  another  native  itinerant,  and  one  of  the  most 
admirable  characters  in  early  Methodist  history,  was  born  near  George- 
town, Maryland,  1T51,  and  was  "called  out"  by  Rankin  in  the  same 
year  with  Watters — 1772 — to  travel  a  circuit  which  embraced  the 
whole  State  of  New  Jersey.  This  was  rather  a  heavy  charge  for  an 
untutored  youth  of  twenty-one ;  but  Gatch  had  "  experienced  religion" 
and  knew  what  it  was  ;  he  could  read  the  Bible,  and  pray  his  way  into 
it  far  enough  fo  find  the  pith  and  power  of  it ;  and  the  pentecostal 
Spirit  gave  him  a  "  tongue."  Thus  he  was  able  for  the  space  of  two 
years,  in  spite  of  much  hostility,  to  work  this  great  plantation,  and  to 
gather  some  harvests  of  souls  ;  after  which  initiation  and  training  still 
greater  things  were  possible  to  him. 

Beiijaiiiiii  Abbott. — But  the  greatest  marvel  of  all  was  Ben- 
jamin Abbott,  a  Jersey  farmer,  who  at  the  age  of  forty  was  trans- 
formed from  a  di'inking,  fighting,  swearing,  gambhng  sinner — a  leader 
in  all  sorts  of  wickedness  and  a  terror  in  the  community — into  a  man 
of  God,  a  preacher  of  righteousness,  whose  success  still  stands  une- 
qualed  in  all  the  religious  history  of  America.  Not  even  Whitefield 
could  attract  such  vast  congregations ;  while  the  spiritual  power  he 
wielded  was  absolutely  incredible  to  that  slow  faith  which  refuses  to 
beheve  in  an  effect  without  an  adequate  visible  cause,  whether  it  be 
in  mechanics  or  rehgion,  nature  or  grace. 

In  the  days  of  his  impenitence  he  had  often  attended  divine  service 
with  his  wife,  who  was  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian  Church ;  yet  he 
says :  "  I  had  never  heard  the  nature  of  conviction  or  conversion.  It  wai5 
a  dark  time  respecting  religion,  and  little  or  nothing  was  ever  said  about 
■experimental  rehgion ;  and  to  my  knowledge  I  never  had  heard  either 


Benjamin  Abbott.  441 

man  or  woman  say  that  they  had  the  pardoning  love  of  God  in  their 
Bouls,  or  knew  their  sins  were  forgiven." 

But  at  length  one  of  the  itinerants  visited  his  neighborhood,  and 
Abbott,  who  was  now  often  tormented  with  a  sense  of  his  sins  and  his 
danger,  went  to  find  out  what  help  there  might  be  for  him  in  this 
new  form  of  rehgion.  Of  his  exercises  of  mind  on  this  occasion  he 
gives  the  following  account : — 

"  The  word  reached  my  heart  in  such  a  manner  that  it  shook  every 
joint  in  my  body;  tears  flowed  in  abundance,  and  I  cried  out  for 
mercy,  of  which  the  people  took  notice,  and  many  were  melted  into 
tears.  When  the  sermon  was  over  the  people  flocked  around  the 
preacher  and  began  to  dispute  with  him  about  principles  of  relig- 
ion. I  said  that  there  never  was  such  preaching  as  this  ;  but  the  peo- 
ple said,  '  Abbott  is  going  mad.' 

"  Satan  suggested  to  me  that  my  day  of  grace  was  over ;  therefore 
I  might  pray  and  cry,  but  he  was  sure  of  me  at  last, 

"  In  passing  through  a  lonely  wood  at  night,  I  was  tempted  to  com- 
mit suicide ;  but  while  looking  for  a  suitable  place  for  the  deed,  I 
was  deterred  by  an  inward  voice,  which  said,  '  This  torment  is  nothing 
compared  to  hell.'  "  This  was  logic  too  clear  to  be  resisted.  "  I  forth- 
with mounted  my  wagon,  and  believing  the  tempter  to  be  immediately 
behind  me,  drove  home  under  the  greatest  anxiety  imaginable,  with 
my  hair  rising  on  my  head.  My  di'eams  that  night  were  appalling ; 
the  next  day,  seeking  relief  in  the  labors  of  the  field,  my  troubled 
heart  beat  so  loud  that  I  could  hear  the  strokes.  I  threw  down 
my  scythe  and  stood  weeping  for  my  sins.  I  beheve  I  could  not 
have  continued  in  the  body  had  not  God  moderated  the  pain  and 
anxiety  I  was  in,  but  must  have  expired  before  the  going  down  of 
the  sun."  Under  this  terrible  stress  of  conviction  he  fell  upon  his 
knees  in  the  field,  and,  for  the  first  time  in  his  life,  prayed  aloud. 

Hastening  the  same  day  to  a  Methodist  meeting,  he  says  : — 

"  I  went  in,  sat  down,  and  took  my  little  son  upon  my  knee.  The 
preacher  began  soon  after.  His  word  was  attended  with  such  power 
that  it  ran  through  me  from  head  to  foot ;  I  shook  and  trembled  like 
Belshazzar,  and  felt  that  I  should  cry  out  if  I  did  not  leave  the  house, 
wliich  I  determined  to  do  that  I  might  not  expose  myself  among  the 
people ;  but  when  I  attempted  to  put  my  little  son  down  and  rise  to 
28 


442  Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 

go,  I  found  that  my  strength  had  failed  me,  and  the  use  of  my  hmbs 
was  so  far  gone  that  I  was  utterly  unable  to  rise.  Immediately  I 
cried  aloud,  '  Save,  Lord,  or  I  perish  ! '  But  before  the  preacher  con- 
cluded I  refrained  and  wiped  my  eyes ;  my  heart  gave  way  to  shame, 
and  I  was  tempted  to  wish  I  was  dead  or  could  die,  as  I  had  so  ex- 
posed myseK  that  my  neighbors  and  acquaintance  would  laugh  at  and 
despise  me.  When  meeting  was  over  I  thought  to  speak  to  the 
preacher,  but  such  a  crowd  got  round  him,  disputing  points  of  doc- 
trine, that  I  could  not  conveniently  get  an  opportunity.  That  even- 
ing I  set  up  family  prayer,  it  being  the  first  time  I  ever  had  attempte. 
to  pray  in  my  family.  My  wife,  being  a  strict  Presbyterian,  was  a 
praying  woman,  and  much  pleased  with  having  family  prayer,  so  that 
she  proved  a  great  help  to  me  and  endeavored  to  encourage  me  in  my 
duty;  although,  dear  creature,  at  that  time  she  knew  nothing  of 
experimental  religion." 

The  next  day,  accompanied  by  his  wife,  Abbott  went  more  than  ten 
miles  to  a  Methodist  assembly,  appealed  to  the  minister  for  counsel  and 
comfort,  and  asked  to  be  baptized,  hoping  it  would  relieve  his  distress ; 
for,  as  yet,  he  had  no  idea  of  justification  by  faith. 

"  Are  you  a  Quaker  ? "  asked  the  preacher. 

"  ISTo,"  he  rephed,  "  I  am  nothing  but  a  poor,  wretched,  condemned 
sinner,"  and  burst  into  tears, 

"  Then  you  are  the  very  man  Christ  died  for,"  rephed  the  preacher. 
"  It  is  the  lost  that  Christ  came  to  seek,  and  the  greatest  of  sinners 
that  he  came  to  save," 

That  night,  the  11th  of  October,  1TY2 — he  is  minute  in  such 
memorable  dates — he  awoke  from  terrible  dreams  and  saw,  as  in  a 
vision,  the  Lord  Jesus,  with  extended  arms,  saying,  "  I  died  for  you." 
He  wept  and  adored  God  with  a  joyful  heart.  "  At  that  moment," 
he  continues,  "  the  Scriptures  were  wonderfully  opened  to  my  under- 
standing. My  heart  felt  as  light  as  a  bird,  being  reheved  of  that  load 
of  guilt  which  before  had  bowed  down  my  spirits,  and  my  body  felt 
as  active  as  when  I  was  eighteen,  so  that  the  outward  and  inward  man 
were  both  animated."  Upon  this  he  rose  from  his  bed,  called  up  the 
family,  expounded  the  Scriptures  and  prayed,  and  then  set  off  to 
spend  the  day  in  teUing  his  neighbors  what  God  had  done  for  him. 

While  he  was  relating  his  experience  to  his  neighbors,  and  ex- 


Benjamin  Abbott.  443 

horting  them  to  flee  from  the  wrath  to  come,  some  laughed,  others 
cried,  and  some  thought  he  had  gone  distracted.  Before  night  a  re- 
port was  spread  all  through  the  neighborhood  that  he  was  raving 
mad.  A  neighboring  clergyman  tried  laboriously  to  deliver  him  from 
the  "  strong  delusions  of  the  devil ; "  whereat  Abbott  was  a  good  deal 
perplexed.  "  It  was  suggested  to  my  mind,"  he  says,  "  he  may  be 
right.  But  I  went  a  little  out  of  the  road,  and  kneeled  down  and 
prayed  to  God  if  I  was  deceived  to  undeceive  me ;  and  the  Lord  said 
to  me,  '  Why  do  you  doubt  ?  Is  not  Christ  aU-sufficient  ?  is  he  not 
able  ?  Have  you  not  felt  his  blood  applied  ? '  I  then  sprang  upon 
my  feet  and  cried  out,  'Not  all  the  devils  in  heU  shall  make  me 
doubt ; '  for  I  knew  that  I  was  converted.  At  that  instant  1  was  filled 
with  unspeakable  raptures  of  joy." 

"Was  not  this  also  "  a  brand  plucked  from  the  burning  ? " 
Abbott  now  devoted  himseK  to  the  study  of  the  Bible,  and  began 
to  exhort  all  with  whom  he  had  any  intercourse.  The  Scriptures  were 
wonderfully  opened  to  him.  In  his  sleep  texts  occurred  to  his  mind, 
with  divisions  and  applications,  and  he  woke  up  preaching  from  them. 
His  good  wife  checked  him,  saying,  "  You  are  always  preaching : " 
"  however,"  he  adds,  "  it  caused  her  to  ponder  these  things  in  her 
heart.  I  saw  that  if  ever  I  should  win  her  to  Christ  it  must  be  by 
love  and  a  close  walk  with  God ;  for  I  observed  that  she  watched  me 
closely."  Soon  after  she  was  happily  converted  under  a  sermon  by 
Philip  Gatch,  and  when  Abbott  returned  home  he  met  her  at  the  door 
with  tears  of  joy  in  her  eyes.  "  We  embraced  each  other,"  he  says, 
"  and  she  cried  out,  '  Now  I  know  what  you  told  me  is  true,  for  the 
Lord  hath  pardoned  my  sins.'  We  had  a  blessed  meeting ;  it  was  the 
happiest  day  we  had  ever  seen  together.  '  Now,'  said  she,  '  I  am  willing 
to  be  a  Methodist  too  ; '  from  that  time  we  went  on,  hand  and  hand, 
helping  and  building  each  other  up  in  the  Lord.  These  were  the  be- 
ginning of  days  to  us.  Our  children  also  began  to  yield  obedience  to 
the  Lord,  and  in  the  course  of  about  three  months  after  my  wife's 
conversion  we  had  six  children  converted  to  God." 

From  "  exhorting "  he  at  last  began  to  preach ;  his  first  sermon 
being  over  the  coffin  of  a  neighbor.  His  word  was  now  uniformly 
"  with  power ; "  under  which  the  sturdiest  sinners  trembled,  or  escaped 
in  alarm.     He  was  a  man  of  great  natural  courage,  and  though  there 


444  Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 

was  an  habitual  tenderness  and  humility  in  his  manners,  often  reveal- 
ing itself  in  tears,  yet  woe  to  the  man  who  dared  in  his  presence  to 
treat  rehgion  with  ridicule  or  irreverence.  Of  him  it  might  be  said, 
as  was  said  of  certain  other  ministers  of  Christ :  "  Now  when  they  saw 
the  boldness  of  Peter  and  John,  and  perceived  that  they  were  un- 
learned and  ignorant  men,  they  marveled ;  and  they  took  knowledge 
of  them,  that  they  had  been  with  Jesus." 

The  memoirs  of  Abbott  abound  with  instances  of  the  immediate 
manifestation  of  divine  power,  which,  since  the  day  of  Pentecost,  is 
to  be  accounted  as  a  part  of  the  Gospel  scheme,  and  may  be  looked  for 
in  connection  with  its  faithful  presentation.  One  of  the  circuits  which 
he  organized  was  in  a  desperate  neighborhood  called  Hell  Neck ;  of 
which  he  writes  :  "  One  sinner  there  said  he  had  heard  Abbott  swear, 
and  had  seen  him  fight,  and  now  would  go  and  hear  him  preach.  The 
word  reached  his  heart,  and  he  soon  after  became  a  convert  to  the 
Lord.  After  meeting  he  invited  me  home  with  him,  and  several 
others  invited  me  to  preach  at  their  houses,  so  that  I  got  preaching 
places  all  through  the  neighborhood,  and  a  considerable  revival  of 
religion  took  place,  although  it  had  been  so  noted  for  wickedness." 

Such  a  bold  invasion  of  the  strongholds  of  Satan  was  likely  to  be 
resented  by  that  great  adversary  of  souls,  and  various  and  desperate 
were  the  efforts  made  by  his  servants  to  frighten  or  defeat  this  sturdy 
evangelist.  At  Deerfield  he  heard  of  a  gang  of  ruffians  who  had 
threatened  to  tar  and  feather  any  Methodist  preacher  who  should  vent- 
ure to  open  his  mouth  in  their  settlement ;  but  Deerfield  was  in  the 
line  of  liis  duty,  and  thither  he  went  to  preach.  "  At  first,"  says  he, 
"  1  thought  I  would  return.  Consulting  with  flesh  and  blood,  I  con- 
cluded that  it  would  be  a  disagreeable  thing  to  have  my  clothes  spoiled, 
and  my  hair  all  matted  together  with  tar ;  but  I  called  to  mind  the 
sufferings  of  my  Lord,  and  immediately  resolved  to  go  and  preach,  if 
I  had  to  die  for  it. 

"  I  found  a  large  congregation  filling  the  house  and  crowding  the 
neighboring  premises.  I  went  in  among  them  and  gave  out  a  hymn, 
but  no  one  sung.  I  then  sung  four  lines  myself,  while  every  joint  in  my 
body  trembled.  I  said,  '  Let  us  pray,'  and  before  prayer  was  over  the 
power  of  God  fell  on  me  in  such  a  manner  that  it  instantly  removed 
from  me  the  fear  of  man,  and  some  cried  out.     I  arose,  took  my  text, 


Benjamin  Abbott.  445 

and  preached  with  great  liberty.  Before  the  meeting  was  over  I  saw 
many  tears  drop  from  their  eyes,  and  the  head  of  the  mob  said  that 
he  had  never  heard  such  preaching  since  Robert  Williams  went 
away ;  so  I  came  off  clear.  Glory  be  to  God,  who  stood  by  me  in 
this  trying  "hour !  " 

On  one  occasion  he  was  called  to  see  a  Quaker  woman  who  had 
been  awakened  under  one  of  his  sermons,  and  was  in  an  awful  agony 
of  con\action.  When  he  arrived  she  was  sitting  with  both  hands 
clenched  in  her  hair,  and  crying  out  "  Lord,  have  mercy  on  me  !  Save, 
Lord,  or  I  perish  ! " 

Abbott  told  her  to  pray  in  faith ;  look  to  Jesus ;  lay  hold  of  the 
promises,  and  God  would  have  mercy  on  her. 

"  But  I  cannot  pray,"  said  the  distracted  woman. 

"  You  do  pray  very  well,"  said  Abbott.     "  Go  on." 

"She  cannot  pray  in  English,"  said  a  pious  friend  who  was  present. 

"  Let  her  pray  in  Dutch,  then.  God  understands  Dutch  as  well  as 
English,"  was  Abbott's  reply. 

A  hymn  was  now  sung,  and  when  it  was  over,  Abbott  says,  "  I  felt 
such  faith,  that  I  told  them  the  Lord  would  deliver  her ;  and  said, 
Let  us  pray.  In  a  few  minutes  she  clapped  her  hands  together  and 
cried  '  My  Lord,  my  God,  and  my  Father ! '  Her  soul  was  immedi- 
ately set  at  liberty,  and  she  sprang  up,  rejoicing,  and  giving  glory  to 
God.  Her  husband  burst  into  a  flood  of  tears.  I  exhorted  him  to 
look  to  God,  and  he  would  find  mercy.  In  about  six  weeks  after  he 
was  safely  converted." 

Among  the  converts  in  these  his  early  labors  was  a  bigoted  Papist, 
who  had  determined  to  murder  his  wife  for  going  to  tlie  Methodist 
meeting,  but  somehow  was  induced  to  go  himself  ;  another  was  a  wild, 
drunken  school-master,  whom  Abbott  prayed  out  of  the  delirium  tre- 
mens, into  the  kingdom  of  God.  A  band  of  Indians  who  once  strayed 
into  his  congregation  were  deeply  wrought  upon  by  the  Holy  Spirit, 
and  at  the  close  of  the  sermon  crowded  about  him,  eagerly  desiring 
him  to  show  them  how  to  be  saved.  For  years  this  Jersey  farmer  was 
God's  instrument  in  working  a  constant  succession  of  gracious  mira- 
cles. For  want  of  houses  to  preach  in,  he  often  held  his  meetings  in 
groves,  where  thousands  upon  thousands  assembled  to  hear  him ;  and 
as  he  preached  in  "  God's  first  temples,"  with  a  Jersey  wagon  foi 


446  Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 

a  pulpit,  multitudes  of  sinners  were  overwhelmed  by  the  power  of 
the  word,  many  of  whom  were  speedily  and  joyfully  converted. 

Goiigii,  of  Perry  Hall. — If  any  one  is  saying,  These  were 
all  common,  ignorant  people,  and,  therefore,  these  excitements  are 
natural  enough,  let  him  read  this  account  of  the  conversion  of  another 
style  of  man,  taken  from  the  pages  of  Stevens's  admirable  "  History 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  : " — 

"Asbury's  usefulness  in  the  Baltimore  Circuit  at  this  time  had 
permanently  important  results.  He  gathered  into  the  young  Societies 
not  a  few  of  those  influential  famihes  whose  opulence  and  social  posi- 
tion gave  material  strength  to  Methodism  through  much  of  its  early 
history  in  that  city,  while  their  exemplary  devotion  helped  to  maintain 
its  primitive  purity  and  power." 

Henry  Dorsey  Gough  and  his  family  were  distinguished  examples. 
Gough  possessed  a  fortune  in  lands  and  money  amounting  to  more 
than  three  hundred  thousand  dollars.  He  had  married  a  daughter  of 
Governor  Kidgeley.  His  country  residence — Perry  Hall,  about  twelve 
miles  from  the  city — was  one  of  the  most  spacious  and  elegant  in 
America  at  that  time.  But  he  was  an  unhappy  man  in  the  midst  of 
his  luxury.  His  wife  had  been  deeply  impressed  by  the  Methodist 
preaching,  but  he  forbade  her  to  hear  them  again.  While  revehng 
with  wine  and  gay  companions,  one  evening,  it  was  proposed  that  they 
should  divert  themselves  by  going  together  to  a  Methodist  assembly. 
Asbury  was  the  preacher,  and  no  godless  diversion  could  be  found  in 
his  presence. 

"What  nonsense,"  exclaimed  one  of  the  conviviahsts,  as  they 
returned,  "  what  nonsense  have  we  heard  to-night !  " 

"  ISTo,"  replied  Gough,  startling  them  with  sudden  surprise ;  "  what 
we  have  heard  is  the  truth,  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus." 

"  I  will  never  hinder  you  again  from  hearing  the  Methodists,"  he 
said,  as  he  entered  his  house  and  met  his  wife.  The  impression  of  the 
sermon  was  so  profound  that  he  could  no  longer  enjoy  his  accustomed 
pleasures.  He  became  deeply  serious,  and  at  last  melancholy,  "  and 
was  near  destroying  himself "  under  the  awakened  sense  of  his  mis- 
spent life ;  but  God  mercifully  preserved  him.  Riding  to  one  cf  his 
plantations,  he  heard  the  voice  of  prayer  and  praise  in  a  cabin,  and 
listening,  discovered  that  a  negro  from  a  neighboring  estate  was  lead- 


GouGH,  OF  Perry  Hall.  447 

ing  the  devotions  of  his  own  slaves,  and  offering  fervent  thanksgivings 
for  the  blessings  of  their  depressed  lot.  His  heart  was  touched,  and 
with  emotion  he  exclaimed,  "  Alas,  O  Lord  !  I  have  my  thousands  and 
tens  of  thousands,  and  yet,  ungrateful  wretch  that  I  am,  I  never 
thanked  thee,  as  this  poor  slave  does,  who  has  scarcely  clothes  to  put 
on  or  food  to  satisfy  his  hunger."  The  luxurious  master  was  taught  a 
lesson  on  the  nature  of  true  contentment  and  happiness,  which  he 
could  never  forget.  His  work-worn  servants  in  their  lowly  cabins 
knew  a  blessedness  which  he  had  never  found  in  his  sumptuous  man- 
sion. He  returned  home,  pondering  the  mystery,  with  a  distressed 
and  contrite  heart.  He  retired  from  his  table,  which  was  surrounded 
by  a  large  company  of  his  friends,  and  threw  himself  upon  his  knees 
in  a  chamber.  While  there,  imploring  the  mercy  of  God,  he  received 
conscious  pardon  and  peace.  In  a  transport  of  joy  he  went  to  his 
company,  exclaiming,  "  I  have  found  the  Methodists'  blessing ;  I  have 
found  the  Methodists'  God ! " 

Both  he  and  his  wife  now  became  members  of  the  Methodist 
Society,  and  Perry  Hall  was  henceforth  an  asylum  for  the  itinerants 
and  a  "  preaching  place."  Eankin  visited  it  next  year,  and  says,  "  I 
spent  a  most  agreeable  evening  with  them.  A  numerous  family  of 
servants  were  called  in  for  exhortation  and  prayer,  so  that,  with  them 
and  the  rest  of  the  house,  we  had  a  little  congregation." 

"Perry  Hall,"  says  Lednum,  "was  the  resort  of  much  company, 
among  whom  the  skeptic  and  the  Eomanist  were  sometimes  found. 
Members  of  the  Baltimore  bar,  the  elite  of  Maryland,  were  there. 
But  it  mattered  not  who  were  there ;  when  the  bell  rang  for  family 
devotion  they  were  seen  in  the  chapel,  which  Mr.  Gough  had 
erected  near  by,  and  if  there  was  no  male  person  present  who 
could  lead  the  devotions,  Mrs.  Gough  read  a  chapter  in  the  Bible, 
gave  out  a  hymn,  which  was  often  raised  and  sung  by  the  colored 
servants,  after  which  she  would  engage  in  prayer.  Take  her  alto- 
gether, 'few  such  have  been  found  on  earth.'  Asbury  called  her 
a  'true  daughter'  to  himseK,  and  Coke,  'a  precious  woman  of  fine 
sense.' " 

Thus  among  high  and  low,  rich  and  poor,  the  Lord  was  raising  up 
a  spiritual  people  to  praise  him,  and  to  carry  forward  his  work  in  the 
New  World. 


448  Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 

The  Second  American  Confierence  met  in  Philadel- 
phia, May  25,  1774.  The  reports  showed  10  circuits,  situated  in  the 
Colonies  of  New  York,  "The  Jerseys,"  Pennsylvania,  Maryland,  and 
Virginia;  17  preachers — an  increase  of  seven  in  one  year;  and 
2,073  members  of  Society — nearly  double  the  number  reported  in 
1773. 

Of  the  proceedings  of  the  Conference  there  remain  only  a  few 
references  to  economical  arrangements.  It  was  ordered  that  "every 
itinerant  in  full  membership  in  the  Conference  must  own  the  horse  pro- 
vided for  him  by  his  circuit ; "  that "  each  preacher  should  be  allowed 
six  pounds,  Pennsylvania  currency,  a  quarter,  (the  Pennsylvania 
"pound"  was  two  dollars  and  sixty-six  cents,)  besides  traveling  ex- 
penses ;  that  Rankin,  as  "  General  Assistant,"  should  be  supported  by 
the  circuits  where  he  might  spend  his  time ;  that  a  collection  should 
be  made  at  Easter  on  each  circuit  to  relieve  the  chapel  debts  and 
itinerants  in  want ;  and  that  all  were  to  change  circuits  at  the  end  of 
six  months ;  while  Asbury  and  Pilmoor,  in  Philadelphia  and  New 
York,  were  to  make  an  exchange  once  a  quarter. 

Freeborn  Garrettson. — Among  the  little  band  who  held 
the  field  during  the  War  of  the  Revolution  was  Freeborn  Garrett- 
sou,  whose  name  and  fame  are  so  deeply  interwoven  in  the  his- 
tory of  Methodism  in  New  York.  He  was  born  in  1752,  in 
Maryland,  on  the  western  shore  of  the  Chesapeake  Bay,  near  the 
mouth  of  the  Susquehanna  River,  where  the  Garrettson  plantation 
still  remains  in  the  possession  of  a  branch  of  the  family.  This 
able  and  admirable  minister  and  organizer  was  converted  in  1775,  and 
at  once  the  way  seemed  to  open  for  his  becoming  a  preacher.  This- 
idea  he  resisted  as  long  as  he  dared ;  but  at  length,  after  being  warned 
in  visions  by  night  and  overwhelmed  with  conviction  by  day,  he  sub- 
mitted to  the  call  of  God  and  entered  the  regular  work  of  the  itinerant 
ministry  in  1775,  in  which  he  soon  found  use  for  all  his  native  courage- 
and  his  heaven-born  patience  and  devotion.  A  "  Tory  "  was  an  object 
of  especial  hatred  to  the  patriots,  among  whom,  as  we  have  seen, 
the  impression  prevailed  that  the  Methodist  preachers  were  all  Tories ;. 
and  on  which  account  they  were  in  constant  peril.  In  Maryland  Gar- 
rettson was  mobbed  and  imprisoned  on  suspicion  of  too  much  loyalty 
to  King  George ;  and  on  one  occasion  he  was  beaten  almost  to  death' 


FREEBOEisr  Garrettson. 


44^ 


with  a  stick  by  one  of  the  magistrates  of  Queen  Anne  County,  for 
no  other  offense  than  that  of  being  a  Methodist  preacher. 

Pedicord,  another  itinerant,  was  attacked  and  beaten  on  the 
pubhc  road  with  such  violence  that  he  carried  the  scars  to  his 
grave.  Foster,  "Wren,  and  Forrest  were  thrown  into  prison,  and  only 
released  by  their  furnishing  bonds  for  their  future  "  good  behavior ;  " 
which  was  understood  to  mean  not  to  preach  any  more  in  the  county. 
But  there  were  always  more  counties  somewhere,  and  thus  the  brave 


FREEBOKN    GABKETTSON. 
First  Presiding  Elder  of  New  York  District 

pioneers  held  to  their  work,  literally  obeying  the  command  of  Christy 
"When  they  persecute  you  in  this  city,  flee  ye  into  another,"  and 
patiently  accepting  the  truth  of  his  declaration  that,  "  The  disciple  i& 
not  above  his  Master,  nor  the  servant  above  his  Lord." 

A  Prison  for  a  Pulpit. — The  experience  of  Joseph  Hartley 
is  worthy  of  special  notice.  After  being  "bound  over"  in  penal 
bonds  of  five  hundred  pounds  not  to  ])reach  any  more  in  Queen  Anne 
County  he  took  up  his  mission  to  the  sinners  in  the  county  of  Talbot. 
Here  he  was  whipped  and  thrust  into  prison,  where  he  was  kept  for  a 


450 


Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 


•considerable  time ;  but  from  the  window  of  bis  cell  he  kept  up  his 
ministry,  and  at  length  so  great  were  the  crowds  attracted  to  this 
etranffe  service  that  the  work  of  the  Lord  went  on  faster  than  ever. 
On  Sundays  the  people  for  ten  or  fifteen  miles  around  used  to  assem- 
ble in  front  of  his  window,  numbers  of  whom  were  happily  converted ; 
and  so  deep  was  the  impression  made  by  this  preaching  prisoner  that 
some  of  the  inhabitants  declared  he  would  convert  the  whole  town  if 
^he  were  not  released.     The  feehng  in  Hartley's  favor  grew  so  strong 


HARTLEY    PREACHING    IN    PRISON. 


that  the  magistrates  were  glad  to  throw  open  the  doors  of  his  prison, 
provided  he  would  go  away  and  preach  no  more  in  Talbot  County. 
Nevertheless  the  work  of  grace  went  on  in  the  community,  and  a  pow- 
erful revival  followed,  which  at  length  resulted  in  the  establishment 
of  a  flourishing  Society. 

A  Great  Revival  in  Tirg^inia. — While  these  persecutions 
were  in  progress  in  Maryland,  the  neighboring  colony  of  Yirginia  was 
the  scene  of  a  great  revival  of  religion,  chiefly  under  the  labors  of 
that  warm-hearted  English  evangehst,  Shadford.  In  1YY5  and  1Y76, 
while  the  whole  country  was  seething  and  sometimes  boiling  over  with 


A  Great  Revival  ik  Virginia.  451 

revolutionary  wrath,  no  greater  proof  than  this  could  be  desired  that 
the  Lord  was  in  the  word  as  preached  by  his  itinerant  ministers.  The 
center  of  this  revival  was  the  famous  old  Brunswick  Circuit,  to  which 
Shadford  was  appointed  at  the  Conference  of  17T5.  It  comprised 
fourteen  counties  in  the  south-eastern  part  of  Yirginia  and  extended 
over  into  Bute  and  Halifax  counties,  in  North  Carolina. 

On  his  arrival  Shadford  found  about  eight  hundred  members  in 
the  Societies  of  his  circuit,  who,  however,  were  very  poorly  organ- 
ized ;  his  first  care,  therefore,  was  to  reform  the  classes,  appoint  proper 
leaders,  and  see  that  all  the  preachers  who  shared  the  circuit  with  him 
met  their  congregations  in  class  at  the  close  of  every  public  service,  in 
true  "Wesleyan  fashion.  The  fruit  of  this  labor  was  apparent  in  the 
rapid  growth  of  the  people  in  rehgious  knowledge,  and  soon  the  whole 
circuit  was  in  a  glow  of  revival. 

Among  Shadford's  chief  friends  and  helpers  in  this  great  circuit 
was  the  Kev.  Mr.  Jarratt,  a  parish  clergyman  of  the  Episcopal,  or 
Enghsh,  Church,  as  it  was  then  called,  in  Dinwiddle  County,  Yirginia. 
He  was  a  thoroughly  evangelical  man,  an  admirer  of  Methodism,  a 
behever  in  the  Wesleyan  views  of  the  doctrines  of  Regeneration,  Free 
Grace,  and  Entire  Sanctification :  in  all  of  which  respects  he  was  a 
notable  exception  to  the  clergy  of  his  order  who  claimed  to  repre- 
sent "  the  Church  "  in  America.  This  good  man  entered  heartily  into 
the  revival  work,  organized  classes  among  his  own  people,  ranged  the 
country  preaching  in  all  directions,  while  his  own  Church  was  in  con- 
stant use  for  revival  meetings,  and  his  house  was  a  home  for  the  home- 
less itinerants,  in  whose  success  he  had  the  grace  to  rejoice. 

Mr.  Rankin,  who  went  down  to  visit  his  brethren  on  the  Brunswick 
Circuit  during  the  height  of  the  revival,  gives  the  following  account 
of  a  Sunday  which  he  spent  with  Shadford  : — 

"  We  went  to  the  chapel  at  ten,  where  I  had  Kberty  of  mind  and 
strength  of  body  beyond  my  expectation.  After  preaching  I  met  the 
Society,  and  was  more  relieved  both  in  body  and  mind.  At  four  in 
the  afternoon  I  preached  again,  from  '  I  set  before  thee  an  open  door, 
and  no  man  can  shut  it.'  I  had  gone  through  about  two  thirds  of  my 
discourse,  and  was  bringing  the  words  home  to  the  present  now^  when 
such  power  descended  that  hundreds  fell  to  the  ground,  and  the  house 
-seemed  to  shake  with  the  presence  of  God.     The  chapel  was  full  of 


452  Illustrated  Histoey  of  Methodism. 

white  and  black,  and  many  were  without  that  could  not  get  in.  Look 
wherever  we  would  we  saw  nothing  but  streaming  eyes  and  faces 
bathed  in  tears ;  and  heard  nothing  but  groans  and  strong  cries  after 
God  and  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  My  voice  was  drowned  amid  the 
groans  and  prayers  of  the  congregation.  I  then  sat  down  in  the  pul- 
pit, and  both  Mr.  S.  and  I  were  so  filled  with  the  divine  presence  that 
we  could  only  say,  '  This  is  none  other  but  the  house  of  God,  and  this 
is  the  gate  of  heaven ! '  Husbands  were  inviting  their  wives  to  go  to 
heaven,  wives  their  husbands :  parents  their  children  and  children 
their  parents :  brothers  their  sisters  and  sisters  their  brothers.  In 
short,  those  who  were  happy  in  God  themselves  were  for  bringing  all 
their  friends  to  him  in  their  arms.  This  mighty  effusion  of  the  Spirit 
continued  for  above  an  hour :  in  which  time  many  were  awakened, 
some  found  peace  with  God,  and  others  his  pure  love.  We  attempted 
to  speak  or  sing  again  and  again  ;  but  no  sooner  had  we  begun  than  our 
voices  were  drowned.  It  was  with  much  difficulty  that  we  at  last  per- 
suaded the  people,  as  night  di'ew  on,  to  retire  to  their  own  homes." 

Rankin  also  attended  one  of  Shadford's  quarterly  meetings,  of 
which  he  says  : — 

"No  chapel  or  preaching-house  in  Yirginia  would  have  contained 
one  third  of  the  congregation.  Our  friends,  knowing  this,  had  con- 
trived to  shade  with  boughs  of  trees  a  space  that  would  contain  two  or 
three  thousand  persons.  Under  this,  fully  screened  from  the  rays  of 
the  sun,  we  held  our  general  love-feast.  It  began  between  eight  and 
nine  on  "Wednesday  morning,  and  continued  till  noon.  Many  testified 
that  they  had  '  redemption  through  the  blood '  of  Jesus,  '  even  the  for- 
giveness of  sins.'  And  many  were  able  to  declare  that  it  had  '  cleansed ' 
them  '  from  all  sin.'  So  clear,  so  full,  so  strong  was  their  testimony, 
that  while  some  were  speaking  their  experience  hundreds  were  in 
tears,  and  others  vehemently  crying  to  God  for  pardon  or  holiness. 

"About  eight  our  watch-night  began.  Mr.  J.  [supposed  to  be 
Pastor  Jarratt]  preached  an  excellent  sermon ;  the  rest  of  the  preachers 
exhorted  and  prayed  with  divine  energy.  Surely,  for  the  work 
wrought  on  these  two  days,  many  will  praise  God  to  all  eternity." 

It  was  recorded  as  a  remarkable  fact  that  "  many  children  from 
eight  to  ten  years  old  are  now  under  strong  convictions,  and  some  of 
them  are  savingly  converted  to  God ;  "  a  hint  at  the  prevailing  notion 


A  Great   Revival  m  Virgesia.  *      453 

among  Christians  of  those  times  that  it  was  out  of  the  mouths  of  grown 
up  people  only  that  the  Lord  could  have  any  perfect  praise. 

"  One  of  the  doctrines  which  are  particularly  insisted  upon,"  writes 
Pastor  Jarratt,  "  is,  that  of  a  present  salvation ;  a  salvation  not  only 
from  the  guilt  and  power,  but  also  from  the  root  of  sin ;  a  cleansing 
from  all  filthiness  of  flesh  and  'spirit,  that  we  may  perfect  hoHness  in 
the  fear  of  God ;  a  going  on  to  perfection,  which  we  sometimes  define 
by  '  Loving  God  with  all  our  heart.'  Several  who  had  believed  were 
deeply  sensible  of  their  want  of  this.  I  have  seen  both  men  and 
women,  who  had  long  been  happy  in  a  sense  of  God's  pardoning  love, 
as  much  convicted  on  account  of  the  remains  of  sin  in  their  hearts, 
and  as  much  distressed  for  a  total  deliverance  from  them,  as  ever  I  saw 
any  for  justification." 

He  also  mentions  that  "  the  unhappy  disputes  between  England 
and  her  colonies,  which  just  before  had  engrossed  all  our  conversation, 
seemed  now  in  most  companies  to  be  forgot,  wliile  things  of  far  greater 
importance  lay  so  near  the  heart." 

In  this  revival,  however,  there  was  a  very  clear  marking  of  the 
"  color  line."  The  chapels  being  none  too  large  for  the  white  congre- 
gations, the  negroes  were  allowed  to  stand  without,  crowding  about 
the  doors  and  windows,  where  they  were  allowed  to  pick  up  such 
crumbs  of  comfort  as  fell  from  their  Master's  table.  Large  numbers 
of  them  were  converted,  but  they  must  needs  be  organized  into  "  black 

classes." 

This  great  awakening  continued  for  about  two  years,  and  its  fruits 

were  sound  and  substantial. 

Writing  in  September,  1776,  Jarratt  says:  "If  you  ask,  'How 
stands  the  case  now  with  those  that  have  been  the  subjects  of  the  late 
work  ? '  I  have  the  pleasure  to  inform  you  I  have  not  heard  of  any  one 
apofetate  yet.  Upon  the  whole,  things  are  in  as  flourishing  a  condition 
as  can  reasonably  be  expected,  considering  what  great  numbers,  of  vari- 
ous capacities  and  stations,  have  lately  been  added  to  the  Societies." 

On  making  up  his  statistics  for  the  Conference  of  1776  Shadford 
found  that  the  membership  of  the  Brunswick  Circuit  was  2,666,  an 
increase  of  over  1,800  in  a  single  year.  Thus,  in  spite  of  the  political 
clamor  and  confusion  which  sorely  crippled  other  communions,  Amer- 
ican Methodism  gained  this  year  an  increase  in  membership  of  1,873. 


454 


Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 


Asbury  in  Seclusion. — As  the  war-cloud  grew  darker  the 
position  of  the  itinerants  became  more  perilous.  Danger  could  not 
frighten  them  from  their  work,  but  the  laws  now  began  to  place  insur- 
mountable obstacles  in  their  path.  In  Maryland,  for  example,  a  test 
oath  was  ordered  to  be  administered  to  all  doubtful  persons ;  which 
oath  was  a  pledge  to  take  up  arms  in  aid  of  the  Kevolution  if  called  to 
do  so  by  the  colonial  authorities.  Of  course  such  oaths  were  not  for 
the  clergy ;  but  the  itinerants  were  not  "  clergymen ; "  they  were  only 
"  preachers  ; "  and  here  was  a  convenient  cudgel  with  which  to  belabor 
^^^  them.     Whatever  may  have 

been  the  personal  pohtics  of 
Asbury,  he  had  not  come  to 
America  to  shoot  men,  but 
to  save  them  ;  and  therefore, 
after  being  denounced  as  an 
Englishman,  and  escaping  the 
death  intended  for  him  by 
some  active  Revolutionist, 
who  put  a  bullet  through 
his  chaise  but  failed  to  reach 
its  occupant,  he  took  his  de- 
parture for  the  Colony  of 
Delaware,  where  the  test-oath 
was  not  so  rigidly  enforced. 

But  even  here  there  was  a 
"  Light  Horse  Patrol,"  which, 
in  the  name  of  Liberty,  prac- 
ticed a  good  deal  of  petty 
tyranny.  In  April,  1TT8,  a 
band  of  this  revolutionary  police  came  to  the  house  of  the  Hon. 
Thomas  White,  Judge  of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas  of  the  County 
of  Kent,  seized  him,  and  carried  him  off  to  jail  under  the  charge  of 
being  a  Methodist !  It  was  on  the  plantation  of  this  same  Methodist 
judge  that  Asbury  had  been  forced  to  take  refuge  from  his  enemies, 
who,  if  they  had  known  what  prey  was  concealed  in  that  little  cabin 
hidden  among  the  shrubbery  beyond  the  orchard,  might  have  made 
another  notable  capture  in  the  name  of  liberty. 


ARRESTING    A    METHODIST. 


The  Ceime  of  Beestg  a  Methodist.  455> 

For  five  weeks  the  judge  was  held  a  prisoner ;  prayers  being  offered 
night  and  day  for  his  safety  by  his  godly  household,  whose  devotions 
were  led  by  the  man  of  all  others  whom  the  patriots  now  wished  to 
capture,  or  else  to  drive  out  of  the  country.  When  his  trial  came  on 
his  wife  conducted  his  defense ;  perhaps  for  the  reason  that  no  lawyei 
could  be  found  to  do  it ;  and  so  admirably  did  she  plead  her  cause  that 
hep  husband  and  client  was  "  acquitted,"  though  he  was  unquestion- 
ably guilty  of  the  offense  charged  against  him. 

Meanwhile  the  search  for  the  hated  British  Methodist  was  kept 
up  by  the  patriot  patrol,  who  sometimes  used  violence  as  well  as 
vigilance ;  it  therefore  became  the  part  of  discretion — valor  was 
out  of  the  question — for  Asbury  to  fly  from  this  place  of  concealment,, 
lest  his  friends  should  have  their  house  burned  over  their  heads  by 
this  irresponsible  mob  on  suspicion  that  the  "  Tory  preacher  "  might  be 
hidden  in  it.  This  he  did ;  and  like  a  runaway  negro,  a  fugitive  from 
injustice,  he  took  to  the  woods  and  swamps,  and  it  was  nearly  a  month 
before  he  ventured  to  return.  During  this  time  he  found  shelter  in 
the  rude  cabin  of  a  friendly  backwoodsman ;  and  he  mentions  also  that 
in  these  thirty  or  forty  days  in  the  wilderness  his  soul  was  blessed  with 
very  precious  manifestations  of  divine  love. 

Although  a  recluse,  Asbury  was  the  chief  of  the  itinerant  gospel 
band.  One  by  one,  or  two  by  two,  they  visited  him,  keeping  him 
informed  of  the  progress  of  the  work,  which  he  continued  to  direct 
by  letters.  In  1YY9  he  ventured  to  hold  a  Conference  at  the  Judge's 
mansion ;  but  for  a  time  such  was  the  storm  of  patriotic  persecution 
that  he  could  only  leave  his  wood-embowered  cottage  by  night :  and 
this  he  did,  going  from  house  to  house  in  the  darkness,  and  preaching 
the  Gospel,  which  was  as  a  fire  shut  up  in  his  bones. 

Perhaps  this  good  man  would  have  made  a  more  brilliant  figure  in 
history,  as  history  goes,  if  he  had  taken  the  oath  which  he  was  at 
such  pains  to  avoid.  If  he  had  joined  the  Continental  army  and 
marched  to  the  defense  of  liberty,  he  might  also  have  come  down  the 
generations  as  one  of  the  Kevolutionary  fathers,  with  a  piquant 
perfume  of  gunpowder  about  him;  but  the  fathers  of  Methodism 
had  not  learned  that  the  ten  commandments,  or  any  of  them,  might 
be  suspended  by  the  vote  of  a  majority  in  a  Republic,  or  by  the 
royal  wiU  of  a  King.     They  held  to  the  plain  letter  of  the  law  of 


456  Illustkated  History  of  Methodism. 

God,  wliicli,  in  the  real  or  fancied  exigences  of  government,  is  so 
easily  explained  away.  If  any  modern  Methodist  is  moved  to  mourn 
as  he  finds  himseK  confronted  with  the  statement  that  so  few  of  the 
fathers  of  his  Church  had  epaulets  on  their  shoulders,  let  him  comfort 
himself  with  the  other  recollection  that  so  few  of  them  had  blood  on 
their  hands.  The  most  of  them  were  brave  enough  not  to  be  driven 
by  the  rush  of  patriotic  fury  into  laying  down  the  Bible  and  taking 
up  the  sword.  They  could  suffer  and  die,  if  need  be,  for  the  sake  of 
the  cause  to  which  they  had  devoted  themselves ;  but  if  they  were  to 
be  martyrs,  they  preferred  to  suffer  for  Christ's  sake  and  the  Gospel's 
rather  than  for  the  sake  of  what  difference  there  might  be  between 
living  under  the  government  of  a  congress  and  under  that  of  a 
parhament  and  king. 

The  Eng^lisli  Missionaries  Depart. — The  inglorious 
flight  of  Rodda  in  1777,  made  necessary  by  his  too  ardent  service  of 
King  George ;  and  the  more  dignified  departure  of  Rankin,  who  could 
not  keep  pace  with  events,  left  only  two  of  the  English  brethren  in 
the  field ;  Asbury  and  Sliadf  ord.  It  appears  that  these  two  men  had 
hoped  to  weather  the  storm ;  but  it  was  now  evident  that  the  patriots 
were  bent  on  driving  out  of  the  country,  or  else  out  of  the  world, 
every  man  of  any  consequence  who  would  not  swear  allegiance  to 
their  ideas  of  hberty.  At  last  Shadford's  British  heart  failed  him, 
and  he  sought  out  his  only  remaining  Wesleyan  co-patriot,  into  whose 
hands  the  care  of  all  the  Societies  had  fallen,  for  the  purpose  of  taking 
a  survey  of  the  situation. 

It  was  a  discouraging  situation  enough.  Two  of  the  three  chief 
points  which  had  determined  the  geographical  position  of  the  Meth- 
odist circle  were  blotted  out.  It  was  no  longer  possible  to  supply  the 
New  York  and  Philadelpliia  pulpits  with  members  of  the  Conference ; 
Norfolk,  Ya.,  had  been  abandoned  ;  the  country  was  fuU  of  bands  of 
armed  men — soldiers,  patrols,  bushwhackers  fighting  on  their  own 
hook — all  of  whom  had  a  strong  prejudice  against  men  of  their 
profession.  The  Americans  were  still  divided  into  "WTiigs  and 
Tories ;  for  the  fate  of  the  revolution  still  hung  in  even  scale ;  and 
thus,  in  spite  of  their  determination  to  let  all  politics  alone  and  attend 
only  to  the  ministry  of  the  word,  the  preachers  stood  between  two 
fires.     What  was  to  be  done  ?    As  the  last  and  proper  resort    they 


The  English  Missiot^aeies  Depaet.  457 

appealed  the  case  to  Ileaven,  and  separated  to  spend  a  day  in  solemn 
fasting  and  prayer. 

It  was  no  light  occasion  that  brought  Asbury  and  Shadford  to 
their  knees  to  inquire  of  the  Lord  whether  they  should  or  should 
not  abandon  their  work.  Shadford  had  suffered  as  well  as  his 
chief.  He  had  been  threatened  with  imprisonment  in  Virginia, 
and,  after  a  year  and  a  haK  of  remarkable  usefulness,  he  left  it 
for  the  North  in  the  depth  of  winter.  On  his  route  he  was  lost  in 
the  woods  at  night,  when  the  weather  was  intensely  cold  and  the  snow 
a  foot  deep.  He  could  discover  no  house  ;  without  relief  he  must 
perish.  He  fell  upon  his  knees  and  prayed  for  deliverance.  On  rising 
he  stood  some  time  listening,  when  he  heard  the  distant  barking  of  a 
dog.  Following  the  sound,  he  was  welcomed  at  the  house  of  a  plan- 
tation. Thus  saved,  he  hastened  into  Maryland;  but  there  also  he 
was  required  to  renounce  his  loyalty,  or  be  in  peril  of  imprisonment, 
if  not  death.  He  could  not  travel  without  a  pass,  nor  have  a  pass 
without  taking  the  oaths. 

In  the  evening  of  this  solemn  day  of  decision  Shadford  rejoined 
'his  chief,  and  inquired  what  conclusion  he  had  reached. 

"  I  do  not  see  my  way  clear  to  go  to  England,"  responded  the  stead- 
fast Asbury.  Shadford  replied,  "  My  work  here  is  done ;  I  cannot 
stay ;  it  is  as  strongly  impressed  on  my  mind  that  I  ought  to  go  home, 
as  it  was  at  first  that  I  ought  to  come  to  America." 

"  Then  one  of  us  must  be  under  a  delusion,"  rejoined  Asbury. 

"  Not  so,"  said  Shadford ;  "  I  may  have  a  call  to  go,  and  you  to 
.stay." 

"  I  believe,"  adds  Shadford,  "  we  both  obeyed  the  call  of  Provi- 
dence. We  saw  we  must  part,  though  we  loved  as  David  and  Jona- 
than. And,  indeed,  these  times  made  us  love  one  another  in  a  pecul- 
iar manner.  O  how  glad  were  we  to  meet  and  pour  our  griefs  into 
each  other's  bosom  !  " 

Shadford  managed  to  obtain  a  pass  from  the  military  authorities  to 
go  to  the  North,  and  at  once  set  out  across  the  country  for  Philadel- 
phia. That  night  he  was  attacked  by  an  armed  man  on  the  highway, 
who  presented  a  musket  at  his  breast,  threatening  his  life.  He  and  a 
companion  were  allowed  at  last  to  proceed,  but  found  that  the  bridge 
at  Chester  was  broken  down.  "With  our  saddle-bags  upon  our 
29 


458  Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 

backs,"  lie  says,  "  we  crept  on  our  hands  and  knees  on  a  narrow  plank 
to  that  part  of  the  great  bridge  that  remained  standing,  and  got  our 
horses  over  the  next  morning.  Thus,  through  the  mercy  and  good- 
ness of  God,  we  got  safe  into  Chester  that  night,  and  the  next  night 
into  Philadelphia.  Here  we  met  three  or  four  of  our  preachers,  who, 
hke  ourselves,  were  refugees.  I  continued  near  six  weeks  before  I 
got  a  passage,  and  then  embarked  for  Cork  in  Ireland ;  from  thence 
to  Wales,  and  then  across  to  Bristol." 

Shadf  ord  then  resumed  his  ministry  in  England,  and  labored  with 
his  characteristic  ardor  till  1791,  when,  after  twenty-three  years  of 
itinerant  Hfe,  his  infirm  health  required  him  to  take  a  supernumerary 
relation  to  the  Conference,  and  in  1816  he  died  in  great  triumph  in  the 
seventy-eighth  year  of  his  age. 

"  So  we  are  left  alone,"  writes  Asbury ;  "  but  I  leave  myself  in  the 
hand  of  God,  relying  on  his  good  providence  to  direct  and  protect, 
persuaded  that  nothing  will  befall  me  but  what  shall  conduce  to  his 
glory  and  my  benefit."  But  if  "  left  alone  "  by  the  Wesleyan  mission- 
aries, Methodism  in  America  had  been  planted  by  rivers  of  waters,  and 
was  already  bearing  fruit  abundantly,  while  a  band  of  faithful  and 
efiicient  "  Helpers,"  as  Wesley  called  his  preachers  of  the  rank  and 
file,  were  already  in  the  field,  who,  in  spite  of  all  their  enemies,  were 
holding  most  of  the  ground  they  had  so  painfully  and  faithfully  won. 

The  hearts  of  the  preachers  now  turned  with  one  accord  to  Asbury 
as  the  man  to  lead  them  out  of  this  wilderness  of  war.  He  was  by 
far  the  ablest  and  most  experienced  man  among  them ;  had  been  dulj 
appointed  by  Wesley  as  "  General  Assistant  for  America ; "  had  shown 
a  much  better  understanding  of  the  Colonial  situation  and  the  Colonial 
temper  than  Rankin,  who  was  too  good  a  Scotchman  to  be  a  good  Amer- 
ican ;  and  now  that  he  had  chosen  their  people  for  his  people,  as  well 
as  their  God  for  his  God,  the  native-bom  preachers,  into  whose  untried 
but  not  unskillful  hands  so  great  a  work  had  fallen,  rallied  around  their 
chief,  who  thenceforth  became  to  them  a  Joshua :  the  personal  lead- 
ership of  their  English  Moses  having  substantially  ended  with  the 
arrival  in  America  of  his  unfortunate  Calm  Addi*ess. 

Influential  Friends. — In  this  enforced  seclusion  of  nearly 
two  years,  Asbury  gained  some  distinguished  friends ;  among  them 
Richard  Bassett,  of  Dover,  whose  country-seat  at  Bohemia  Manor,  and 


Influentiat,  Friends.  459 

its  old  "  Bethesda  Chapel,"  came  to  be  very  familiar  to  the  itinerants ; 
the  one  for  its  warm  hospitality,  the  other  for  the  displays  of  divine 
power  and  glory  therein.  The  high  position  of  Judge  Bassett,  who 
was  a  member  of  the  Convention  which  formed  the  Constitution  of  the 
new  nation,  a  Senator  in  Congress,  and  afterward  Governor,  was  such 
that  he  was  able  to  render  his  itinerant  brethren  valuable  assistance. 
A  letter  from  Asbury  to  Rankin  had  also  fallen  into  the  hands  of  some 
American  officers,  wherein  was  abundant  evidence  of  the  love  of  the 
writer  for  the  people  of  his  adopted  country,  and  his  expectation  of 
seeing  it  an  independent  nation.  Thus  the  Governor  of  Maryland 
was  persuaded  that  Asbury  and  the  men  under  his  command  were  in 
no  wise  dangerous  to  the  progress  of  "  free  institutions,"  and  the 
preachers  were  presently  allowed  to  travel  their  circuits  without  fur- 
ther magisterial  hindrance;  though  they  still  had  to  contend  with 
infidelity,  which,  from  first  to  last,  was  a  prominent  factor  in  the 
working  of  the  war,  and  which  still  gave  them  frequent  tastes  of 
ruffianism  which  kept  their  mission  from  losing  the  excitement  of 
danger. 

Another  well-known  name  is  that  of  Philip  Barratt,  "  the  pious 
Judge  Barratt,"  as  Asbury  calls  him,  who  helped  to  shelter  the  itiner- 
ants through  the  stormy  war  period,  and  who  entered  into  eternal 
peace  a  little  while  before  the  organization  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  in  1784. 

Another  honored  name  is  that  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  M'Gaw ;  one  of  the 
friends  of  Asbury  in  his  retirement,  and  soon  afterward  called  to  be 
Rector  of  St.  Paul's  Episcopal  Church  in  Philadelphia.  This  clergy- 
man, and  the  excellent  Virginia  rector,  Jarratt,  stand  as  points  of 
admiration  in  the  history  of  the  Enghsh  Church  in  America ;  shining 
illustrations,  hke  Fletcher,  Perronet,  Grimshaw,  and  Yenn,  in  England, 
of  how  good  and  how  pleasant  a  thing  it  is  for  Methodists  and  Epis- 
copalians, b"etliren  of  the  same  blood,  to  dwell  together  in  harmony  if 
not  in  unity. 

Otterbein  and  the  United  Brethren. — The  close  fel- 
lowship, followed  by  the  open  rupture,  of  Mr.  Wesley  with  the  Mora- 
vian Church  and  its  leader,  Count  Zinzendorf,  of  Hermhut,  is  called 
to  mind  by  the  ardent  friendship  which  existed  between  Francis  As- 
bury and  the  Eev.  PhiHp  William  Otterbein ;  the  leading  mind  in  the 


4G0  Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 

formation  of  tlie  body  called  tlie  United  Brethren  in  Christ.  In  the 
year  1742  Count  Zinzendorf  visited  Pennsylvania,  and  by  his  earnest 
preaching  of  Free  Grace,  then  quite  a  doctrinal  wonder  in  America, 
called  together,  in  addition  to  those  of  his  own  Society,  the  United 
Brethren  who  had  immigrated  to  that  colony,  a  number  of  Lutherans, 
German  Keformers,  Mennonites,  Tunkers,  etc.,  all  of  whom  were  won 
over  to  liis  views,  and  who  were  afterward  united  into  what  was  called 
"  The  Congregation  of  God  in  the  Spirit."  Their  Arminian  theology 
brought  them  into  conflict  with  the  German  Reformed  Church,  whose 
clergy  were  pronounced  Calvinists  ;  many  of  them  wanting  also  in  the 
knowledge  and  personal  experience  of  evangelical  reUgion. 


BEV.    PHILIP    WILLIAM    OTTERBEIN. 


Some  ten  years  later  Mr.  Otterbein,  then  a  minister  in  the  German 
Reformed  Church,  came  out  to  America.  He  was  too  spiritually  minded 
to  suit  the  temper  of  the  Reformed  Church  ;  but  he  soon  found  that  a 
political  Church  in  the  colonies  was  no  more  spiritually  minded  than 
the  same  Church  at  home,  and  after  some  years  of  service  among  the 
American  Reformed  he  swung  away  from  his  moorings  and  started  out 
to  worship  God  for  himself,  and  to  give  what  help  he  could  to  who- 
ever chose  to  go  with  him.  In  1774  he  organized,  at  Howard's  Hill,  in 
Baltimore,  what  he  called  an  Evangehcal  Reformed  Church,  which 
became  the  center  of  a  considerable  conference  of  Churches  under  the 
name  of  United  Brethren ;  of   which  himself  and  the  Rev.   Martin 


Otterbeen-  and  the  United  Brethren. 


461 


Boehm,  father  of  the  late  Kev.  Hemy  Boelim,  were  the  first  super- 
intendents or  bishops. 

Wherever  the  itinerants  went  in  the  German-speaking  regions  of 
Maryland,  Pennsylvania,  and  Virginia,  they  were  hkely  to  find  fam- 
ilies, if  not  Societies,  of  these  evangelical  German  Christians,  who  gave 
them  a  cordial  welcome ;  and  if  they  were  so  happy  as  to  possess  a 
church,  it  was  sure  to  be  at  the  service  of  the  itinerants  whenjver 
they  appeared.  Otterbein  and  Asbury  were  deeply  attached  to  each 
other.  They  preached  together  in  many  revivals,  and  ^vhen  Dr.  Coke 
arrived  to  set  apart  Francis  Asbury  for  the  office  of  General  Superin- 
tendent of  the  Methodist  Societies  in  America,  Otterbein  assisted  at 
his  ordination. 

Modern  Methodists  may  well  extend  a  brotherly  hand  to  the  mem- 
bers of  that  communion  whose  early  history  is  so  preciously  inter- 
woven  with  that  of  their  own.  The  body  at  present  consists  of 
between  thirty  and  forty  "  Conference  Districts  ; "  over  five  thousand 
"  preaching  places,"  only  about  x  one-fifth  of  which  are  "  meeting- 
houses ; "  nearly  a  thousand  I  "  itinerant  preachers  ; "  and,  in 
round  numbers,  a  membership      I      of  one  hundred  thousand  souls. 


METROPOLITAN    MEMORIAL    M.    E.   CHURCH,   WASHINGTON,   D.   a 


CLOSE  OF  THE  REVOLUT] 

TO  THE 

Purchase  of  Louisiana. 

■I  TOO     10flQ 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

A  CHURCH  FOR  THE  NEW  NATION. 

War  TS.  Relig^ion. — That  long-drawn  misery  called  tlie  War 
of  tlie  Revolution,  wore  itself  out  in  1Y82,  though  peace  was  not 
formally  declared  until  1783. 

It  had  been  a  period  of  sin  as  well  as  of  misery,  for  colonial  Piety 
was  compelled  to  wait  until  colonial  Liberty  had  settled  her  quarrel : 
thus  iniquity  abounded  and  the  love  of  many  waxed  cold.  The 
doctrines  of  the  patriots  implied  the  largest  faith  in  man,  but  they 
did  not  always  imply  any  considerable  faith  in  God  ;  the  hottest  repub- 
licanism and  the  coldest  infidelity  being  often  found  in  the  same  mind. 
Washington  knew  how  to  pray,  but  in  this,  as  in  many  other  things, 
he  was  an  exceptional  soldier ;  while,  as  is  well-known,  the  opening  of 
the  first  American  Congress  with  prayer  was  on  account  of  the  unex- 
pected presence  of  a  clergyman,  and  not  according  to  any  previouB 
plan. 

It  is  doubtful  if  the  Colonies  could  have  achieved  their  independ- 
ence while  they  were  so  young  and  weak  vdthout  the  aid  of  France ; 
who,  besides  sending  a  few  troops  to  their  assistance,  kept  the  common 
enemy  busy  on  the  other  side  of  the  water.  But  along  with  French 
sympathy  came  French  philosophy,  whose  teachings  accorded  well 
with  the  lawlessness  and  license  which  war  always  brings.  Yoltaire, 
the  great  French  apostle  in  politics,  literature,  and  irrehgion,  was  a 
more  agreeable  teacher  than  Jesus.  The  one  preached  death  as  the 
end  of  all  things  to  a  sinner,  while  the  other  announced  the  unwelcome 
fact  of  a  future  perdition  for  ungodly  men. 

Besides,  it  was  no  small  trial  to  the  faith  and  patience  of  the  sturdy 
Colonists  to  have  their  two  chief  cities.  New  York  and  Philadelphia, 
garrisoned  by  the  enemy ;  to  be  challenged  by  red-coated  sentinels  as 
they  walked  their  own  streets  ;  and  to  hold  their  lives  and  property 
subject  to  the  caprice  of  some  British  officer  sent  out  to  chastise  them 
into  submission.  As  for  New  England,  its  people  were  too  mad  to  be 
very  religious — Puritanism  had  always  a  terrible  temper  when  fullj 


ASBURY  AGAIN  AT  THE  FrONT,  465 

aroused  ;  the  South  never  was  very  devout ;  having  for  the  most  part 
nothing  but  the  official  forms  of  godliness ;  and  during  those  gloomy 
years  the  only  vigorous  life  among  any  body  of  believers  was  among 
the  much-abused  Methodists,  who,  though  subject  to  every  species  of 
indignity  at  the  hands  of  magistrates,  soldiers,  and  ruffians,  resolutely 
persisted  in  preaching  the  Gospel ;  which  preaching  the  Lord  accom- 
panied with  signal  displays  of  his  grace. 

Asbury  ag^ain  at  the  Front.— During  the  last  half  of  the 
war-period  Asbury,  having  outlived  the  suspicions  of  the  patriots,  was 
permitted  to  resume  his  place  as  the  general  of  the  itinerant  forces,  in 
which  he  displayed  abilities  of  the  highest  order :  patience,  persistence, 
indifference  to  personal  sufferings,  the  power  of  combination  and  sys- 
tematic arrangement,  and  a  consummate  judgment  of  men  ;  just  those 
qualities  which  the  situation  demanded  in  a  pioneer  Bishop  who  was 
called  upon  to  manage  a  diocese  reaching  from  Jersey  to  Florida,  from 
the  coast  to  the  AUeghanies,  and  over  them  ;  some  portions  of  which 
were  occupied  by  hostile  armies,  and  the  whole  of  it  suffering  from 
the  poverty  and  commotion  produced  by  a  long  and  exasperating  civil 
war. 

There  is  no  other  hero  in  America  with  whom  to  measure  Asbury, 
except  the  otherwise  incomparable  Washington.  A  careful  study  of 
these  two  leaders  will  show  a  striking  similarity  between  them  ;  each 
pre-eminent  in  his  own  field,  and  each  honored  above  the  other  accord- 
ing as  the  individual  student  of  their  character  and  career  is  moved  to 
give  precedence  to  Church  or  State,  to  patriotism  or  piety. 

As  soon  as  it  was  possible  Asbury  organized  the  whole  Methodist 
work  into  one  great  circuit,  which,  with  incredible  toil  and  in  spite 
of  frequent  illness,  he  compassed  once,  and  sometimes  twice,  a  year. 
The  reader  of  his  Journals  is  bewildered  with  the  rapidity  of  his 
movements;  but  through  them  all  the  tireless,  invincible  apostle 
appears,  planning  grandly  and  as  grandly  executing  his  plans;  rais- 
ing up  hosts  of  preachers ;  forming  new  Churches,  new  Circuits,  and 
new  Conferences;  extending  his  denomination  to  all  points  of  the 
compass,  till  it  becomes  before  his  death  co-extensive  with  the  nation. 

He  traversed  the  wilderness  of  the  South  and  West,  sometimes  being 
compelled  to  use  two  horses,  because  no  one  beast  could  carry  a  man 
all  day  over  the  wretched  bridle-paths  and  across  the  mountain  tor- 


466 


Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 


rents,  ofter  incapable  of  ferriage  and  almost  always  wanting  a  bridge. 
On  one  occs^ion  he  says : — 

"  We  set  out  for  Crump's,  over  rocks,  hills,  creeks,  and  pathless 

woods.  The  young  man  with  me 
was  heartless  before  we  had  traveled 
a  mile :  but  when  he  saw  how  I 
could  bush  it,  and  sometimes  force 
my  way  through  a  thicket  and 
make  the  young  saplings  bend  be- 
fore me,  and  twist  and  turn  out  of 
the  way  or  path,  for  there  was  no 
road,  he  too^j:  courage.  With 
great  difficulty  we  came  into  the 
settlement  about  two  o'clock,  after 
traveling  eight  or  nine  hours ;  the 
people  looking  almost  as  wild  as  the  deer  in  the  woods.  I  have 
only  time  to  pray,  and  write  in  my  Journal ;  always  upon  the  wing ; 
as  the  rides  are  so  long  and  the  roads  so  bad,  it  takes  me  many  hours, 
for  in  general  I  walk  my  horses. 

"  I  crossed  Rocky  River  about  ten  miles  from  Haw  River.  It  was 
rocky,  sure  enough.  I  can  see  httle  else  but  cabins  in  these  parts 
built  with  poles.  I  crossed  Deep  River  in  a  ferry-boat,  and  the  poor 
ferry-man  swore  because  I  had  not  a  shilKng  to  give  him." 

It  was  just  this  Herculean  labor  so  sagaciously  bestowed  that  pre- 
served the  unity  of  the  scattered  Societies.  Asbury  was  every-where. 
Was  there  a  dispute  among  the  preachers  at  the  South  over  their 
•rights  to  administer  the  sacraments  ?  He  was  at  hand  with  cautious 
counsels  to  prevent  an  open  break  with  Mr.  Wesley.  Was  a  poor 
itinerant  in  trouble  with  the  authorities  ?  He  was  ready  with  his  per- 
sonal influence  to  protect  him  ;  or  with  his  purse  to  pay  his  iniquitous 
fine.  Was  there  a  man  posted  in  an  almost  inaccessible  region  among 
the  mountains  ?  He  was  sure  to  pay  a  visit  to  the  outpost  and  cheer  the 
lonely  sentinel  with  his  wise  and  loving  words.  Was  there  a  little 
band  of  adventurous  spirits  planting  themselves  in  the  wilderness  far 
beyond  the  lines  of  the  frontier  ?  Asbury  was  sure  to  hear  of  them 
and  to  run  his  ever-extending  circuit-hnes  so  as  to  take  them  in. 
His  was  the  mind  that  planted  the  Methodist  organization  in  America, 


An  Ordained  Wesleyan  Ministry.  .  467 

and  put  and  kept  it  in  working  order,  till,  at  the  close  of  the  war,  when 
other  branches  of  the  Church  militant  were  more  or  less  demoralized,  his 
little  band  of  veterans,  seasoned  with  hard  campaigning  and  flushed 
with  constant  victory  in  the  name  of  the  Lord,  were  ready  for  a  fresh 
and  immediate  advance  all  along  the  line ;  and  it  was  just  this  mighty 
onset,  at  the  time  when  other  Churches  were  rallying  and  recruiting, 
that  gave  to  Methodism  the  foremost  place  among  the  Christian  com- 
munions of  the  New  World. 

At  one  time,  Asbury  was  driven  to  take  a  httle  rest  at  the  "White 
Sulphur  Springs,  in  Virginia,  which  even  then  had  begun  to  be  a 
famous  watering-place,  and  this  is  the  list  of  his  regular  duties 
during  this  vacation,  as  reported  by  a  friend  who  accompanied 
him : — 

"  He  reads,"  says  his  friend,  "  about  one  hundred  pages  a  day ; 
usually  prays  in  public  five  times  a  day  ;  preaches  in  the  open  air  every 
other  day  ;  and  lectures  in  prayer-meeting  every  evening."  As  further 
evidence  of  his  tireless  diligence,  it  appears  that  being  constantly 
obliged  to  make  long  journeys  on  horseback  through  wild  and  un- 
settled portions  of  the  country,  by  way  of  making  the  most  of  his  time 
he  took  up  the  study  of  the  Greek  and  Hebrew  languages,  and  actually 
learned  as  he  rode  the  forest  paths  to  read  the  Scriptures  in  their 
original  tongues.  « 

An  Ordained  Wesleyan  Hinistry  was  now  the  special 
demand  of  the  American  Methodists,  who  had,  with  great  difiiculty, 
been  prevented  from  setting  up  an  independent  ministry  for  them- 
selves. The  Conference  of  1Y80,  held  in  Baltimore,  determined,  after 
much  debate,  to  "  continue  in  close  communion  with  the  American  sec- 
tion of  the  English  Church,"  relying  upon  the  "  friendly  clergy  "  there- 
of for  the  administration  of  the  sacraments ;  the  Methodists  having,  as 
yet,  not  a  single  ordained  minister  among  them.  But  America  was 
now,  in  1784,  a  nation  by  itself,  and  the  active  and  growing  Societies 
<;ould  not  be  persuaded  to  remain  in  "  close  communion,"  or  in  8,ny 
<;ommunion  whatever,  with  a  Church  which  was  the  creature  of  a 
foreign  and  recently  hostile  State.  Something  must  be  done  that  the 
fifteen  thousand  Methodists  in  America  might  no  longer  be  defrauded 
of  their  rights  and  privileges  as  members  of  the  Church  of  God ;  and, 
also,  that  the  eighty  itinerant  ministers  might  be  permitted  to  attain 


468  Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 

that  rank  in  the  Church  to  which  the  providence  of  God  had  appointed 
them,  and  which  thej  had  so  heroically  earned. 

During  the  Revolution  the  American  Methodists  had  rapidly  mul- 
tiplied. At  the  Conference  of  1T84  their  numbers  were  reported  at 
14,988,  with  83  itinerant  preachers,  besides  several  hundred  local 
preachers.  Like  their  brethren  in  England,  they  had  hitherto  regarded 
themselves  as  in  some  way  related  to  the  Enghsh  Church,  as  it  was  then 
represented  in  America.  But  the  "  friendly  clergy  of  the  Church  of 
England,"  to  whom  the  Conference  had  voted  to  look  for  the  adminis- 
tration of  the  sacraments,  had  now  nearly  all  departed  for  England, 
and  a  large  number  of  the  Episcopal  Churches  had  perished  during  the 
war.  In  Virginia  twenty-three  out  of  ninety-five  parishes  were  extinct 
or  forsaken  ;  and  of  the  remaining  seventy  two,  thirty-four  were  desti- 
tute of  pastors;  while  of  her  ninety-eight  clergymen,  only  twenty- 
eight  remained.  This,  however,  was  a  small  misfortune,  for  the  Kev. 
Mr.  Jarratt,  himseK  a  clergyman  of  the  Church  of  England,  declares 
that  "  most  of  the  clergy  preached  what  was  little  better  than  deism," 
and  were  bitter  revilers  and  persecutors  of  those  who  preached  the- 
truth.* 

Under  these  circumstances  the  Methodists  sought  to  cut  themselves 
loose  from  their  Churchly  leading-strings,  and  began  to  demand  of 
their  preachers  the  administration  of  the  sacraments.  Many  of  the 
Societies  had  been  months,  some  of  them  years,  without  these  sacred 
ordinances.  Five  years  before  this,  in  1779,  the  preachers  in  the  South 
proceeded  to  ordain  themselves  by  the  hands  of  three  of  their  senior 
members,  unwiUing  that  their  people  should  longer  be  denied  the 
Lord's  Supper,  and  their  children  and  probationary  members  the  rite 
of  Baptism.  Asbury  was  greatly  annoyed  at  this,  and  a  year  afterward 
with  difficulty  succeeded  in  persuading  them  to  suspend  the  adminis- 
tration of  the  sacraments  till  further  advice  could  be  received  from 
Wesley.  Asbury  wrote  to  "Wesley,  telling  him  of  the  greatness  of  the 
work,  and  of  the  division  that  had  taken  place  in  Yirginia  on  account 
of  the  people's  uneasiness  respecting  the  sacraments.  Thousands  of 
their  children  were  unbaptized,  and  the  members  of  the  Societies  in 
general  had  not  partaken  of  the  Lord's  Supper  for  many  years ;  some 
of  them  never.  For  these  urgent  reasons  he  implored  Mr.  Wesley  to- 
*  Tterman's  "  Life  and  Times  of  Wesley." 


An  Oedalned  Wesleyan  Ministry.  4^9 

een^  out  an  ordained  minister  to  America  who  could  supply  tliis 
painful  lack  of  service, 

"With  the  new  nation  came  the  necessity  for  the  establishment  of  a 
new  section  of  the  Church.  In  this  emergency  Mr.  Wesley,  having 
exhausted  his  last  hope  of  aid  from  the  English  Episcopate,  fell  back 
upon  the  rights  which,  as  he  believed,  were  vested  in  him  by  the 
apostohc  constitution,  by  the  constitution  of  the  Church  of  England, 
and  also  by  the  immediate  providence  and  grace  of  God ;  and  pre- 
pared to  set  up  the  form  and  order  of  the  Cathohc  and  Apostolic 
Church,  as  he  understood  it,  for  the  government  and  fellowship  of  his 
spiritual  children  in  the  United  States  and  Canada,  Accordingly  he 
ordained  Dr.  Coke,  his  most  distinguished  assistant  and  his  most  trusted 
friend,  as  "  Superintendent  of  the  Methodist  Societies  in  America," 
and  sent  him  out,  thus  accredited,  to  ordain  Francis  Asbury  to  a  like 
office,  and  thus  establish  the  Episcopal  form  of  Church  government 
among  the  Methodists  of  the  New  World. 

"  Of  his  power  to  ordain  Wesley  had  no  doubt.  Nearly  forty 
years  before  he  had  been  convinced  by  '  Lord  King's  Account  of  the 
Primitive  Church,'  that  bishops  and  presbyters  are  of  one  order.  In 
1756  he  wrote :  '  I  still  believe  the  episcoj)al  form  of  Church  govern- 
ment to  agree  with  the  practice  and  writings  of  the  apostles ;  but  that 
it  is  prescribed  in  Scripture  I  do  not  believe.  This  oj)inion,  which  I 
once  zealously  espoused,  I  have  been  heartily  ashamed  of  ever  since 
I  read  Bishop  Stillingfleet's  "  Irenicon."  I  think  he  has  unanswerably 
proved  that  neither  Christ  nor  his  apostles  prescribe  any  particular 
form  of  Church  government ;  arid  that  the  plea  of  divine  right  for 
diocesan  episcopacy  was  never  heard  of  in  the  primitive  Church.' 
Again,  in  1761,  in  a  letter  to  a  friend,  he  repeated  that  Stillingfleet 
had  fully  convinced  him  that  to  beheve  that  none  but  episcopal 
ordination  was  valid  '  was  an  entire  mistake.'  And  again,  in  1780,  he 
shocked  the  High-church  bigotry  of  his  brother  by  declaring,  '  I 
veri]y  believe  I  have  as  good  a  right  to  ordain  as  to  administer  the 
Lord's  Supper.' "  * 

The  Rev.  Thomas  Coke,  L«Ii.D.— Although  the  hfe  and 
labors  of  Dr.  Coke  enter  so  largely  into  the  history  of  British  Meth- 

*  Tyerman's  "  Life  and  Times  of  Wesley,"  vol.  iii,  p.  430.      His  quotations  are  from 
Wesley's  "  Works,"  vol.  vii,  octavo  edition. 


470 


Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 


odism,  and  especially  into  the  history  of  British  "Wesleyan  missions,  yet, 
as  the  first  Bishop  of  the  Methodist  Ej^iscopal  Church,  his  biography 
belongs,  in  a  special  sense,  to  the  history  of  Methodism  in  America. 

Since  his  advent  among  the  British  Methodists  in  1YT8,  Dr.  Coke 
had  been,  after  John  Wesley,  the  most  prominent  leader  among  them. 
He  was  a  man  full  of  faith  and  of  \he  Holy  Ghost.  He  was  rich,  and 
could  travel  at  his  own  expense ;  he  was  a  scholar,  and  would  give 
additional  dignity  to  the  little  Conference  in  America ;  he  was  a  man 


July  G,  1789.     L 


of  great  j)ersonal  power  and  magnetism  ;  and  last,  though  not  least,  as 
Mr.  "Wesley  regarded  it,  he  was  a  presbyter  in  the  Church  of  England. 
The  first  meeting  between  Wesley  and  Coke  occurred  at  the  village 
of  Kingston,  near  Taunton,  in  August,  1776,  at  which  date  Wesley 
was  a  venerable  man  of  seventy -three.  Coke  was  a  young  presby- 
ter of  the  Church  of  England,  and  curate  of  the  parish  of  South 
Petherton.     He  was. already  a  genuine  Methodist,  though  he  had  never 


Thomas  Coke.  471 

attended  a  Methodist  meeting ;  he  was,  therefore,  prepared  to  be  cap- 
tivated at  once  by  the  spirit  and  genius  of  "Wesley,  to  whom,  as  will 
shortly  be  seen,  he  presently  attached  himseK  as  a  son  and  helper  in 
the  Gospel. 

Thomas  Coke  was  born  in  the  village  of  Brecon,  in  Wales,  on  the 
9th  of  September,  1747.  His  father  was  an  influential  gentleman,  a 
surgeon  by  profession,  who  was  several  times  Mayor  of  Brecon ;  and 
Thomas,  being  an  only  child,  the  most  Hberal  plans  were  laid  out  for  his 
education ;  which,  on  the  death  of  his  father,  were  carried  out  by  his 
excellent  mother,  who  lived  to  see  him  become  Mr.  Wesley's  chief  assist- 
ant, and  to  become  herseK  a  member  of  the  Methodist  Society  at  Bristol. 

At  the  age  of  sixteen  the  young  man  was  entered  as  a  gentleman 
commoner  at  Jesus  College,  Oxford.  Here  he  was  at  first  disgusted 
with  the  licentiousness  which  prevailed  among  the  students ;  but  at 
length  his  mind  became  tainted  with  their  infidel  notions,  and  being  a 
lively,  handsome  young  fellow,  fond  of  cards,  dancing,  and  other  pleas- 
ures of  fashionable  society,  he  was  far  along  on  the  road  to  ruin  before 
his  conscience  could  bring  him  to  a  stand. 

At  length,  in  spite  of  his  infidel  notions,  the  faith  of  his  childhood 
began  to  torment  him  with  forebodings  of  the  future,  which  he  was 
not  able  to  shake  off.  While  in  this  wretched  state  of  mind  he  paid  a 
visit  to  a  Welsh  clergyman,  who,  when  Sunday  came,  preached  a  brill- 
iant and  powerful  sermon,  which  so  affected  the  young  student  that 
on  their  way  home  from  Church  he  opened  his  heart  to  the  minister, 
praised  his  discourse,  confessed  that  it  had  driven  him  from  his  refuge 
of  lies,  and  begged  to  be  further  instructed  in  things  pertaining  to  the 
kingdom  of  God ;  but  what  was  his  amazement  when  the  minister 
laughingly  assured  him  that  "  it  was  only  a  sermon,"  and  that  he  him 
&3lf  did  not  beheve  that  kind  of  doctrine,  but  preached  it  simply 
because  it  was  the  thing  required  of  him  as  a  clergyman  of  an  orthodox 
Church. 

The  young  Oxonian  was  now  in  deeper  trouble  than  ^/er;  his 
struggles  between  faith  and  doubt  became  more  and  more  desperate, 
till  some  of  the  writings  of  Bishop  Sherlock  came  in  his  way.  These 
settled  his  mind  in  favor  of  the  orthodox  views,  and  led  him  to  for- 
sake his  wild  companions  at  college  and  turn  his  thoughts  to  the  holy 
office.     But  there  were  more  candidates  than  "  Hvings,"  and  young. 


472  Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 

Coke,  after  waiting  several  years  for  an  eligible  opening,  during  wliich 
time  lie  took  his  Oxford  degree  of  Doctor  of  Civil  Law,  was  glad  to 
accept  the  curacy  of  South  Petherton,  in  Somersetshire,  where  he  soon 
became  unpleasantly  distinguished  as  a  zealous  country  parson. 

Hitherto  he  was  a  Christian  only  in  doctrine :  of  the  experience  of 
eaving  grace,  Kke  the  great  majority  of  the  clergy,  he  knew  nothing 
at  all.  He  believed  in  the  Bible,  the  Prayer  Book,  and  the  Catechism  ; 
Fletcher's  "  Checks  to  Antinomianism  "  had  cured  him  of  the  predes- 
tinarian  views  in  which  he  had  been  trained  at  home,  and  filled  his 
mind  and  heart  with  the  evangehcal  doctrines,  which  he  preached  with 
all  his  might — preached  them  sometimes  without  a  manuscript,  after 
the  manner  of  the  Methodists — preached  them  from  house  to  house, 
among  the  aged  and  the  sick,  who  could  not,  and  among  the  indif- 
ferent and  vicious,  who  would  not,  join  the  crowds  who  attended  his 
ministry  at  the  parish  church.  These  efforts  for  the  actual  salvation  of 
actual  sinners  made  him  obnoxious  both  to  the  easy-going  clergy  and 
the  worldly-minded  laity  of  his  region  of  country,  among  whom  he 
soon  began  to  be  denounced  as  a  "  Methodist " — a  word  which,  in 
those  days,  was  synonymous  with  our  word  "  fanatic,"  and  which  was 
applied  to  any  one  who  was  very  much  in  earnest  about  spiritual  and 
eternal  things,  no  matter  what  might  be  his  peculiar  doctrinal  views. 

Dr.  Coke  becomes  a  Methodist. — In  one  of  the  doctor's 
visits  to  a  friend  in  Devonshire  he  discovered  a  genuine  Methodist, 
the  first  he  had  ever  seen.  He  was  a  simple-hearted  man  employed  on 
his  friend's  estate ;  the  leader  of  a  little  class ;  learned  in  nothing  but 
the  Scriptures,  and  wise  only  in  matters  of  Christian  experience.  The 
two  men  talked  and  prayed  together  a  good  deal  during  the  doctor's 
visit,  and  it  was  to  this  godly  peasant  more  than  to  any  other  person 
that  Coke  declared  himself  indebted  for  leading  him  into  the  experi- 
ence of  religion.  On  returning  from  this  visit  he  preached  more  hke 
a  Methodist  than  ever,  and  on  one  occasion,  while  speaking  in  his  owe 
pulpit,  the  power  of  God  came  down  upon  him,  filling  his  soul  with 
unspeakable  joy.  This  blessed  experience  he  announced  to  his  people, 
and  at  his  first  sermon  after  that  happy  event  three  souls  were  awak- 
ened under  the  word. 

The  parish  was  now  in  a  ferment.  The  genteel  portion  were 
offended   at  his  zeal,  the  impenitent  at  his  severity ;  while  those  who 


Dr.  Coke  becomes  a  Methodist.  473 

had  relied  on  their  outward  morality  for  salvation  were  disgusted  to 
hear  that,  without  being  born  again,  even  they  could  not  enter  the 
kingdom  of  God.  The  neighboring  clergy  were  displeased  because 
Dr.  Coke  drew  away  their  congregations,  and  the  choir  of  the  parish 
church  were  wounded  in  their  vanity  because  the  curate  had  intro- 
duced the  singing  of  hymns  by  the  congregation,  instead  of  leaving 
all  the  praise  and  glory  of  the  music  to  them.  The  bishop  of  the 
diocese  was  appealed  to,  to  correct  this  irregular  man,  but  he  found 
nothing  in  him  worthy  of  punishment.  At  length  his  enemies, 
having  no  other  resort,  persuaded  the  rector  of  the  parish  to  dismiss 
his  troublesome  curate  ;  which  was  hastily  done  in  public  without  giv- 
ing him  any  notice ;  and  to  make  his  disgrace  more  terrible  the  bells 
of  the  church  were  rung  as  he  passed  out  of  the  door.  But  years 
afterward  they  rang  him  in  again,  when,  on  a  visit  to  the  scene  of 
their  disgrace — not  his — the  rejected  curate  was  hailed  as  one  of  the 
chief  Methodists,  as  well  as  one  of  the  chief  men  of  his  times. 

This  curacy  of  three  years'  duration  had  cured  Dr.  Coke  of  all  his 
high  expectations  of  preferment  in  the  State  Church ;  he  had  too 
much  religion  to  hope  for  large  success  in  that  direction.  Thus  by 
pressure  from  without,  as  weU  as  by  drawings  from  within,  he  joined 
himseK  to  Mr.  Wesley's  band  of  itinerants,  and  in  1YY8  was  appointed 
to  the  old  Foundry,  at  London.  The  fame  of  his  talents  as  well  as 
of  his  trials  had  preceded  him,  and  he  was  received  with  much  joy 
by  the  London  Society,  who  soon  came  to  admire  him  for  his  marked 
ability,  as  well  as  to  love  him  for  his  Christly  spirit.  Wesley  hailed 
liim  as  the  strongest  re-enforcement  he  had  ever  received,  and  made 
him  his  confidential  adviser  in  place  of  his  brother  Charles ;  and 
from  this  time  forward  until  his  death  the  name  of  Doctor,  afterward 
Bishop,  Coke  is  closely  interwoven  in  Methodist  history,  chiefly  in 
connection  with  his  efforts  to  carry  the  Gospel  into  "  foreign  parts." 
He  traveled  and  preached  by  sea  and  by  land,  over  the  English- 
speaking  world  of  his  day ;  his  restless  and  heroic  spirit  never  suffer- 
ing him  to  be  content  unless  he  were  planning  a  missionary  crusade 
or  planting  the  standard  of  the  cross  in  some  position  far  in  advance 
of  the  established  hues  of  the  Church  both  at  home  and  abroad. 

Dr.   Coke   and  Hethodist  Hissions. — For  many  years 

the  Doctor  was  a  whole  missionary  society  in  himseK  ;  the  earliest  and 
30 


474 


Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 


one  of  the  most  ^cient  that  ever  existed.  This  was  an  ofl&ce  Id 
which  to  win  immortal  honor  below  and  eternal  glory  above,  but  one 
which  subjected  him  to  no  small  discourtesy,  hardship,  criticism,  and 
even  abuse.  The  Church  of  that  day,  with  the  exception  of  the 
German  Moravians,  were  sound  asleep  so  far  as  the  duty  of  foreign 
missions  was  concerned ;  and  it  was  a  thankless  as  well  as  difficult 
task  to  awaken  it  from  its  comfortable  lethargy.  Even  in  the  ranks  of 
the  Methodists,  missions  were  by  no  means  so  popular  as  at  present,. 


THE  DB.    COKE    MEMORIAL  SCHOOLS,   BRECON. 


and  Dr.  Coke  was  compelled  to  beg  from  house  to  house  the  funds 
which  his  schemes  required  :  a  process  requiring,  at  that  time,  an  in- 
describable amount  of  patience  and  courage,  and  one  which  made  him 
anything  but  a  popular  man.  By  some  good  people  he  was  laughed 
at  for  intermeddling  with  divine  Providence  ;  by  others  he  was  cooUy 
thrust  aside  as  a  nuisance ;  but  none  of  these  things  moved  him  or 
in  the  least  abated  his  missionary  zeal :  his  time,  his  fortune,  and  his- 


A  Missionary  Wife.  475 

life  Lad,  once  for  all,  been  laid  upon  this  altar,  and  God  had  doubt- 
less accepted  the  sacrifice.     The  matter,  therefore,  was  fixed  and  final. 

A  Missionary  Wife. — In  the  later  part  of  his  career  Dr. 
Coke's  hands  were  strengthened  and  his  resources  increased  in  a  some- 
what romantic  manner. 

During  the  year  1805  word  was  brought  to  him  that  there  was  a 
wealthy  and  benevolent  lady.  Miss  Penelope  Goulding  Smith,  staying 
at  the  Hot  Wells,  in  Bristol,  for  her  health,  and  without  loss  of  time 
he  paid  her  a  missionary  call.  His  plans  so  interested  the  lady  that 
she  promised  him  a  contribution  of  a  hundred  guineas  if  he  would 
call  upon  her  on  her  return  to  her  home,  at  Bradford,  in  Wiltshire ; 
and  when  in  due  time  he  presented  himself  to  collect  the  subscription 
the  lady  gave  him  two  hundred  guineas  instead  of  one  hundred ;  so 
deep  an  impression  had  he  produced  upon  her  mind. 

This  was  the  beginning  of  a  friendship  which  in  the  following 
year  ripened  into  matrimony,  whereby  the  doctor  gained  an  estimable 
and  pious  helpmeet,  a  life-member  to  his  individual  missionary  society, 
and  an  additional  fortune  to  aid  him  in  spreading  the  Gospel  among 
the  heathen  at  home  and  abroad. 

Previous  to  her  marriage  the  lady  had  led  a  very  secluded  Kfe,  but 
for  the  love  of  her  missionary  husband,  whose  work  compelled  him  to 
spend  much  of  his  time  on  the  road,  she  gave  up  her  quiet  mansion 
for  a  great  traveling  carriage,  in  which  this  devoted  couple  may 
almost  be  said  to  have  resided  for  four  out  of  the  six  years  of  their 
wedded  life.  Having  now  no  fixed  dwelling-place,  the  doctor's  choice 
books  and  papers  were  stowed  in  the  carriage ;  as  well  as  the  more 
strictly  personal  baggage  of  the  two  travelers ;  and  in  this  four-wheeled 
office  the  first  Missionary  Society  transacted  its  business,  planned  its 
campaigns,  and  kept  itself  before  the  pubHc. 

The  arrival  of  this  compact  and  somewhat  complex  expedition  at 
the  house  of  the  hospitable  Methodists  along  the  Doctor's  routes,  where 
he  was  wont  to  halt  for  dinner,  supper,  or  lodgings,  was  quite  a  nota- 
ble event ;  amusing,  indeed,  in  some  of  its  aspects,  though  none  the 
less  memorable  on  that  account.  To  unload  the  ample  vehicle  of  its 
multifarioQS  contents  required  the  united  services  of  the  entire 
household ;  a  task  which  nothing  but  the  dignity,  heroism,  and  self- 
forgetfulness  of  the  distinguished  passengers  could  render  very  agree- 


476  Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 

able.  Then  the  lady  was  not  in  firm  health,  neither  was  she  fond  ol 
travel,  nor  yet  of  making  acquaintance  of  strangers ;  thus  it  was  with 
some  considerable  embarrassment  that  this  itinerating  missionary  head- 
quarters made  its  yearly  rounds ;  while  the  moneys  paid  into  its  treas- 
ury were,  for  a  time,  more  than  equalled  by  those  bestowed  and  ex- 
pended by  the  occupant  of  the  office  itself. 

On  the  25th  of  January,  1811,  Mrs.  Coke  departed  from  tliis  mis- 
sionary life,  in  the  forty-ninth  year  of  her  age.  During  her  brief 
and  happy  wifehood  she  devoted  her  fortune,  comfort,  time,  soul, 
and  body  to  her  glorious  husband  and  to  the  mission  on  which  the 
Lord  had  sent  him.  Cheerfully  she  endured  a  life  which,  to  a  person 
of  her  quiet  tastes  and  retiring  disposition,  would  otherwise  have  been 
insufferable :  but  four  years  of  such  vagabond  discomfort  hterally 
wore  out  the  life  of  this  modest,  devoted  gentlewoman,  and  among  the 
list  of  the  noble  army  of  missionary  martyrs  her  name  deserves  an 
honorable  place. 

Coke's  Comnientary. — For  a  short  time  after  his  marriage 
the  good  man  suffered  himself  to  be  domesticated,  and  spent  a  quiet 
year  or  two  on  the  estates  of  his  wife  finishing  his  Commentary  on  the 
Holy  Scriptures ;  a  work  which  he  had  undertaken  at  the  request  of 
the  Conference  ;  he  being,  at  Wesley's  death,  the  only  competent 
scholar  among  them.  From  1T90  to  1807  all  the  time  he  could  spare 
from  his  missionary  labors  he  devoted  to  this  work,  whose  appearance, 
in  numbers,  was  hailed  by  the  Methodists  as  one  of  the  wonders  of  their 
age.  When  finished  it  comprised  six  quarto  volunaes ;  but,  being  only 
a  secondary  work  it  was  only  of  secondary  value,  and  was  wholly 
superseded  by  the  commentaries  of  Drs.  Clarke  and  Benson. 

Dr.  Coke  and  the  Irish  Conference. — Next  in  import- 
ance to  his  official  relation  with  the  Methodists  of  America,  which 
will  be  considered  in  its  place,  was  Dr.  Coke's  connection  with  the  Irish 
Conference.  In  1782  Mr.  Wesley  directed  him  to  convene  the  Irish 
preachers  at  Dublin  and  to  preside,  as  his  representative,  over  their 
assembly.  So  well  pleased  were  they  with  his  managemer.t  of  their 
affairs,  which  hitherto  had  been  part  and  parcel  of  Mr.  Wesley's  En- 
glish Conference  work,  that  they  petitioned  for  his  reappointment. 
For  nearly  thirty  years  Dr.  Coke  presided  at  the  annual  sessions  of 
tlie  Irish  Conference,  and  to  the  force  of  his  character  and  the  wisdon* 


British  Wesleyaij  Home  Missions.  477 

of  his  measures  tlie  Methodism  of  Ireland  is  largely  indebted  for  its 
present  flourishing  condition. 

British  Wesleyan  Home  Missions. — In  1805  Dr.  Coke^ 
who  had  been  elected  President  of  the  British  Wesleyan  Conference, 
astonished  that  body  by  bringing  forward  a  scheme  for  the  evangeli- 
zation of  neglected  portions  of  England  and  Wales.  Methodism  itself 
was  a  grand  missionary  society,  and  some  of  the  preachers  regarded  it 
as  sufficient ;  but  Dr.  Coke  had  traveled  over  the  country  and  knew  it 
better  than  any  other  man  in  England,  and,  therefore,  he  was  per- 
mitted to  inaugurate  his  plan,  especially  as  he  would  be  obliged  to 
find  his  own  missionaries  and  gather  or  furnish  his  own  supphes. 

From  one  of  the  reports  of  Dr.  Coke,  in  the  capacity  of  Methodist 
Home  Missionary  Secretary,  it  appeared  that  in  1808,  "  out  of  eleven 
hundred  parishes  in  England  and  Wales,  perhaps  one  liaK  of  them  sel- 
dom or  never  hear  the  Gospel.  In  numerous  small  towns,  villages,  and 
hamlets  a  very  considerable  part  of  the  inhabitants  attend  no  place  of 
worship  whatever."  It  was  in  places  and  among  people  of  this  de- 
scription that  the  doctor  established  his  home  missions,  and  the  work 
thus  inaugurated  has  grown  into  a  prominent  department  of  British 
Wesleyanism,  under  the  management  of  the  Committees  of  the  Home 
Mission  and  Contingent  Fund,  and  of  the  Metropolitan  Auxiliary  and 
Home  Mission  Fund ;  by  whom  "  additional  ministers  "  are  employed 
as  Home  Missionaries,  "  that  specific  attention  may  be  given  to  the 
neglected  and  careless  portions  of  the  population  of  our  large  towns 
and  rural  districts ; "  and  especially  in  London,  whose  "  appalling  moral 
and  social  condition  demands  a  much  larger  share  of  the  practical  sym- 
pathy of  our  Connection."  * 

Missions  anions  French  Prisoners  of  \l^ar. — The 
war  with  France  had  resulted  in  the  capture  of  about  seventy  thou- 
sand French  prisoners,  who  were  distributed  in  barracks  and  prison- 
ships  in  different  parts  of  the  kingdom.  The  wretched  condition 
of  these  men  excited  the  sympathy  of  Dr.  Coke,  who,  at  the  Confer- 
ence of  1811,  proposed  a  system  of  missions  among  them.  The  Con- 
ference admitted  the  excellence  of  the  design,  but  excused  itseK  on 
accoimt  of  the  lack  of  funds.  This  objection  Coke  overruled  by  pledg- 
ing the  entire  expense  of  the  mission  from  his  own  private  fortune ; 

•  Pierce's  "  Ecclosiastical  Principles  and  Polity  of  the  Wesleyan  Methodists."  Edition  of  1873. 


478  Illustrated  Histoey  of  Methodism. 

and  having  a  number  of  men  at  command  who  could  preach  in  the 
French  language,  the  work  was  at  once  commenced. 

These  missionaries  were  well  received  by  the  captive  Frenchmen, 
who  thus  gained  a  knowledge  of  divine  truth  which  was  quite  out  of 
the  usual  Hne  of  a  soldier's  acquirements.  Bibles  were  also  distributed 
among  them,  and  when  these  favored  prisoners  were  exchanged,  they 
carried  home  with  them  quite  a  different  idea  of  English  religion  from 
that  which  most  Frenchmen  held,  and  of  which  their  views  were  not 
the  most  favorable,  being  learned  by  the  thrusts  of  British  bayonets 
or  out  of  the  muzzles  of  British  muskets  and  cannon. 

Dr.  Coke's  liast  Mission  was  organized  on  a  magnificent 
Bcale.  In  the  year  1811  he  married,  and  soon  after  buried,  another 
wife,  Miss  Ann  Loxdale,  an  eminent  Methodist  lady  of  Liverpool ;  and 
being  again  alone  in  the  world,  his  heart  now  turned  toward  a  far-away 
country  of  which  for  years  he  had  made  frequent  inquiry  as  a  field  oi 
missionary  operations. 

Under  date  of  Dublin,  June  29,  1813,  he  writes :  "  I  am  now  dead 
to  Europe  and  alive  for  India.  God  himself  has  said  to  me,  '  Go  to 
Ceylon.'  I  shall  bear  my  own  expenses,  of  course.  I  am  studying 
the  Portuguese  language  continually,  and  am  perfectly  certain  I  shall 
conquer  it  before  I  land  in  Ceylon." 

As  usual.  Dr.  Coke  laid  his  plans  before  the  Wesleyan  Conference, 
under  whose  auspices  his  work  was  aU  performed.  It  was  nothing  less 
than  the  establishment  of  a  system  of  missions  in  the  very  ends  of  the 
earth ;  that  is  to  say,  in  the  East  Indies,  and  at  the  Cape  of  Good 
Hope ;  from  which,  as  centers  of  operations,  he  designed  to  evangelize 
South  Africa,  India,  and  the  entire  system  of  British  colonies  in  the 
islands  of  the  Indian  Ocean. 

"  Where  are  the  immense  amounts  of  money  to  be  raised  to  carry 
out  this  splendid  scheme  ? "  asked  the  Wesleyan  Conference  in  amaze- 
ment. 

"  I  wiU  advance  the  money  myself  to  the  extent  of  six  thousand 
pounds,"  answered  Dr.  Coke. 

Such  munificence  roused  the  spirits  of  his  brethren,  and  when  it 
was  announced  that  the  doctor  proposed  to  leadllpthe  expedition  in  per- 
son, the  Conference  was  all  ablaze.  They  could  not  bear  to  lose  such 
a  man,  but  they  now  began  to  realize  that  he  was  larger  than  any  one 


Dr.  Coke's  Last  Mission. 


479 


country  and  belonged  to  all  mankind  ;  they,  therefore,  made  arrange- 
ments to  take  care  of  the  home  work,  which  he  must  now  place  wholly 
in  their  hands ;  and  with  prayers  and  tears,  and  a  goodly  sum  of  money 
to  lighten  the  heavy  draft  on  his  private  purse,  they  sent  him  forth  in 
the  name  of  the  Lord  and  of  British  Methodism  to  set  up  the  standard 
of  the  cross  on  the  other  side  of  the  world. 

On  the  first  of  January,  1814,  a  fleet  of  thirty-three  merchantmen, 
under  convoy  of  four  ships  of  the  Royal  Navy,  set  sail  for  the  embryo 
empire  then  controlled  by  the  East  India  Company ;  having  among 
their  passengers  the  Missionary  Bishop,  Thomas  Coke,  and  nine  other 
brave-hearted  Methodists,  who  had  caught  his  heroic  spirit  and  de- 
voted their  Lives  to  the  carrying  out  of  his  grand  design. 

But  the  leader  was  destined  to  land  on  fairer  shores  and  in  sunnier 
climes  than  those  for  which  he  sailed.  On  the  morning  of  the  3d  of 
May,  1814,  his  servant,  on  going  to  awaken  his  master,  found  his  life- 
less body  lying  on  the  floor  of  his  cabin,  where  he  had  fallen  in  a  fit  of 
apoplexy ;  and  on  the  evening  of  the  same  day  all  that  was  mortal  of 
Thomas  Coke  was  buried  in  the  Indian  Ocean. 

And  what  tomb  could  have  been  more  appropriate?  This  man, 
whose  heart  was  great  enough  to  love  and  to  labor  for  all  lands, 
deserved  to  have  a  grave  as  spacious  as  the  sea. 


Before  taking  up  the  work  of  Bishop  Coke  in  America  it  wiU  be 
well  to  follow  a  little  further  the  fortunes  of  his  bereaved  band. 

Although  their  chief  had  been  taken  away,  the  httle  band  of  mis- 


480  Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 

sionaries  had  nothing  to  do  but  continue  their  voyage.  On  their 
arrival  at  their  destination  the  officers  of  the  East  India  Company,  at 
Bombay,  gave  them  every  assistance,  not  only  for  their  personal  com- 
fort but  for  the  prosecution  of  their  plans ;  and  at  the  service  which 
they  held  on  the  first  Sunday  after  their  landipg.  Lord  Molesworth,  the 
military  commander  of  the  station,  and  a  native  of  European  descent, 
Mr.  Salmon,  were  happily  converted  to  God ;  who  thus  by  his  Spirit 
bore  witness  to  the  heavenly  mission  on  which  these  his  servants  had 
been  sent. 

The  sequel  of  Lord  Molesworth's  history  is  worth  relating.  Shortly 
after  his  conversion  he  sailed  from  India  on  the  ill-fated  transport,  the 
"Arniston,"  which  was  wrecked  off  the  coast  of  South  Africa,  and  aU  on 
board,  except  two  or  three,  found  a  watery  grave.  One  of  the  surviv- 
ors reported  the  fact  that  as  the  ship  was  going  down  Lord  Molesworth 
was  busy  walking  up  and  down  the  deck  pointing  the  helpless  soldiers, 
passengers,  and  seamen  to  "  the  Lamb  of  God  which  taketh  away  the  sin 
of  the  world ;"  and  at  the  last  moment  taking  his  wife  in  liis  arms, 
tliey  went  down  together,  and  their  bodies  were  afterward  washed 
asliore  locked  in  each  other's  embrace. 

The  tidings  of  the  death  of  Dr.  Coke  were  received  in  England 
with  unspeakable  grief.  A  series  of  memorial  meetings  were  held, 
which,  besides  giving  expression  to  sentiments  of  love  and  sorrow,  led 
to  the  formation  of  The  Wesley  an  Missionary  Society,  which,  under 
the  leadership  of  Jabez  Bunting,  carried  out  the  grand  designs  of  Dr. 
Coke  in  India,  and  which  from  that  day  to  this,  under  the  manage- 
ment of  the  clearest  heads  and  largest  hearts  of  the  British  Wes- 
leyan  Connection,  has  carried  forward  the  blessed  work  of  evangel- 
izing the  world. 

Whatcoat  and  Vasey. — It  would  be  difficult  to  imagine  a 
more  suitable  choice  than  that  of  the  man  chosen  by  Mr.  Wesley  to  be 
his  envoy  to  the  American  Methodists,  and  to  transfer  to  them  the 
ministerial  succession.  With  him  he  also  sent  Mr.  Richard  Whatcoat 
and  Mr.  Thomas  Yasey ;  the  first  of  whom  is  described  as  "  one  of  the 
saintliest  men  in  the  primitive  itinerancy  of  Methodism.  Had  he 
been  a  papist  he  might  have  been  canonized." 

Richard  Whatcoat  was  born  in  the  parish  of  Gloucestershire, 
England,  on  the  23d  of  February,  1736.     He  was  early  the  subject  of 


K.ICHAED  Whatcoat.  481 

relio-ious  impressions,  and  in  his  twenty-second  year  he  experienced 
the  power  of  regenerating  grace.  His  conversion  was  one  of  those 
Budden  and  glorious  transitions  from  darkness  to  light,  from  nature 
to  grace,  which  especially  distinguished  the  early  history  of  Method- 
ism ;  and  about  three  years  afterward  he  received  another  special  bap- 
tism of  the  Holy  Spirit,  under  the  instructions  of  Mr.  Mather,  afterward 
Bishop  Mather. 

Of  this  experience  he  says  :  "  On  the  28th  of  March,  1761,  my  soul 


BISHOP   WHATCOAT. 

was  drawn  out  and  engaged  in  a  manner  it  never  was  before.  Sud- 
denly I  was  stripped  of  all  but  love.  Now  all  was  love,  and  prayer, 
and  praise ;  and  in  this  happy  state,  rejoicing  evermore,  and  in  every 
thing  giving  thanks,  I  continued  for  some  years  with  little  intermis- 
sion or  abatement,  wanting  nothing  for  soul  or  body  more  than  I 
received  from  day  to  day." 

For  eight  or  nine  years  he  labored  as  a  class-leader  in  Wednes- 
bury,  Staffordshire,  that  portion  of  the  "  Black  Country "  in  which, 
as  has  been  seen,  the  Methodists  suffered  such  fearful  persecutions;. 


482  Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 

and  in  1769,  at  the  Leeds  Conference,  he  was  proposed  and  accepted 
as  an  itinerant  preacher ;  in  which  work  he  was  greatly  blessed  on 
circuits  in  England,  Ireland,  and  Wales. 

It  was  the  desire  of  Dr.  Coke  that  Whatcoat  should  accompany 
him  to  America ;  and  Shadf ord,  who  was  familiar  with  the  work  in 
that  country,  urged  him  to  consent.  But  lest  he  should  go  on  a  war- 
fare of  his  own  choice  Whatcoat  observed  a  day  of  fasting  and  prayer 
for  divine  guidance,  and  under  what  he  believed  to  be  the  special  direc- 
tion of  the  Spirit  of  God  he  offered  himself  for  this  distant  service 
across  the  sea. 

In  1Y87  Mr.  Wesley  desired  his  ordination  as  superintendent  in 
America,  but  the  Conference,  fearful  lest  in  that  case  Mr.  Wesley 
might  recall  Bishop  Asbury,  refused  to  elect  him,  and  without  this 
election,  according  to  the  precedent  established  by  Bishop  Asbury,  he 
could  not  be  ordained  as  bishop.  But  at  the  General  Conference  of 
1800  the  health  of  Bishop  Asbury  was  so  much  impaired  in  conse- 
quence of  his  privations  and  labors  that  he  desired  the  appointment 
of  another  bishop,  and  the  choice  fell  upon  Whatcoat ;  his  chief  com- 
petitor being  the  apostle  of  New  England  Methodism,  Jesse  Lee.  In 
private  life  he  was  remarkable  for  his  entire  devotion  to  God ;  as  a 
preacher  his  discourses  were  plain,  instructive,  and  highly  spiritual ; 
as  a  presiding  officer  he  combined  simplicity  and  dignity.  Laban 
Clark,  one  of  his  great  contemporaries,  says  of  him,  "  I  think  I  may 
safely  say,  if  ever  I  knew  one  who  came  up  to  St.  James's  description 
of  a  perfect  man — one  who  bridled  his  tongue  and  kept  in  subjection 
his  whole  body — that  man  was  Richard  Whatcoat." 

Thomas  Vasey  was  a  man  who  had  been  reared  amid  the 
advantages  of  wealth,  being  the  adopted  heir  of  a  wealthy  uncle  who 
was  a  rigid  Churchman,  and  who  was  greatly  indignant  at  finding  Ids 
nephew  had  been  converted  among  the  Methodists.  The  young  man 
was  straightly  threatened  by  the  loss  of  all  his  expected  inheritance  if 
he  should  join  the  Wesleyan  Society ;  but  he  preferred  to  suffer  hard- 
ness with  the  people  of  God,  dehberately  sacrificed  all  the  advan- 
tages of  his  position,  and  in  1775  entered  the  ranks  of  the  Methodist 
itinerancy ;  in  which  he  had  traveled  about  nine  years  when  he  was 
■chosen  by  Mr.  Wesley  as  one  of  the  companions  of  Dr.  Coke  on  his 
episcopal  mission  to  America. 


James  Creighton.  483 

Vasey  makes  but  a  small  figure  in  the  history  of  American  Meth- 
odism ;  for,  after  laboring  in  this  country  about  two  years,  he  wa"s 
induced  to  accept  an  ordination  from  Bishop  "White,  of  Philadelphia, 
a  representative  of  the  Enghsh  Church,  and  soon  after  this  he  returned 
to  England.  He  was,  however,  illy  satisfied  with  his  curacy  in  the 
Established  Church ;  and  re-entered  the  Methodist  itinerancy,  in  1789, 
in  which,  with  much  zeal  and  success,  he  labored  during  the  twenty- 
two  following  years.  Bending  under  infirmities,  he  retired  in  1826, 
and  his  death  occurred  at  Leeds  on  the  2Tth  of  December  in  that 
year. 

RCT.  James  Creighton. — The  Kev.  James  Creighton,  A.B., 
whom  Mr.  "Wesley  called  to  his  assistance  in  ordaining  Messrs.  "What- 
■coat  and  Vasey  for  America,  was  a  native  of  Cavan,  the  chief  town  in 
the  county  of  Cavan,  in  the  northern  province  of  Ulster,  Ireland ;  a 
etudent  of  Dublin  University,  and  a  Presbyter  in  the  Enghsh  Church, 
which  at  that  time  had  a  feeble  representation  in  Ireland. 

Bishop  Kilmore,  by  whom  he  was  ordained,  appointed  him  curate 
at  his  cathedral,  with  strict  injunction  to  "  say  nothing  about  faith  " 
in  his  sermons.  But  the  young  man  was  wiser  than  his  Bishop.  He 
had  read  the  writings  of  Wesley  and  Fletcher,  which  had  led  him  into 
•evangelical  views ;  and  from  a  Methodist  itinerant,  preaching  in  a 
barn,  he  had  heard  a  sermon  which  was  the  means  of  leading  him  to 
Christ,  through  faith  in  whom  he  found  pardon  and  peace. 

In  the  early  days  of  his  Christian  experience,  having  no  friend  at 
hand  to  counsel  him,  he  wi'ote  letters  to  several  ministers  of  his  ac- 
quaintance ;  but,  instead  of  offering  him  sympathy  and  assistance, 
they  turned  away  from  him  as  if  he  "  were  infected  with  a  plague ; " 
for  among  the  ministry  of  the  Irish  Episcopal  Church  of  that  day 
personal  faith  in  Christ  for  present  salvation,  and  the  profession  of 
experimental  religion,  were  regarded  as  the  wildest  fanaticism,  but 
dttle  removed  from  insanity. 

He  soon  commenced  preaching  in  private  houses,  barns,  ancient 
ruins,  and  in  any  place  where  he  could  gather  a  congregation,  and 
conversions  began  to  occur  under  his  ministry.  This  brought  out  a 
remonstrance  from  his  fellow-clergymen,  who  charged  him  with  that 
^reat  crime,  "  irregularity."  But  Creighton  replied  :  "  I  never  saw  any 
iruits  of  my  labor  till  I  became  irregular,"  and  still  went  on  with  his 


4«4  Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 

work.  Without  any  direct  relations  with  the  Methodists  he  actuallj 
became  one  himself,  traveling  a  circuit  of  his  own,  and  gathering  hiff 
converts  into  societies,  in  true  Wesleyan  fashion.  The  presence  of 
the  Lord  among  the  people  was  evidenced  by  a  large  increase  in  the 
attendance  at  the  churches ;  but  there  was  so  much  Methodism  about 
the  movement  that  the  clergy  bitterly  opposed  it,  preferring  that  their 
churches  should  remain  haK  empty  rather  than  that  they  should  be 
filled  with  persons  who  beHeved  in  "  conversion." 

Among  the  converts  were  some  papists,  whose  apostasy  from  the 
Eomish  Church  so  enraged  the  priests  that  Creighton  was  in  great 
danger  of  his  hfe ;  and  his  brother,  who  was  a  leader  of  one  of  the 
classes,  was  waylaid  with  the  intention  to  murder  him.  But  having 
received  intelhgence  of  it,  he  escaped  his  would-be  murderers  by 
taking  another  road.  In  1781-2  Creighton  extended  his  labors 
through  seven  of  the  central  counties  of  the  island  in  the  provinces  of 
Ulster  and  Leinster,  during  which  he  walked  or  rode  about  four 
thousand  miles. 

Wesley,  who  doubtless  heard  of  his  labors  in  some  of  his  Irish 
tours,  invited  him  to  London  in  1783 ;  and,  after  a  second  invitation, 
lie  "  consented  to  go  in  the  strength  of  the  Most  High."  During  the 
fourteen  years  of  his  pastorate  in  Cavan,  the  commuility  had  been  vis- 
ibly as  well  as  spiritually  reformed,  and  his  leave-taking  of  his  parish- 
ioners, many  of  whom  had  been  saved  through  liis  ministry,  was  very 
tender  and  affecting.  Like  all  the  regular  clergy  who  joined  the  ranks 
of  the  itinerants,  Creighton  was  received  at  once  by  Mr.  Wesley 
into  full  membership  in  the  Conference.  lie  preached  at  City  Road, 
administered  the  sacraments  to  the  Societies  in  London  and  in  the 
neighboring  counties,  and  assisted  Mr.  Wesley  in  editing  his  "  Ar- 
minian  Magazine."  On  the  1st  of  September,  1784,  John  Wesley, 
according  to  the  custom  of  the  English  Church,  assisted  by  the  Rev. 
Thomas  Coke  and  the  above-named  Rev.  James  Creighton,  ordained 
Messrs.  Whatcoat  and  Yasey  as  deacons,  and  on  the  following  day  as 
presbyters  or  elders.  For  the  remainder  of  his  life  he  was  a  steadfast 
Methodist,  and  shared  in  most  if  not  all  the  ordinations  performed 
by  Mr.  Wesley.  His  death  occurred  in  1820,  in  the  83d  year  ot 
his  age.* 

*  Sandford's  "  Memoirs." 


CeEDENTIALS    of  "  SuPERrNTENDENT"   CoKE.  485 

This  was  all  quite  regular  and  correct,  according  to  the  principles 
wliich  Mr.  "Wesley  had  repeatedly  set  forth  ;  but,  in  addition  to  this,  he 
performed  a  separate  act  of  consecration  upon  Dr.  Coke,  as  "  Super- 
intendent of  the  Methodist  Societies  in  America,"  which  office  Coke 
was  to  convey  to  Asbury ;  and  Coke  and  Asbury  were  to  be  "  joint 
Superintendents  of  all  the  brethren  in  America." 

Credentials  of  "  Superintendent "  Coke. — The  fol- 
lowing were  the  credentials  given  to  Dr.  Ooke  by  Mr.  "Wesley : —  ' 

To  all  to  whom  these  presents  shall  come,  John  Wesley,  late  Fellow  of  Lin- 
coln College  in  Oxford,  Presbyter  of  the  Church  of  England,  sendeth  greeting: — 

Whereas  many  of  the  people  in  the  southern  provinces  of  North  America, 
who  desire  to  continue  under  my  care,  and  still  adhere  to  the  doctrine  and  disci- 
pline of  the  Church  of  England,  are  greatly  distressed  for  want  of  ministers  to 
administer  the  sacraments  of  Baptism  and  the  Lord's  Supper,  according  to  the 
usage  of  the  same  Church  ;  and  whereas  there  does  not  appear  to  be  any  other 
way  of  supplying  them  with  ministers : 

Know  all  men,  that  I,  John  Wesley,  think  myself  to  be  providentially  called, 
at  this  time,  to  set  apart  some  persons  for  the  work  of  the  mhiistry  in  America. 
And,  therefore,  under  the  protection  of  almighty  God,  and  with  a  single  eye  to 
his  glory,  I  have  this  day  set  apart  as  a  superintendent,  by  the  imposition  of  my 
hands,  and  prayer,  (being  assisted  by  other  ordained  ministers,)  Thomas  Coke,  doc- 
tor of  civil  law,  a  presbyter  of  the  Cliurch  of  England,  and  a  man  whom  I  judge 
to  be  well  qualified  for  that  great  work.  And  I  do  hereby  recommend  him  to  all 
whom  it  may  concern,  as  a  fit  person  to  preside  over  the  flock  of  Christ.  In  tes- 
timony whereof,  I  have  hereunto  set  my  hand  and  seal,  this  second  day  of  Sep- 
tember, in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  seven  hundred  and  eighty-four. 

John  Wesley. 

Bristol,  September  10,  1784. 

To  Dr.  GoTce^  Mr.  Asbury^  and,  our  Brethren,  in  North  America. 

By  a  very  uncommon  train  of  providences,  many  of  the  provinces  of  North 
America  are  totally  disjoined  from  the  mother  country,  and  erected  into  inde- 
pendent States.  The  English  Government  has  no  authority  over  them,  either 
civil  or  ecclesiastical,  any  more  than  over  the  States  of  Holland.  A  civil  author- 
ity is  exercised  over  them,  partly  by  the  Congress,  partly  by  the  Provincial 
Assemblies.  But  no  one  either  exercises  or  claims  any  ecclesiastical  authority  at 
all.  In  this  peculiar  situation,  some  thousands  of  the  inhabitants  of  these  States 
desire  my  advice,  and,  in  compliance  with  their  desire,  I  have  drawn  up  a  little 
sketch. 

Lord  King's  account  of  the  primitive  Church  convinced .  me,  many  years 
ago,  that  Bishops  and  Presbyters  are  the  same  order,  and  consequently  have  the 


486  Illusteated  History  of  Methodism. 

same  right  to  ordain.  For  many  years  I  have  been  importuned,  from  time  to 
time,  to  exercise  this  right  by  ordaining  part  of  our  traveling  preachers.  But  1 
have  still  refused ;  not  only  for  peace  sake,  but  because  I  was  determined,  as 
little  as  possible,  to  violate  the  established  order  of  the  national  Church  to 
which  I  belonged. 

But  the  case  is  widely  diflferent  between  England  and  North  America. 
Here  there  are  Bishops,  who  have  a  legal  jurisdiction ;  in  America  there  are 
none,  neither  any  parish  minister;  so  that,  for  some  hundreds  of  miles  together, 
tliere  is  none  either  to  baptize,  or  to  administer  the  Lord's  Supper.  Here,  there- 
fore, my  scruples  are  at  an  end ;  and  I  conceive  myself  at  full  liberty,  as  I  violate 
no  order,  and  invade  no  man's  rights,  by  appointing  and  sending  laborers  into 
the  harvest. 

I  have  accordingly  appointed  Dr.  Coke  and  Mr.  Francis  Asbury  to  be  joint 
Superintendents  over  our  brethren  in  North  America;  as  also  Richard  Whatcoat 
and  Thomas  Vasey,  to  act  as  elders  among  them,  by  baptizing  and  administering 
the  Lord's  Supper.  And  I  have  prepared  a  liturgy,  little  differing  from  that  of 
the  Church  of  England,  (I  think  the  best  constituted  national  Church  in  the 
world,)  which  I  advise  all  the  traveling  preachers  to  use  on  the  Lord's  Day,  in  all 
the  congregations,  reading  the  litany  only  on  Wednesdays  and  Fridays,  and 
praying  extempore  on  all  other  days.  I  also  advise  the  elders  to  administer  tlie 
supper  of  the  Lord  on  every  Lord's  Day. 

If  any  one  will  jDoiiit  out  a  more  rational  and  scriptural  way  of  feeding  and 
guiding  these  poor  sheep  in  the  wilderness,  I  will  gladly  embrace  it.  At  present 
I  cannot  see  any  better  method  than  that  I  have  taken. 

It  has,  indeed,  been  proposed  to  desire  the  English  Bishops  to  ordain  part 
of  ovir  preachers  for  America.  But  to  this  I  object :  (1.)  I  desired  the  Bishop 
of  London  to  ordain  one,  but  could  not  prevail.  (3.)  If  they  consented,  we  know 
the  slowness  of  their  proceedings ;  but  the  matter  admits  of  no  delay.  (3.)  If 
they  would  ordain  them  now,  they  would  expect  to  govern  them ;  and  how  griev- 
ously would  this  entangle  us !  (4.)  As  our  American  brethren  are  now  totally 
disentangled,  both  from  the  State  and  the  English  hierarchy,  we  dare  not  entan- 
gle them  again,  either  with  the  one  or  the  other.  They  are  now  at  full  liberty, 
simply  to  follow  the  Scriptures  and  the  primitive  Church.  And  we  judge  it  best 
that  they  should  stand  fast  in  that  liberty  wherewith  God  has  so  strangely  set 
them  free. 

John  Wesley. 

The  Validity  of  Methodist  Episcopacy. — The  conse- 
cration of  Dr.  Coke  as  "Superintendent,"  when  he  was  already  a 
Presbyter,  and  as  such  the  clerical  equal  of  Mr.  Wesley  himseK,  has 
been  the  occasion  of  no  small  controversy,  which  it  may  be  proper 
here  to  briefly  review.     If  the  word  "  episcopal "  is  to  have  a  place  in 


The  Validity  of  Methodist  Episcopacy.  487 

the  name  of  the  chief  body  of  Methodists  in  America,  it  would  seem 
to  be  of  some  interest  and  importance  to  the  ministry  and  membership 
of  that  body  to  know  exactly  what  the  word  is  there  intended  to 
mean,  and  what  are  the  grounds  for  giving  it  such  definition.  The 
validity  of  the  Episcopacy  of  American  Methodism  has  been  freely 
and  frequently  challenged ;  and  a  brief  statement  of  facts,  and  a  brief 
demurrer  from  the  views  set  forth  in  the  last,  largest,  and  otherwise  the 
best  biography  of  John  Wesley,  may  properly  have  place  in  this  volume. 

John  Wesley  was  not  a  Bishop  of  the  Church  of  England,  but  he 
was  a  Presbyter  providentially  called  to  an  extraordinary  but  legiti- 
mate ordaining  act ;  and  in  this  latter  capacity  he  conferred  episcopal 
authority  on  Dr.  Coke,  under  what  was  doubtless  an  "exigency  of 
necessity,"  as  Hooker  calls  it.  This  high  authority  on  ecclesiastical 
order  says : — 

"  There  may  be  sometimes  very  just  and  sufficient  reasons  to  allow  ordination 
without  a  Bishop.  The  whole  Church  visible  heing  the  true  original  subject  of  all 
power,  it  hath  not  ordinarily  allowed  any  other  than  Eishops  alone  to  ordain, 
Howbeit,  as  the  ordinary  cause  is  ordinarily  in  all  things  to  be  observed,  so  it 
may  be  in  some  cases  not  unnecessary  that  we  decline  from  the  ordinary  ways. 
Men  may  be  extraordinarily  yet  allowably  two  ways  admitted  into  spiritual  func- 
tions in  the  Church.  One  is  when  God  himself  doth  of  himself  raise  up  a  way; 
another,  when  the  exigency  of  necessity  doth  constrain  to  leave  the  usual  ways 
of  the  Church,  which  otherwise  we  would  willingly  ^eeTp.'"— Ecclesiastical 
Polity,  vii,  14. 

Again  :  "Let  them  [the  Bishops]  continually  bear  in  mind  that  it  is  rather 
the  force  of  custom  whereby  the  Church,  having  so  long  found  it  good  to  con 
tinue  the  regiment  of  her  virtuous  Bishops,  doth  still  uphold,  maintain,  and 
honor  them  in  that  respect  than  that  any  true  and  heavenly  law  can  be  showed 
by  the  evidence  whereof  it  may  of  a  truth  appear  that  the  Lord  himself  hath 
appointed  Presbyters  forever  to  be  under  the  regiment  of  Bishops.  ''—Ibid.,  vii,  5. 

These  are  the  identical  grounds  on  which  Wesley,  in  his  creden- 
tials to  Dr.  Coke,  claims  authority  to  set  apart  a  Superintendent  and 
ordain  Presbyters  for  the  establishment  of  a  Chm-ch  with  an  Episcopal 
form  and  order  among  the  Methodists  of  America,  and  these  also  are 
the  grounds  on  which  that  Church,  in  its  book  of  Discipline,  still 
maintains  and  regulates  its  Episcopacy. 

On  this  subject,  Kev.  Dr.  Whedon,  the  official  Book  Editor,  says  :* 

♦  No  quotation  marks  are  here  used,  this  admirable  resume  of  the  subject  having  been, 
prepared  by  Dr.  Whedon  espec  ally  for  this  volume. 


488  Illustrated  Histoky  of  Methodism. 

In  complete  accordance  with  this  doctrine  of  this  great  standard  author, 
"the  judicious  Hooker,"  did  Wesley  establish,  intentionally  and  truly,  the  Epis- 
iopacy  of  American  Methodism.     For, 

First,  He  was  a  Presbyter  of  the  Church  of  England,  a  grade  of  ministry  in 
which  the  right  to  ordain  inheres,  although  ordination  by  an  elder  is  not  by  the 
"Church  visible "  " ordinarily  allowed."  The  only  question,  then,  is,  whether  that 
'•exigency  of  necessity"  existed  calling  for  an  extraordinary  ordination  by  a 
Presbyter  in  this  case  of  Wesley. 

Second,  This  extraordinary  call  did  exist  in  more  ways  than  one.  Firs% 
There  existed  a  great  people,  the  substance  and  material  of  an  inchoate  Church, 
founded  by  this  Wesley  himself,  demanding  from  his  hand  a  form  of  govern- 
ment. For  four  years  Wesley  declined  to  obey  that  demand  and  furnish  the  or- 
ganizing act ;  by  which  delay  the  people  were  left  without  polity  and  without  the 
sacraments  of  Christ.  Second,  The  Bishops  of  the  Church  of  England  entirely 
neglected  Wesley's  request  for  an  ordination  by  their  hands.  And  even  if  they 
were  willing,  there  was  great  danger  that  their  hand  would  in  fact  repress  the 
great  work.  The  very  safety  and  continued  existence  of  this  revival,  and  the  con- 
tinuance of  this  people,  required  that  he  who,  under  providence,  founded  their  or- 
der, should  shape  their  form  and  guide  their  movements  in  accordance  with  their 
past  history.  Third,  As  there  was  thus  an  external  call  and  exigent  "necessity," 
so  there  doubtless  was  a  divine  call;  not  miraculous,  but  by  movement  of  the 
blessed  Spirit  to  this  work ;  and  so  Wesley  himself  in  his  episcopal  diploma  to 
Coke  declared :  "  I,  John  Wesley,  think  myself  providentially  CAiiLED  at  this 
time  to  set  apart,"  etc.  "And,  therefore,  under  protection  of  Almighty  God,  I 
have  this  day  set  apart,"  etc.  Fourth,  And  hereby  is  precluded  all  irregular  and 
uncalled-for  ordinations  by  Presbyters  who  have  no  such  ' '  exigency "  to  show 
for  their  act.  Wesley  said,  in  1755,  "  It  is  not  clear  to  us  that  Presbyters,  so  cir- 
cumstanced as  we  are,  may  appoint  or  ordain  others,"  since  the  providential  call 
had  not  then  come ;  nor  can  it  be  inferred  from  all  this  that  our  polity  is  -prop- 
erly ^res&2/^cr^aZ  y  for  though  the  fountain  of  the  ordaining  power  is  in  the 
Church  and  Presbytery,  yet  the  presbyterial  act  of  ordaining  is  extraordinary, 
and  with  design  of  preserving  the  Episcopate.  If  all  the  Bishops  were  dead,  the 
elders  would  ordain  new  and  proper  Bishops;  and  if  both  elders  and  Bishops 
were  dead,  the  people  would  rightfully  ordain  new  ones. 

From  all  this  it  follows,  that  in  strict  churchly  order,  on  the  principle 
stated  by  Hooker,  Wesley's  ordination  was  legitimate,  and  no  Episcopal  Church 
has  a  right  to  reject  its  Episcopacy.  It  is,  in  fact,  an  emancipation  of  the  Epis- 
copacy from  all  despotic  successioual  trammels,  and  the  restoration  of  the  free 
and  voluntary  Episcopacy  of  the  primitive  Church,  And  as  our  Church  was 
organized  before  either  the  Roman  or  the  Anglican  ordinations  in  this  country, 
80  we  were  the  first  regularly  established  Episcopal  Church  in  America. 

It  is  true  that  in  1Y94,  within  a  twelvemonth  of  his  death,  Coke 


The  Validity  of  Methodist  Episcopacy.  489 

wrote  a  letter  to  Wilberforce  saying  he  was  willing  to  return  most 
fully  into  the  bosom  of  the  Established  Church  on  condition  that 
his  Royal  Highness  the  Prince  Eegent  and  the  Government  would 
appoint  him  their  Bishop  in  India;  which  fact  is  quoted  by  Mr. 
Tyerman  as  evidence  against  the  validity  of  Coke's  Episcopal  con- 
secration by  John  Wesley.  But  the  fact  has  no  such  bearing  upon 
the  case.  The  success  of  Bishop  Coke's  final  missionary  scheme 
doubtless  seemed  to  him  at  that  time  to  require  the  co-operation  of  the 
Established  Church  of  England.  Hitherto  he  had  been  supported 
only  by  the  Wesleyans ;  and  it  is  an  evidence  of  his  great  catholicity 
of  spirit,  as  well  as  of  his  sagacity,  that  he  was  willing  to  receive  a 
confirmatory  sanction  from  the  English  Church,  which  did  not  at  all 
invalidate  his  Wesleyan  episcopate. 

This  letter  has  also  been  cited  as  evidence  of  the  personal  ambi- 
tion of  Bishop  Coke,  which  unworthy  motive  his  life-long  labors  and 
self-sacrifices  sufficiently  disprove. 

Mr.  Tyerman  further  says :  "  These  are  unpleasant  facts,  which 
we  would  rather  have  consigned  to  oblivion  had  they  not  been  neces- 
sary to  vindicate  Wesley  from  the  huge  inconsistency  of  ordaining  a 
co-equal  presbyter  to  be  a  bishop.  Wesley  meant  the  ceremony  to  be 
a  mere  f ormahty  likely  to  recommend  his  delegate  to  the  favor  of  the 
Methodists  in  America :  Coke,  in  his  ambition,  wished  and  intended  it 
to  be  considered  as  an  ordination  to  a  bishopric." 

To  this  evident  eiTor  concerning  Mr.  Wesley's  intention  there  are 
two  effectual  repHes : — 

First.  Dr.  Coke,  being  a  presbyter,  was  solemnly  "  set  apart,"  or  con- 
secrated, by  Wesley  as  "  Superintendent ; "  a  proceeding  which  would  be 
highly  discreditable  to  both  parties  if  it  were  intended  as  "  a  mere  form- 
ality," that  is  to  say,  an  imposition  upon  the  American  Methodists.  This 
act  was  performed  avowedly  for  the  purpose  of  establishing  an  epis- 
copal form  of  Church  government  for  the  Methodists  in  America ;  and 
how  could  such  a  form  of  Church  government  be  based  on  "a  mere 
formality  likely  to  recommend  his  delegate  to  the  favor,"  etc.  ? 

Wesley  also  sent  to  the  American  Church  three  distinct  forms  for 
constituting  three  classes  of  ministers  which  the  Church  has  essen- 
tially retained  to  the  present  day ;    the  status  of  each  of  the  three 
classes   being  indicated  in   the   Methodist   Discipline   by  the   word 
31 


490  Ili^usteated  Histoky  of  Methodism. 

"  ordination  "  as  the  name  for  the  service  of  constituting  deacons  and 
elders,  and  by  the  use  of  the  word  "  consecration  "  as  the  name  of  the 
service  whereby  certain  elders  are  "  set  apart "  as  superintendents  or 
bishops.  These  forms  demonstrate  the  intention  of  Wesley  to  estab- 
lish a  perpetual  episcopal  form  of  government ;  and  if  he  thus  sent 
authority  for  others  to  set  apart  men  for  an  essentially  episcopal  office, 
how  can  it  be  doubted  that  he  himseK  intended  thus  to  consecrate 
Dr.  Coke? 

Second.  The  fact  that  Bishop  Coke  afterward  sought  other  ordina- 
tion has  nothing  to  do  with  the  question  of  what  were  Wesley's  inten- 
tions in  setting  him  apart  as  Superintendent  for  America. 

If  Coke  and  Asbury  had  been  content  with  Wesley's  title  of 
"  Superintendent,"  it  would  have  saved  Mr.  Wesley  no  little  trouble  ; 
but  to  their  English  ears  there  was  a  charm  about  the  word  "  Bishop," 
though  they  well  knew  it  meant  nothing  more  than  the  word  which 
their  father  in  the  Gospel  had  used  in  setting  them  apart  for  the  Epis- 
copal office  in  America.  They,  therefore,  claimed  the  more  dignified 
appellation  ;  and,  not  to  be  unmindful  of  their  venerable  chief,  they 
set  him  down  also  as  a  "  Bishop  "  in  the  Minutes  of  the  American 
Methodists  for  1Y84,  which  Minutes  were  printed  in,  and  published 
from,  Mr.  Wesley's  book  room  in  London. 

Mr.  Wesley's  letter  to  Asbury,  in  1Y88,  is  also  cited  by  Mr.  Tyerman 
as  evidence  that  Wesley  did  not  intend  to  make  a  Bishop  of  Dr.  Coke. 
In  that  year  Mr.  Wesley  writes  : — 

But  in  one  point,  my  dear  brother,  I  am  a  little  afraid  both  the  doctor  and 
you  diifer  from  me.  I  study  to  be  little ;  you  study  to  be  great.  I  creep ;  you 
strut  along.  I  found  a  school ;  you  a  college !  nay,  and  call  it  after  your  own 
names !  O,  beware ;  do  not  seek  to  be  something  1  Let  me  be  nothing,  and 
"Christ  be  all  in  all  I  " 

One  instance  of  this  your  greatness  has  given  me  great  concern.  How  «an 
you,  how  dare  you,  suflEer  yourself  to  be  called  Bishop?  I  shudder,  I  start  at  the 
v^ery  thought  I  Men  may  call  me  a  knave  or  a  fool,  a  rascal,  a  scoundrel,  and  I 
am  content;  but  they  shall  never,  by  my. consent,  call  me  Bishop  !  For  my  eake, 
for  God's  sake,  for  Christ's  sake,  put  a  full  end  to  this !  Let  the  Presbyterians 
do  what  they  please,  but  let  the  Methodists  know  their  calling  better. 

Thus,  my  dear  Franky,  I  have  told  you  all  that  is  in  my  heart.     And  let  this, 

when  I  am  no  more   seen,  bear  witness   how  sincerely  I  am  your   afEectionate- 

friend  and  brother. 

John  Wesley. 


The  Validity  of  Methodist  Episcopacy.  491 

The  sense  of  this  letter  appears  on  the  face  of  it.  Wesley  does 
not  say,  /  am  not  a  Bishop ;  but  he  says,  "  Men  shall  never,  by  my 
consent,  call  me  a  Bishop  ; "  and  this  same  seK-sacrifice  and  humihty 
he  urges  upon  his  "  dear  Franky."  For  decade  after  decade  he  wielded 
Episcopal  powers,  except  in  the  single  matter  of  performing  ordina- 
tions ;  and  at  last,  when  it  became  needful,  he  solemnly  ordained  two 
men  for  America,  on  whom  e  conferred  the  orders  of  deacon  and  pres- 
byter ;  and  the  other,  being  a  ready  a  presbyter,  he  consecrated,  and  au- 
thorized to  do  every  thing  u  America  which  he  himself  was  doing  in 
England,  though  the  miicn-aoused  title  of  "  Bishop  "  he,  for  reasons 
of  policy,  refrained  from  using.  There  is,  then,  no  difficulty  in  under- 
standing that  John  Wesley  intended  to  do  precisely  what  he  did 
do,  namely,  to  confer  on  Dr.  Coke  an  additional  office  to  that  of 
presbyter ;  which,  by  whatever  name  it  may  be  called,  was  a  proper 
and  historic  bishopric ;  and  this,  beyond  all  contradiction,  his  provi- 
dential position  enabled  him  rightfully  to  do.  Whoever  doubts  this, 
let  him  read  again  Wesley's  Letters  Credential  "  to  Dr.  Coke,  Mr. 
Asbury,  and  our  brethren  in  ISTorth  America." 

There  is  also  another  view  of  the  case  which  commends  itself  to  all 
Episcopalians,  whether  they  be  Protestant,  Methodist,  or  Reformed, 
viz. :  Anglican  Episcopacy  was,  in  Wesley's  day,  so  mingled  with  dog- 
matism and  muddled  with  politics  that  it  stood  in  perishing  need  of  a 
re-enforcement  fresh  from  heaven,  and  a  restoration  to  apostolic 
methods  and  spirit.  Just  this  re-enforcement  and  restoration  was  given 
through  the  grace  of  God  committed  in  pentecostal  measure  to  John 
Wesley  ;  who,  if  his  apostolic  character  may  be  judged  by  the  mighty 
works  which  showed  themselves  forth  in  him,  was  the  most  truly 
apostolic  Bishop  ever  seen  in  Great  Britain ;  from  whom,  through 
Bishop  Coke,  the  great  apostle  of  Christian  missions  in  modern  times, 
the  episcopal  line  of  the  Methodists  descends. 


LOVELY  LANE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH,  BAXTIMOBE. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 


THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

ON  the  18tli  of  September,  1784,  Bishop  Coke  and  Elders  Whatcoat 
and  Vasey  set  sail  for  America,  and  on .  the  3d  of  November 
landed  at  New  York,  where  they  were  heartily  welcomed  by  John 
Dickins,  preacher  of  the  New  York  Society. 

"  By  some  means  or  other,"  writes  Dr.  Coke,  "  the  whole  country 
has  been,  as  it  were,  expecting,  and  Mr.  Asbury  looking  out  for  me  for 
some  time."  On  the  night  of  his  arrival  Coke  preached  in  "Wesley 
Chapel — "old  John-street;"  and  from  New  York  rode  to  Pliiladel- 
pliia,  where,  after  holding  service  at  the  Methodist  Churches,  and 
at  St.  Paul's  Episcopal  Church,  he  proceeded  southward,  and  on  Sun- 
day, the  14th  of  November,  arrived  at  Barratt's  Chapel,  where,  he 
says,  "  in  the  midst  of  a  forest  I  had  an  honorable  congregation,  to 
whom  I  endeavored  to  set  forth  the  Redeemer  as  our  wisdom,  righte- 
ousness, sanctifi cation,  and  redemption.  After  the  sermon  a  plain, 
robust  man  came  up  to  me  in  the  pulpit  and  kissed  me.    I  thought  it 


Black  Haket.  493 

<;ould  be  no  other  than  Mr.  Asbury  ;  and  I  was  not  deceived.  I  ad 
ministered  the  sacrament,  after  preaching,  to  five  or  six  hundred 
communicants,  and  held  a  love-feast.  It  was  the  best  season  I  ever 
knew,  except  one  in  Charlemont,  in  Ireland." 

After  making  known  his  mission  to  Mr.  Asbury,  it  was  determined 
to  call  a  Conference,  at  Baltimore,  of  all  the  Methodist  preachers,  on 
the  ensuing  Christmas-eve,  and  Freeborn  Garrettson,  whom  Coke  de- 
scribes as  "  an  excellent  young  man,  all  meekness,  love,  and  activity," 
was  intrusted  with  the,  by  no  means  easy,  task  of  bringing  the 
preachers  together.  * 

As  something  more  than  a  month  must  elapse  before  the  session  of 
the  Christmas  Conference,  Mr,  Asbury  drew  up  a  route  of  travel  for 
Bishop  Coke,  who  accordingly  made  a  journey  of  about  a  thousand 
miles,  visiting  the  Societies,  preaching,  baptizing,  and  celebrating  the 
supper  of  the  Lord.  His  coming  was  hailed  with  joy  by  the  people, 
whose  hearts  had  hungered  for  the  sacraments  of  the  Church,  and 
who  mourned  that  their  children  were  growing  up  unbaptized.  These, 
in  great  numbers,  they  now  brought  to  receive  the  holy  ordinance  at 
the  hands  of  the  new  Bishop,  and  day  after  day  and  night  after  night 
witnessed  the  gathering  of  glad  disciples  to  celebrate  the  Holy  Eucharist. 

Black  Harry. — Harry  Hosier,  Asbury's  negro  servant,  who 
accompanied  him  in  his  travels,  was  directed  to  accompany  Bishop 
Coke  in  this  his  first  Episcopal  tour.  He  was,  liimseK,  no  mean  spec- 
imen of  a  Methodist  preacher.  He  was  small  in  stature,  perfectly 
black,  and  unable  to  read  ;  nevertheless,  he  was  by  some  pronounced  the 
greatest  Methodist  preacher  in  America.  At  different  times  he  acted 
as  driver  for  the  carriage  of  Asbury,  Coke,  Whatcoat,  and  Garrettson ; 
but  he  excelled  all  his  masters  in  popularity  as  a  preacher ;  sharing 
with  them  in  their  public  services  not  only  in  the  black,  but  also  in  the 
white,  congregations.  Lednum,  in  his  history,  relates  that  on  a  certain 
occasion  at  Wilmington,  Delaware,  where  Methodism  had  not  yet  be- 
came popular,  a  number  of  the  citizens  who  had  but  a  moderate  opin- 
ion of  the  body  came  to  hear  Bishop  Asbury.  Old  Asbury  Chapel 
was,  at  the  time,  so  full  that  they  could  not  get  in,  and  they  stood  out- 
side to  hear  the  Bishop's  sermon  ;  which,  at  its  close,  they  complimented 
highly,  saying,  "If  all  Methodist  preachers  could  preach  hke  the 
Bishop,  we  should  like  to  be  constant  hearers." 


494 


Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 


"That  was  not  the  Bishop,  but  the  Bishop's  servant,"  was  the 
reply  ;  for,  on  this  occasion,  as  was  frequently  the  case,  the  servant 
had  taken  tlie  master's  place  in  the  pulpit.  This  only  raised  Asbury 
higher  in  their  estimation  ;  for,  if  the  servant  were  such  a  preacher, 
what  must  the  master  be  ? 

Asbury  acknowledged  that  the  best  way  to  obtain  a  large  congrega- 
tion was  to  announce  that  Harry  would  preach.  But  alas !  popularity 
came  near  spoiling  the  poor  fellow  ;  for,  what  with  high  compliments 


MANWOOD    COTTAGE,    HANDSWORTH,    STAFFORDSHIRE,    ENGLAND. 
In  which  Asbury  commenced  his  Itinerant  Ministry. 


and  lavish  hospitahty  he  became  temporarily  a  victim  of  intemper- 
ance ;  but,  by  the  help  of  divine  grace  he  struggled  manfully  with  his 
temptations,  was  restored  to  the  divine  favor,  resumed  his  public 
labors,  and  died  in  the  faith,  at  Philadelphia,  about  the  year  1810  ;  his 
body  being  borne  to  the  grave  by  a  great  procession  of  admirers,  both 
black  and  white. 

Of  his  companion  on  this  tour,  Bishop  Coke  writes,  under  date  of 


The  Christmas  Conference.  495 

November  29  :  "  I  have  now  had  the  pleasure  of  hearing  Harry  preact 
several  times.  I  sometimes  give  notice,  immediately  after  preaching, 
that  in  a  httle  time  he  will  preach  to  the  blacks ;  but  the  whites 
always  stay  to  hear  him.  I  really  believe  that  he  is  one  of  the  best 
preachers  in  the  world — there  is  such  an  amazing  power  attends  his 
word,  though  he  cannot  read ;  and  he  is  one  of  the  humblest  creatures 
I  ever  saw." 

Coke,  as  might  have  been  expected,  was  delighted  with  his  Ameri- 
can brethren ;  especially  with  Asbury,  in  whose  presence  he  declared 
he  felt  himself  a  child,  and  whom  he  describes  as  the  most  apostoHc 
man  he  ever  saw,  except  Mr.  Wesley.  The  fine  education  and  supe- 
rior attainments  of  the  Doctor  did  not  appear  to  raise  him  in  his  own 
estimation  above  his  brethren  who  had  been  less  favored  in  their  oppor- 
tunities for  culture,  but  who  were  heroes  in  their  way ;  and  the  most 
diffident  and  retiring  among  them  were  soon  perfectly  at  ease  in  his 
company.  Yast  multitudes  attended  his  ministry ;  the  chapels  were 
overflowing ;  and  frequently  it  was  necessary  for  him  to  come  down 
from  the  pulpit  and  address  the  congregation  from  the  chapel  steps. 
The  whole  peninsula  of  Maryland  was  moved ;  and  the  power  of  the 
Lord  gloriously  attended  the  administration  of  his  sacraments,  and  the 
preaching  of  his  word.  While  waiting  for  the  appointed  24fch  of  De- 
cember, Whatcoat  and  Vasey  also  were  having  a  taste  of  the  new 
mission  which  was  opening  before  them. 

The  Christmas  Conference.— On  the  17th  of  December, 
all  the  episcopal  party,  except  Whatcoat,  arrived  at  Perry  Hall,  which 
Coke  describes  as  the  "  most  elegant  house  in  this  State  ; "  while  Black, 
who  opportunely  arrived  from  Kova  Scotia  to  take  part  in  the  ap- 
proaching convocation,  describes  it  as  "  the  most  spacious  and  elegant 
building  I  have  seen  in  America."  In  this  hospitable  Methodist  man- 
sion the  preliminaries  of  the  approaching  Conference  were  arranged, 
and  on  Friday  the  24th  of  December,  1784,  the  Httle  company  rode 
forth  from  Perry  Hall  to  Baltimore,  about  eighteen  miles  distant,  and 
at  ten  o'clock  in  the  morning  opened  the  General  Conference  in  the 
Lovely  Lane  Church. 

Garrettson  had  sped  his  way  over  twelve  hundred  miles  in  six 
weeks,  summoning  the  itinerants  to  the  Conference ;  preaching  as  he 
went ;  and  on  his  return  found  sixty  out  of  the  eighty-one  ministers 


496  Illusteated  Histoey  of  Methodism. 

present.  Bishop  Coke,  on  taking  the  chair  presented  his  Letters  Ore* 
dential,  and,  in  accordance  with  Mr.  "Wesley's  design,  "  it  was  agreed,'^ 
says  Asbury,  "  to  form  ourselves  into  an  Episcopal  Church,  and  tO' 
have  superintendents,  elders,  and  deacons." 

Election  and  Consecration  of  Bishop  Asbury. — 
Mr.  Asbury  declined  to  accept  the  Superintendency  on  Mr.  Wesley's 
appointment  unless,  in  addition  thereto,  his  brethren  should  elect  him 
to  that  office ;  whereupon  both  Asbmy  and  Coke  were  unanimously 
elected,  and  on  the  second  day  of  the  session  Asbury  was  ordained 
deacon  by  Dr.  Coke,  assisted  by  Elders  Whatcoat  and  Yasey.  On  the 
third  day,  which  was  Sunday,  Asbury  was  ordained  elder,  and  on. 
Monday  he  was  consecrated  as  Superintendent  by  Bishop  Coke,  his 
friend  Otterbein,  of  the  German  Reform  Church,  and  the  elders  as- 
sisting in  the  solemn  service.  Tuesday,  "Wednesday,  and  Thursday 
were  spent  in  enacting  rules  of  discipline  and  the  election  of  preach- 
ers to  orders.  It  was  agreed  that  the  Liturgy  which  had  been  pre- 
pared by  Mr.  Wesley  for  the  use  of  the  American  Church  should  be 
read  in  the  congregations ;  and  that  the  sacraments  and  ordinations 
should  be  celebrated  according  to  the  Episcopal  form.  On  Friday 
several  deacons  were  ordained,  and  on  Sunday,  the  second  day  of  Jan- 
uary, 1T85,  twelve  elders  were  ordained,  who  had  been  previously 
ordained  as  deacons,  and  the  Conference  ended  "  in  great  peace  and 
unanimity." 

It  is  worthy  of  note  that  Mr.  Wesley's  plan  for  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Charch  was  adopted  by  the  Christmas  Conference  without  a 
dissenting  voice ;  and  as  no  essential  change  in  its  construction  has 
since  been  made,  it  is  unquestionably  true,  as  stated  by  Bishop  Simp- 
son in  his  reply  to  Dean  Stanley,  on  the  occasion  of  the  reception  of 
the  latter  at  St.  Paul's  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  New  York: 
that  "there  is  no  other  organization  or  communion  on  earth  which 
60  clearly  and  distinctly  represents  the  mind  of  John  "Wesley  as  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church." 

The  roll  of  this  Conference  is  not  preserved,  but  the  following  are 
known  to  have  been  present :  Thomas  Coke,  LL.D.,  Francis  Asbury, 
Richard  "Whatcoat,  Thomas  Yasey,  Freeborn  Garrettson,  William 
Gill,  Reuben  EUis,  Le  Roy  Cole,  Richard  Ivey,  James  O'Kelly,  John 
Ilaggerty,  ISTelson  Reed,  James  O.  Cromwell,  Jeremiah  Lambert,  John 


The  Christmas  Conference.  497 

Dickins,  "William  Glendenning,  Francis  Poytliress,  Joseph  Everett, 
William  Black,  of  IS".  S.,  William  Phcebus,  and  Thomas  Ware.  It  has 
been  supposed,  from  their  standing  and  the  proximity  of  their  circuits, 
that  the  following  also  were  in  attendance  :  Edward  Dromgoole,  Caleb 
B.  Pedicord,  Thomas  S.  Chew,  Joseph  Cromwell,  John  Major,  Phihp 
Cox,  Samuel  Eowe,  William  Partridge,  Thomas  Foster,  George  Mair, 
Samuel  Dudley,  Adam  Cloud,  Michael  Elhs,  James  Wliite,  Jonathan 
Forrest,  Joseph  Wyatt,  Phihp  Bruce,  John  Magary,  William  Thomas^ 
John  Baldwin,  Woolman  Hickson,  Thomas  Haskins,  Ira  Ellis,  John 
Easter,  Peter  Moriarty,  Enoch  Matson,  Lemuel  Green,  Thomas  Cur- 
tis, Wilham  Jessup,  Wilson  Lee,  Thomas  Jackson,  James  Kiggin, 
Wilham  Kingold,  Isaac  Smith,  Matthew  Greentree,  William  Lynch^ 
Thomas  Bowen,  Moses  Park,  William  Cannon,  and  Eichard  Swift. 
This  would  make  up  the  fuU  number — sixty — known  to  have  re- 
sponded to  the  summons. 

Of  the  personal  appearance  and  character  of  this  Conference 
nothing  arrested  the  attention  of  Dr.  Coke  more  than  the  generally 
youthful  aspect  of  the  preachers ;  "  though  most  of  them,"  he  says^ 
"  bore  marks  of  severe  toil  and  hard  usage."  Some  of  them  had  suf- 
fered imprisonment  for  conscience'  sake,  others  had  been  victims  of 
mobs,  and  all  of  them  had  earned  the  title  of  "good  soldiers  of  Jesu& 
Christ." 

The  elders  ordained  were  as  f oUows :  John  Tunnell,  William  Gill, 
Le  Koy  Cole,  Nelson  Keed,  John  Haggerty,  Keuben  ElHs,  Richard 
Ivey,  Henry  Willis,  James  O'Kelly,  and  Beverly  Allen.  TunneU, 
Wilhs,  and  Allen  were  not  present,  but  received  ordination  after  the 
session.  John  Dickins,  Ignatius  Pigman,  and  Caleb  Boyer  were 
chosen  deacons.  Jeremiah  Lambert  was  ordained  elder  to  serve  in 
the  West  India  island  of  Antigua,  where  Bishop  Coke  had  a  flourish- 
ing mission ;  and  James  O.  Cromwell  and  Freeborn  Garrettson  were 
ordained  elders  for  the  Nova  Scotia  work. 

The  fact  that  Bishop  Asbury  allowed  such  a  man  as  Freeborn 
Garrettson  to  be  captured  by  his  Nova  Scotia  brother.  Black,  shows 
that  in  spite  of  the  War  of  the  Eevolution  the  Methodism  of  North 
America  was  still  substantially  a  unit,  since  it  is  incredible  on  any 
other  supposition  that  Garrettson  should  have  been  spared  to  the 
British  Provinces. 


498  Illustbated  Histoey  of  Methodism. 

The  Methodist  Discipline. — Until  the  time  of  the  Christ- 
mas Conference  the  "  Wesleyan  Minutes  "  had  been  recognized  as  the 
law  of  the  American  Societies.  In  the  preliminary  dehberations  at 
Perry  HalL  that  code  was  revised  and  adapted  to  the  new  form  of  the 
American  Church,  and  this  revision,  having  been  adopted  by  the  Christ- 
mas Conference,  was  incorporated  with  Mr.  "Wesley's  revised  edition 
of  the  "  Liturgy,"  which  he  called  the  "  Sunday  Service,"  and  was 
published  in  1785  as  the  "Disciphne  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church." 

The  Liturgy  was  used  for  a  few  years  in  the  principal  Churches, 
but  Sabbath  love-feasts  and  other  extra  services  frequently  crowded  it 
out,  and  from  being  frequently  omitted  it  at  last  fell  into  entire  disuse ; 
there  being  no  allusion  to  it  in  the  records  later  than  1792.  Gowns 
and  bands  were  also  used  for  a  time  by  the  bishops  and  elders,  but 
these  in  like  manner  passed  away. 

Among  the  noteworthy  provisions  of  this  first  Discipline  are  the 
following : — 

Q.  3.  What  can  be  done  to  further  the  future  union  of  the  Methodists  ? 

A.  During  the  life  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Wesley  we  acknowledge  ourselves  his  sons 
in  the  Gospel,  ready  in  matters  applying  to  Church  government  to  obey  his  com- 
mands. And  we  do  engage,  after  his  death,  to  do  everything  that  we  judge  con- 
sistent with  the  cause  of  religion  in  America,  and  the  political  interests  of  these 
States,  to  preserve  and  promote  our  union  with  the  Methodists  in  Europe. 

Q.  16.  How  shall  we  prevent  improper  persons  from  insinuating  into  the 
Society  ? 

A.  Give  tickets  to  none  till  they  are  recommended  by  a  leader,  with  whom 
they  have  met  at  least  two  months  on  trial.  Give  them  the  rules  the  first  time 
they  meet.     [See  that  this  be  never  neglected.] 

Q.  18.  Should  we  insist  on  the  rules  concerning  dress  ? 

A.  By  all  means.  Allow  no  exempt  case,  not  even  of  a  married  woman.  Give 
no  ticket  to  any  that  wear  higli  heads,  enormous  bonnets,  rufiles,  or  rings. 

Q.  23.  May  our  ministers  or  traveling  preachers  drink  spirituous  liquors? 

A.  By  no  means,  unless  it  be  medicinally. 

Q.  26.  What  is  the  oflBce  of  a  Superintendent  ? 

A.  To  ordain  Superintendents,  Elders,  and  Deacons;  to  preside  as  Moderator 
in  our  Conferences;  to  fix  the  appointments  of  the  preachers  for  the  several 
■circuits;  and,  in  the  intervals  of  the  Conference,  to  change,  receive,  or  suspend 
preachers  as  necessity  may  require,  and  to  receive  appeals  from  the  preachers 
and  people,  and  decide  them. 


The  Christmas  Conference.  499 

Q.  27.  To  whom  is  the  Superintendent  amenable  for  his  conduct  ? 

A.  To  the  Conference. 

Q.  29.  If  by  death,  expulsion,  or  otherwise,  there  be  no  Superintendent 
remaining  in  our  Church,  what  shall  we  do  ? 

A.  The  Conference  shall  elect  a  Superintendent,  and  the  Elders,  or  any  three 
of  them,  shall  ordain  him  according  to  our  Liturgy. 

Q.  32.  Wliat  is  the  office  of  a  helper? 

A.  In  the  absence  of  the  minister  to  feed  and  guide  the  flock. 
*********** 

N".  B. — No  helper,  or  even  Deacon,  shall  on  any  pretense  at  any  time  admin- 
ister the  Lord's  Supper. 

Q.  34.  Will  it  be  expedient  to  appoint  some  of  our  helpers  to  read  the  morn 
ing  and  evening  service  out  of  our  Liturgy  on  the  Lord's  day  ? 

A.  It  will. 

Q.  37.  What  shall  be  the  regular  annual  salary  of  the  Elders,  Deacons,  and 
helpers  ? 

A:  Twenty-four  pounds,  Pennsylvania  currency,  and  no  more.  [The  Penn- 
sylvania "pound  "  was  equal  to  $3  60.] 

Q.  38.  What  shall  be  annually  allowed  the  wives  of  the  married  preachers? 

A.  Twenty-four  pounds,  Pennsylvania  currency,  if  they  need  it,  and  no  more. 

Q.  40.  What  shall  be  allowed  the  married  preachers  for  the  support  of  their 
•children  ? 

A.  For  each  of  their  children  under  the  age  of  six  years  let  them  be  allowed 
six  pounds,  (Pennsylvania  currency;)  and  for  each  child  of  the  age  of  six  and 
under  the  age  of  eleven,  eight  pounds. 

Q.  41.  Are  there  any  directions  to  be  given  concerning  the  negroes  ? 

A.  Let  every  preacher,  as  often  as  possible,  meet  them  in  class,  and  let  the 
assistant  always  appoint  a  proper  white  person  as  their  leader. 

On  Slavery. 

Q.  42.  What  methods  can  we  take  to  extirpate  slavery? 

A.  We  are  deeply  conscious  of  the  impropriety  of  making  new  terms  of  com^ 
munion  for  a  religious  society  already  established,  excepting  on  the  most  press- 
ing occasion :  and  such  we  esteem  the  practice  of  holding  our  fellow-creatures  in 
slavery.  We  view  it  as  contrary  to  the  golden  law  of  God,  on  which  hang  all  the 
law  and  the  prophets,  and  the  unalienable  rights  of  mankind,  as  well  as  every 
principle  of  the  Revolution,  to  hold  in  the  deepest  debasement,  in  a  more  abject 
slavery  than  is  perhaps  to  be  found  in  any  part  of  the  world  except  America,  so 
many  souls  that  are  all  capable  of  the  image  of  God. 

We  therefore  think  it  our  most  bounden  duty  to  take  immediately  some 
effectual  method  to  extirpate  this  abomination  from  among  us :  and  for  that  pur- 
|)ose  we  add  the  following  to  the  Rules  of  our  Society,  namely: — 


600  Illusteated  History  of  Methodism. 

1.  Every  member  of  our  Society  who  has  slaves  in  his  possession  shall,  withii* 
twelve  months  after  notice  given  to  him  by  the  assistant,  (which  notice  the  assist- 
ants are  required  immediately,  and  without  any  delay,  to  give  in  tlieir  respective 
circuits,)  legally  execute  and  record  an  instrument  whereby  he  emancipates  and 
sets  free  every  slave  in  his  possession  who  is  between  the  ages  of  forty  and  forty 
five  immediately,  or  at  furthest  when  they  arrive  at  tlie  age  of  forty-five. 

And  every  slave  who  is  between  the  ages  of  twenty-five  and  forty  immedi 
ately,  or  at  furthest  at  the  expiration  of  five  years  from  the  date  of  the  said- 
instrument.  And  every  slave  who  is  between  the  ages  of  twenty  and  twenty- 
five  immediately,  or  at  furthest  when  they  arrive  at  the  age  of  thirty.  And 
every  slave  under  the  age  of  twenty,  as  soon  as  they  arrive  at  the  age  of  twenty- 
five  at  furthest.  And  every  infant  born  in  slavery  after  the  above-mentioned 
rules  are  complied  with,  immediately  on  its  birth. 

2.  Every  assistant  shall  keep  a  journal,  in  which  he  shall  regularly  minute 
down  the  names  and  ages  of  all  the  slaves  belonging  to  all  the  masters  in  his- 
respective  circuit,  and  also  the  date  of  every  instrument  executed  and  recorded 
for  the  manumission  of  the  slaves,  with  tlie  name  of  the  court,  book,  and  folio, 
in  which  the  said  instruments  respectively  shall  have  been  recorded:  which' 
journal  shall  be  handed  down  in  each  circuit  to  the  succeeding  assistants. 

3.  In  consideration  that  these  rules  form  a  new  term  of  communion,  every 
person  concerned  who  will  not  comply  with  them  shall  have  liberty  quietly  to- 
withdraw  himself  from  our  Society  within  the  twelve  months  succeeding  the  no- 
tice given  as  aforesaid:  otherwise  the  assistant  shall  exclude  him  in  the  Society, 

4.  No  person  so  voluntarily  withdrawn,  or  so  excluded,  shall  ever  partake  of 
the  supper  of  the  Lord  with  the  Methodists  till  he  complies  with  the  above- 
requisitions. 

5.  No  person  holding  slaves  shall  in  future  be  admitted  into  Society  or  to  the- 
Lord's  Supper  till  he  previously  complies  with  these  rules  concerning  slavery. 

If.  B. — These  rules  are  to  affect  the  members  or  our  Society  no  further  than  as- 
they  are  consistent  with  the  laws  of  the  States  in  which  they  reside.  And  re- 
specting our  brethren  in  Virginia  that  are  concerned,  and  after  due  consideration' 
of  their  peculiar  circumstances,  we  allow  tiiem  two  years  from  the  notice  given' 
to  consider  the  expedience  of  compliance  or  non-compliance  with  these  rules. 

Q.  43.  What  shall  be  done  with  those  who  buy  or  sell  slaves,  or  give  them- 
away? 

A.  They  are  immediately  to  be  expelled:  unless  they  buy  them  on  purpose  to- 
free  them. 

On  Baptism. 

Q.  45.  Is  there  any  direction  to  be  given  concerning  the  administration  of 
baptism  ? 

A.  Let  every  adult  person,  and  the  parents  of  every  child  to  be  baptized— 


Tke  Christmas  Conference.  501 

have  their  choice  either  of  immersion  or  sprinkling,  and  let  the  Elder  or  Deacon 
•conduct  himself  accordingly. 

Q.  46.  What  shall  be  done  with  those  who  were  baptized  in  their  infancy, 
but  have  now  scruples  concerning  the  validity  of  infant  baptism  ? 

A.  Remove  their  scruples  by  argument,  if  you  can ;  if  not,  the  office  may  be 
performed  by  immersion  or  sprinkling,  as  the  person  desires.* 

Preachers'  Fund. — The  ministry  was,  as  yet,  one  family. 
For  a  considerable  length  of  time  each  minister  reported  in  Confer- 
ence the  amount  of  money  he  had  received :  if  it  was  less  than  his 
allowance  a  record  was  made  of  the  amount ;  if  it  was  more,  the  ad- 
ditional money  was  handed  over  to  the  proper  steward  thereof,  and  the 
aggregate  excess  was  divided  among  those  less  fortunate,  in  the  ratio 
of  their  several  deficiencies.  "With  a  view  to  provide  for  superannuated 
preachers,  and  widows  and  orphans  of  preachers,  every  itinerant  was 
requii'ed  to  pay  an  admission  fee  on  his  reception  into  the'  Conference 
— a  sum  equivalent  to  two  dollars  and  sixty  cents  in  Federal  money 
and  afterward  two  dollars  annually.  Out  of  this  fund  every  worn- 
out  preacher  was  to  receive  sixty-four  dollars  a  year  "  if  he  wanted 
it ; "  every  widow,  fifty-three  dollars  and  thirty-three  cents  on  the  same 
condition  ;  and  every  orphan  child  was  entitled  to  receive,  once  for  all, 
fifty-three  dollars  and  thirty-three  cents,  "if  required."  This  fund 
continued  in  operation  until  1796,  and  in  the  following  year  it  was 
merged  in  what  is  now  known  as  the  "  Chartered  Fund,"  incorporated 
in  Philadelphia,  from  which  the  Conferences  stiU  receive  a  small 
annual  income  of  from  twenty  to  forty  dollars. 

The  First  Home  Mission  Fund,  which  was  also  estab- 
Hshed  at  the  Christmas  Conference,  was  called  "  A  General  Fund  for 
carrying  on  the  Holy  Work  of  God."  This  was  to  be  raised  by  yearly 
collections  in  the  Societies,  and  by  a  quarterly  one  if  need  be ;  the 
money  to  be  principally  used  for  the  expenses  of  preachers  sent  into 
new  and  distant  fields  of  labor.  Thus  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  and  the  Methodist  Missionary  Society  commenced  their 
history  together. 

While  the  number  of  preachers  in  America  was  small,  there  was 
but  one  Conference  held  each  year ;  but  in  1779  they  had  so  increased 
as  to  render  it  inconvenient  to  meet  in  one  place,  and  from  that  time 

*  Emory's  "  History  of  the  Discipline." 


502  Illustrated  History  of  Methodlim. 

til]  1784  two  Conferences  were  held,  one  in  Baltimore,  and  one  some- 
where in  Yirginia,  though  the  second  was  considered  as  an  adjourn- 
ment of  the  first.  The  Baltimore  Conference  being  of  the  longest 
standing,  and  made  up  of  the  oldest  preachers,  took  precedence  of 
the  Yirginia  Conference,  especially  in  the  making  of  rules  for  the 
Societies.  The  Christmas  Conference  of  1784,  at  which  tlie  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  was  organized,  was  called  a  General  Conference : 
the  next  General  Conference  was  held  in  November,  1792. 

Statistics,  1785. — The  first  year  of  the  organization  of  the 
Church  showed  it  to  be  in  favor  both  with  God  and  men.  It  had  now 
eighteen  thousand  members,  one  hundred  and  four  itinerant  preachers, 
besides  some  hundreds  of  local  preachers  and  exhorters,  wlio  were  in- 
cessantly laboring  in  its  service.  The  novelty  of  the  methods  adopted, 
and  the  scriptural  simplicity  of  the  doctrines  taught,  attracted  the 
people  in  extraordinary  multitudes,  and  the  congregations  wliich 
greeted  the  itinerants  in  their  four  to  six  weeks'  circuit  in  chapels, 
barns,  or  groves,  were  the  largest  in  the  country.  There  were  now 
more  than  sixty  Methodist  churclies ;  but  these  were  a  small  propor- 
tion of  the  regular  preacliing  places. 

The  northernmost  limit  of  tlie  work  at  this  time  was  Ash  Grove, 
New  York,  It  was  planted  in  most  of  the  counties  in  East  and 
West  Jersey.  In  Pennsylvania,  there  were  Methodist  Societies  in 
Philadelphia,  and  in  the  counties  of  Bucks,  Montgomery,  Chester, 
Lancaster,  Berks,  and  York,  and  in  the  southern  tier  of  counties  as  far 
as  Beaufort.  Methodism  had  already  carried  its  standard  across  the 
AUeghanies,  and  planted  it  in  the  Redstone  settlement.  It  was  also 
extending  its  march  rapidly  up  the  Juniata.  In  Yirginia,  there  were 
Societies  in  ev^ry  county  east  of  the  AUeghanies,  and  over  at  the  head- 
waters of  the  Holston  River.  It  was  also  rapidly  spreading  in  the 
south-eastern  counties  of  North  Carolina,  and  in  1786  preachers  were 
dispatched  to  new  circuits  in  South  Carolina  and  Georgia. 

The  new  Episcopal  organization  was  almost  unanimously  approved 
by  the  membersliip,  who  flocked  to  their  newly-ordained  preachers  lor 
the  sacraments  of  which  they  had  been  so  long  deprived ;  and  the 
labor  of  baptizing  the  children  was  no  small  part  of  their  toil,  hun- 
dreds being  sometimes  baptized  at  a  smgle  meeting. 


CHAPTER  XX. 


PROGRESS   UNDER   DIFFICULTIES. 

BISHOP  COKE  spent  five  months  in  the  country,  after  the  Christ- 
mas Conference,  traveling  and  preaching  incessantly,  and  havings 
to  him,  some  strange  experiences  in  traversing  the  wilderness  and  in 
swimming  the  swollen  rivers.  On  one  occasion  he  was  nearly  drowned 
in  a  swift  current,  where  a  drift-tree  had  lodged  against  the  landing- 
place,  and  where,  in  his  efforts  to  remove  it,  his  horse  was  swept  out 
from  under  him  and  the  tree  thrown  over  upon  his  back.  In  his 
account  of  the  matter  he  says,  "It  was  an  awful  time;  however, 
through  the  blessing  of  my  almighty  Preserver,  to  whom  be  all  the 
glory,  I  at  last  got  my  knee  on  the  tree,  which  I  grasped,  and  then 
soon  disengaging  myself,  climbed  up  the  little  bank.  I  was  now 
obliged  to  walk  about  a  mile,  shivering,  before  I  came  to  a  house." 
His  horse  was  afterward  found  in  the  river  by  a  negro,  who  presumed 
its  rider  was  drowned,  and  therefore  took  possession  of  him,  but  soon 
after  restored  him  to  his  proper  owner. 

Bishop  Coke  an  Abolitionist. — The  most  difficult  of  all 
his  labors  was  that  in  behalf  of  emancipation.  The  action  of  the 
Conference  against  slavery  was  clear  and  distinct.     But  when  Coke 


504  Illustratjed  Histoey  of  Methodism. 

began  to  exhort  tlie  wealthy  members  of  the  Methodist  Societies  to 
emancipate  their  slaves,  he  found  himself  face  to  face  with  a  great 
difficulty.  So  unwelcome  was  the  doctrine  he  preached  on  this  sub- 
ject that  he  was  sometimes  in  danger  of  vi:lence,  and  it  is  said  that 
on  one  occasion  a  Southern  lady  oflEered  a  crowd  of  ruffians  fifty 
pounds  "  if  they  would  give  that  little  Doctor  a  hundred  lashes,"  but 
they  did  not  conclude  the  bargain.  On  account  of  his  labors  in  the 
interest  of  emancipation  he  was  beset  by  mobs,  and  finally  arrested 
by  the  Yirginia  authorities  for  "  sedition ;"  nevertheless  he  was  quite 
successful.     In  his  Journal,  under  date  of  April  12th,  1Y85,  he  says : — 

"  Kennon  has  emancipated  twenty-two  slaves.  These  are  gi-eat 
sacrifices,  for  the  slaves  are  worth,  I  suppose,  upon  an  average,  thirty 
or  forty  pounds  sterling  each,  and  perhaps  more." 

He  also  mentions  one  "  Brother  Martin,"  who,  he  says,  "  has  done 
gloriously,  for  he  has  fully  and  immediately  emancipated  fifteen 
slaves."  This  was  one  of  the  results  of  a  notable  antislavery  sermon 
preached  by  the  Bishop,  which  made  a  great  sensation,  and  caused 
several  other  brethren  besides  Martin  to  emancipate  their  slaves. 
On  the  14th  of  the  same  month  he  writes  :  "  I  have  now  done  with 
my  testimony  against  slavery  for  a  time,  being  got  into  North  Carolina ; 
the  laws  of  this  State  forbidding  any  to  emancipate  their  negroes." 

The  First  Southeru  Conference  was  held  by  Bishop 
Coke  at  this  time  at  the  house  of  a  brother  in  ]^orth  Carohna  named 
Hill.  There  were  about  twenty  preachers  present,  who  reported  an 
increase  in  that  section  of  nine  hundred  and  ninety-one  during  the  year. 
A  preacher  was  sent  to  form  a  new  circuit  in  Georgia,  the  whole 
State  being  given  him  for  his  range.  Two  men  were  also  sent  to  South 
Carohna,  in  the  capital  of  which  State  Mr.  Asbury  had  been  kindly 
received,  and  where,  by  the  labors  of  some  unknown  local  preacher,  a 
society  of  over  a  hundred  members  had  been  brought  together. 

It  is  worthy  of  special  attention,  as  showing  the  attitude  of  early 
Methodism  toward  slavery,  that  at  this  first  Southern  Conference, 
in  1785,  a  petition  to  the  General  Assembly  of  North  Carohna  was 
drawn  up  and  signed  by  the  Conference,  praying  that  an  act  might 
be  passed  permitting  such  as  desired  to  do  so  to  emancipate  their 
slaves.  There  was,  however,  a  very  strong  opposition  on  the  part  of 
the  friendly  planters  to  the  rules  embodied  in  the  DiscipHne  on  the 


The  Fikst  Southeen  Conference.       505 

•subject  of  slavery;  and  Dr.  Coke  says:  "A  great  many  principal 
friends  met  us  here  to  insist  on  a  repeal  of  the  slave  rules  ;  but  when 
they  found  that  we  had  thoughts  of  withdrawing  ourselves  entirely 
from  the  circuit  on  account  of  the  violent  spirit  of  some  leading  men 
they  drew  in  their  horns,  and  sent  us  a  very  humble  letter,  entreating 
that  preachers  might  be  appointed  for  their  circuit." 

Besides  the  memorial  to  the  General  Assembly  of  North  Carolina, 
above  mentioned,  a  petition  was  drawn  up,  and  a  copy  given  to  every 
preacher  to  be  circulated  for  signatures,  "  entreating  the  General  As- 
sembly of  Yirginia  to  pass  a  law  for  the  inmiediate  or  gradual  eman- 
cipation of  all  its  slaves."  Bishop  Coke  records  the  hopefulness  of 
this  measure,  saying  :  "  It  is  to  be  signed  by  all  the  freeholders  we  can 
procure  ;  and  these,  I  believe,  will  not  be  few." 

Tisit  of*  Bishops  Coke  and  Asbnry  to  IVasliing^ton, 
at  Mount  Vernon. — On  their  return  from  the  Southern  Confer- 
ence in  North  CaroHna,  Bishops  Coke  and  Asbury  visited  "Washington, 
at  Mount  Yernon.  Of  this  interview  with  the  most  highly  honored 
man  in  America,  Coke  has  left  the  following  record :  "  He  received  us 
very  politely,  and  was  open  to  access.  He  is  quite  the  plain  country 
gentleman.  After  dinner  we  desired  a  private  interview,  and  opened 
to  him  the  grand  business  on  which  we  came,  presenting  to  him  our 
petition  for  the  emancipation  of  the  negroes,  and  entreating  his  signa- 
ture, if  the  eminence  of  his  station  did  not  render  it  inexpedient  for 
him  to  sign  any  petition.  He  informed  us  that  he  was  of  our  senti- 
ments, and  had  signified  his  thoughts  on  the  subject  to  most  of  the 
great  men  of  the  State ;  that  he  did  not  see  it  proper  to  sign  the  petition ; 
but  if  the  Assembly  took  it  into  consideration  would  signify  his  senti- 
ents  to  the  Assembly  by  a  letter.  He  asked  us  to  spend  the  evening 
"  d  lodge  at  his  house,  but  our  engagement  at  Annapolis  the  follow- 
ing day  would  not  admit  of  it." 

What  there  may  have  been  in  the  position  of  George  Washington, 
who,  at  this  time,  was  a  private  citizen,  holding  no  office,  either  military 
or  civil,  to  prevent  his  signing  the  petition  presented  to  him  by  Coke 
and  Asbury,  it  is  somewhat  difficult  to  discover.  It  was  a  petition  of 
Virginia  freeholders  to  the  General  Assembly  of  their  State,  asking 
the  passage  of  a  law  of  which  Washington  privately  declared  his  appro- 
bation. His  proposal  to  write  a  personal  letter  in  this  interest,  while, 
32 


506  Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 

at  the  same  time  lie  refused  to  sign  a  public  petition,  is  more  creditable 
to  his  caution  than  to  his  courage,  and  shows  by  contrast  how  grandly 
these  Bishops  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  stood  forth  at  first 
before  the  other  great  men  of  their  time,  as  the  pioneers  of  this  grand 
movement  in  favor  of  universal  liberty.  Alas !  that  they  should 
afterward  have  shrunk  before  the  unavoidable  difficulties  of  the  quep 
tion.  The  preachers  were  with  them ;  the  leading  statesmen  of  th 
nation  were  with  them ;  and  many  of  the  lay  Methodist  slaveholders 
were  with  them  :  but  so  strong  was  the  pressure  on  the  other  side, 
that  not  many  weeks  after  Coke  had  left  Yirginia  he  and  Asbury 
conceded  to  the  Conference  in  Baltimore  the  suspension  of  the  rules 
on  slavery,  and  they  were  never  again  fully  enforced ;  though  a 
decided  declaration  of  opinion  was  recorded  against  the  evil.* 

Bishop  Coke  Departs  for  England. — On  the  1st  of 
June,  1Y85,  Coke  and  Asbury  met  the  preachers  in  conference  at  Bal- 
timore. As  Coke  was  to  leave  for  Europe  the  next  day,  they  pro- 
longed their  session  till  midnight,  and  early  in  the  morning  the  depart- 
ing bishop  preached  to  them,  taking  for  his  text  the  following  passage, 
from  Paul's  exhortation  to  the  elders  at  Ephesus,  as  recorded  in  the 
twentieth  chapter  of  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  : — 

"  Take  heed  therefore  unto  yourselves,  and  to  all  the  flock,  over  the  which  the 
Holy  Ghost  hath  made  you  overseers,  to  feed  the  Church  of  God,  which  he  hath 
purchased  with  his  own  blood.  For  I  know  this,  that  after  my  departing  shall 
grievous  wolves  enter  in  among  you,  not  sparing  the  flock.  Also  of  your  own 
selves  shall  men  arise,  speaking  perverse  things,  to  draw  away  disciples  after 
them.  Therefore  watch,  and  remember,  that  by  the  space  of  three  years  I  ceased 
not  to  warn  every  one  night  and  day  with  tears.  And  now,  brethren,  I  com- 
mend you  to  God,  and  to  the  word  of  his  grace,  which  is  able  to  build  you  up, 
and  to  give  you  an  inheritance  among  all  them  which  are  sanctified.  I  have 
coveted  no  man's  silver,  or  gold,  or  apparel.  Yea,  ye  yourselves  know,  that 
these  hands  have  ministered  unto  my  necessities,  and  to  them  that  were  with  me. 
I  have  showed  you  all  things,  how  that  so  laboring  ye  ought  to  supj)ort  the 
weak,  and  to  remember  the  words  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  how  he  said,  It  is  more 
t  lessed  to  give  than  to  receive. 

"And  when  he  had  thus  spoken,  he  kneeled  down,  and  prayed  with  them  all. 
And  they  all  wept  sore,  and  fell  on  Paul's  neck,  and  kissed  him,  sorrowing  most 
of  all  for  the  words  which  he  spake,  that  they  should  see  his  face  no  more.  And 
they  accompanied  him  unto  the  ship." 

*  Stevens's  "  History  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,"  vol.  ii,  p.  252. 


Wesley's  Defense  of  Bishop  Coke.  507 

Wesley's  Defense  of  Bishop  Coke. — On  the  return  of 
Coke  from  America  he  was  attacked  by  Charles  Wesley  for  his  Epis- 
copal doings  at  Baltimore ;  but  he  vindicated  himself  by  appealing  to 
the  authority  of  John  Wesley,  though  he  acknowledged  that  in  one  of 
his  sermons  at  Baltimore  he  had  used  language  unduly  severe  toward 
the  Anghcan  Establishment;  an  offense  which,  in  the  eyes  of  his 
accuser,  was  scarcely  to  be  forgiven.  Charles  Wesley  also  accused 
Cote  of  being  "  ambitious  and  rash,"  in  view  of  the  fact  that  he  had 
accepted  from  the  American  brethren  the  nominal,  as  well  as  actual, 
position  of  "  Bishop."  Upon  this  John  Wesley  came  to  the  defense 
of  his  American  envoy,  and  replied  to  his  brother  Charles  in  the 
following  words;  which  are  commended  to  the  attention  of  those 
who  declare  that  Wesley  did  not  intend  that  Coke  and  Asbury  should 
be  Bishops  of  an  Episcopal  Methodism  in  America : — 

"  I  beheve,"  says  Wesley,  "  Dr.  Coke  is  as  free  from  ambition  as 
from  covetousness.  He  has  done  nothing  rashly  that  I  know ;  but  he 
has  sjpoken  rashly,  which  he  retracted  the  moment  I  spoke  to  him  of  it. 
.  .  .  He  is  now  such  a  right  hand  to  me  as  Thomas  Walsh  was ;  if 
you  will  not  or  cannot  help  me  yourself,  do  not  hinder  those  who  can 
and  will." 

If  Wesley  had  not  intended  to  confer  Episcopal  powers  upon  Dr. 
Coke  it  is  incredible  that  he  could  use  such  strong  language  in  defend- 
ing him  against  the  aspersions  of  his  own  brother,  Charles,  who  attacked 
him  at  this  precise  point.  Fully  sustained  by  Mr.  Wesley,  Coke  re- 
sumed his  missionary  tours  throughout  the  United  Kingdom,  preach- 
ing to  great  congregations,  and  kindhng  new  enthusiasm  among  the 
Societies  in  the  interest  of  foreign  missions. 

Bishop  Coke's  Second  Tisit  to  the  United  States. 
— Having  organized  the  mirr^.on  work  in  the  West  Indies,  Bishop  Coke 
sailed  on  the  10th  of  February,  1Y8Y,  for  Charleston,  S.  C. 

The  Society  here  had  prospered  in  spite  of  the  difficulties  arising 
from  its  position  on  the  slavery  question,  and  both  whites  and  blacks 
labored  together  for  the  erection  of  the  new  Methodist  chapel ;  a  build- 
ing which,  Stevens  says,  "  accommodated  fifteen  hundred  hearers,"  and 
which  Coke  describes  as  "  worth  a  thousand  pounds  sterling,"  although 
there  were  only  forty  white  persons  in  the  Society. 

Here  Bishops  Coke  and  Asbury  again  met  and  held  the  first  Con- 


508  Illusteated  History  of  Methodism. 

ference  in  the  State  of  South  Carolina,  the  Georgia  preachers  also 
being  present.  There  was  no  riot  or  mob  on  this  occasion,  but  peace, 
harmony,  and  joy  prevailed  in  view  of  the  rapid  progress  of  the  work 
of  God. 

The  Conference  being  over,  Asbury  provided  his  brother  Bishop 
with  a  good  horse,  and  they  set  out  together  on  a  grand  preaching  tour. 
The  roads  were  generally  bad,  the  forests  dense,  and  the  swamps  fre- 
quent and  frightful ;  nevertheless,  they  pushed  on,  making  in  one  week 
a  distance  of  over  three  hundred  miles,  and  preaching  every  day. 

"  The  preachers,"  writes  Coke,  "  ride  here  about  a  hundred  miles  a 
week ;  but  the  swamps  and  morasses  they  have  to  pass  through  it  is 
tremendous  to  relate.  Though  it  is  now  the  month  of  April,  I  was 
above  my  knees  in  water  on  horseback  in  passing  through  a  deep 
morass,  and  that  when  it  was  almost  dark.  ...  In  travehng  our  rides 
are  so  long  that  we  are  frequently  on  horseback  till  midnight." 

But  he  delights  in  his  adventurous  ministry.  "I  have  got,"  he 
continues,  "  into  my  old  romantic  way  of  life ;  preaching  in  the  midst 
of  great  forests,  with  scores  and  sometimes  hundreds  of  horses  tied  to 
the  trees ;  a  sight  which  adds  much  interest  to  the  scene."  He  was  sur- 
prised at  the  triumphant  progress  of  Methodism  in  these  Southern 
regions.  "  Much  of  the  glory  and  of  the  hand  of  God,"  he  writes,  "  have 
I  seen  in  riding  through  the  circuit  called  Pedee,  in  South  Carolina. 
When  I  was  in  America  before  there  were  but  twenty  in  Society  in  this 
-circuit ;  and  it  was  much  doubted  at  the  Conference  whether  it  would 
be  for  the  glory  of  God  to  send  even  one  preacher  to  this  part  of  the 
country.  But  now,  chiefly  by  the  means  of  two  young  men,  Hope 
Hull  and  Jeremiah  Maston,  the  Societies  consist  of  eight  hundred  and 
twenty-three  members ;  and  no  less  than  two  and  twenty  preaching- 
houses  have  been  erected  in  this  single  circuit  in  the  course  of  the  last 
year," 

When  they  reached  Halifax  County,  Ya.,  where  Coke,  in  his 
former  tour,  was  presented  by  the  grand  jury  as  a  seditious  person  on 
account  of  his  antislavery  exhortations,  they  now  received  him  "  with 
perfect  peace  and  quietness."  A  rampant  slaveholder,  who  had  pur- 
sued him  with  a  gun  in  order  to  shoot  him,  had  been  converted  to 
God,  and  become  a  member  of  the  Society.  In  Mecklenburgh  County 
he  preached  to  about  four  thousand  people,  the  largest  congregation  he 


Coke's  Second  Visit  to  Ameeica.  50^ 

had  ever  seen  in  America,  tlioiigh  "  there  was  no  town  within  a  great 
many  miles."  A  Conference  was  held  here  in  the  primeval  forest, 
and  on  such  occasions,  as  well  as  at  the  minor  quarterly  conferences,, 
the  people  came  scores  of  miles  to  attend  these  high  religious  festivals. 

At  this  Conference  good  news  reached  them  from  beyond  the 
mountains.  "  Haw,  one  of  our  elders,"  says  Coke,  "  who  last  year  was 
sent  with  a  preacher  to  Kentucky,  on  the  banks  of  the  Ohio  near  the 
Mississippi,  wrote  to  us  a  most  enlivening  account  of  the  prospect  in 
his  district,  and  earnestly  implored  some  further  assistance.  'But 
observe,'  added  he,  '  no  one  must  be  appointed  for  this  country  that  is 
afraid  to  die !  For  there  is  now  war  with  the  Indians,  who  frequently 
lurk  behind  the  trees,  shoot  the  travelers,  and  then  scalp  them  ;  and 
we  have  one  Society  on  the  very  frontiers  of  the  Indian  country.' 
After  this  letter  was  read  a  blessed  young  man  (Brother  Williamson) 
offered  himself  as  a  volunteer  for  this  dangerous  work.  What  can  wo 
not  do  or  suffer  when  the  love  of  Christ  constrains ! " 

The  Bishops  reached  Baltimore  on  the  1st  of  May,  at  which  time 
and  place  the  Northern  Conference  for  the  year  1Y87  was  held  ;  it  hav- 
ing been  changed  from  its  appointed  date  of  July  24th,  to  accommo- 
date Bishop  Coke.  At  this  Conference  additions  to  the  Societies 
were  reported  to  the  astonishing  number  of  six  thousand  six  hundred 
in  a  single  year.  No  wonder  Coke  exulted  as  he  beheld  the  glorious 
success  of  the  Church,  of  which  he  was  the  first  Bishop.  Two  elders 
and  eleven  deacons  were  ordained  at  this  Conference,  and  another 
young  man  offered  himself  as  a  volunteer  for  what  was  then  the  almost 
unexplored  wilderness  of  Kentucky.  From  the  Baltimore  Conference 
the  Bisliops  paid  a  visit  to  New  York,  from  which  place  Coke  returned 
to  Philadelphia,  whence  he  embarked  again  for  Europe  on  the  25th  of 
June,  1787. 

Cokcsbury  College.  — On  Sunday,  the  6th  of  June,  1785. 
Bishop  Asbury,  with  great  solemnity,  laid  the  corner-stone  of  the  first 
Methodist  college  in  America,  at  Abingdon,  in  Maryland,  about  eight- 
een miles  east  of  Baltimore. 

The  establishment  of  this  school  had  been  agreed  upon  at  the 
Cliristmas  Conference,  and  nearly  $5,000  had  been  raised  for  the  pur- 
se, which  in  those  days  was  a  very  large  sum  of  money,  and  the 
raising  of  it  among  the  Methodist  Societies  of  that  day  is  greatly  to 


510  Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 

their  honor.  The  name,  as  it  is  evident  at  first  sight,  belongs  to  the 
composite  order,  the  word  having  been  constructed  for  the  purpose  of 
complimenting  both  tbe  American  Bishops  in  the  name  of  the  first 
Methodist  college.  The  management  was  committed  to  a  board  of 
fifteen  trustees ;  five  of  whom,  namely,  John  Chalmers,  Henry  Willis, 
Nelson  Reed,  Richard  Whatcoat,  and  Joseph  Everett,  were  traveling 
preachers. 

The  building  for  which  Coke  contracted,  but  whose  commence- 
ment he  could  not  stay  to  witness,  was  one  hundred  and  eight  feet 
in  length  from  East  to  West,  forty  in  breadth,  and  three  stories  in 
height.  It  stood  in  a  campus  of  six  acres,  and  commanded  one  of  the 
most  magnificent  views  imaginable,  comprising  portions  of  the  Yalley 
of  the  Susquehanna,  and  of  the  beautiful  shores  of  the  Chesapeake  Bay. 

In  December,  1787,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Heath,  a  middle-aged  clerg^anan 
sent  out  from  England  by  Mr.  Wesley  for  the  purpose,  was  publicly 
inaugurated  as  President ;  with  the  Quaker,  Truman  Marsh,  and 
Patrick  M'Closkey,  whose  name  is  sufiiciently  suggestive  of  his  na- 
tionality, as  professors.     The  number  of  students  was  now  twenty-five. 

For  a  small  college  the  ceremonies  connected  with  this  occasion 
were  somewhat  extensive ;  the  entire  programme  occupying  no  less 
than  three  days,  on  each  of  which  Bishop  Asbury  preached  a  sermon. 
His  text,  on  the  second  day,  Sunday,  was  from  2  Kings  iv,  40 :  "  O 
thou  man  of  God,  there  is  death  in  the  pot."  Whether  the  choice  of 
this  text  was  suggested  by  the  fears  of  the  good  Bishop  that  the 
higher  scholarship  of  American  Methodism  would  sink  to  the  level  of 
that  of  Oxford  and  Cambridge,  or  whether  he  had  a  vivid  sense  of  the 
early  troubles  in  Mr.  Wesley's  school  at  Kingswood,  or  still  again, 
whether  he  possessed  a  sad  foreboding  of  the  misfortunes  which  were 
to  befall  this  college,  it  is  not  possible  now  to  determine,  but  the  text 
is  suggestive  of  all  three. 

For  a  time  the  school  prospered  greatly.  Its  advantages,  as  well 
as  the  beauty  of  its  surroundings,  made  Abingdon  an  attractive  place 
of  residence.  In  1789  it  was  blessed  with  a  great  revival  of  religion  ; 
and  in  1792  it  reported  over  seventy  students,  who,  besides  the  English 
branches,  received  instruction  in  the  French,  German,  Latin,  Greek, 
and  Hebrew  languages. 

In  the  Discipline  of  1789  is  given  a  detailed  statement  of  'the 


CoKESBURY  College.  511 

design  and  order  of  the  institution.  The  college  was  to  be  under  the 
prcBidcntBliip  of  tlio  T^iHliops  ;  to  be  supported  \)y  a  yearly  collection 
throughout  the  circuits :  the  sons  of  the  Mctliodist  preachers  and 
poor  orplians  were  to  be  received  as  charity  students,  and  were  to  be 
clothed,  as  well  as  taught  and  l)oardcd  at  the  college  expense :  the 
young  men  were  to  be  trained  "  in  the  ancient  way,  that  they  might 
be  rational,  scriptural  Cliristians :"  in  teaching  the  languages  care 
was  to  be  taken  "to  read  those  authors,  and  those  only,  who  joined  to- 
gether the  purity,  the  strength,  and  the  elegance  of  their  several 
tongues."  Students  were  required  to  rise  at  five  in  the  morning, 
summer  and  winter ;  to  study  seven  hours  a  day,  with  intervals  for 
recreation,  which  comprised  the  practical  studies  of  agriculture  and 
architecture ;  a  large  plot  of  ground  being  laid  out  as  a  kitchen-garden, 
and  a  workshop  being  provided,  stocked  with  carpenters',  cabinet 
makers',  and  turners'  tools.  T^^^  building,  apparatus,  and  library  cost 
upward  of  ten  tliousand  pounds  ;  and  thus,  like  most  of  its  successors, 
this  first  Methodist  college  commenced  its  career  burdened  with  a 
heavy  debt.  Asbury  struggled  manfully  to  keep  its  head  above  water, 
and  for  some  years  it  was  substantially  a  Churcli  school ;  but  in  an 
evil  day  the  trustees,  with  the  consent  of  the  Bishops  but  without  the 
consent  of  all  the  Conferences,  obtained  an  act  of  incorporation  which 
secured  to  their  board,  to  the  exclusion  of  the  Conference,  the  entire 
control  of  the  institution.  No  small  dissatisfaction  was  caused  by 
this  step,  but  the  quarrel  ended  in  smoke  ;  for  on  the  4tli  of  JDecember, 
1795,  ten  years  after  it  was  opened,  the  college  was  set  on  fire  and 
burned  to  the  ground.* 

Asbury,  who  was  in  Cliarlcston,  S.  C,  when  he  received  the  news, 
wrote  in  his  Journal :  "  We  have  now  a  second  and  confirmed  account 
that  Cokesbury  College  is  consumed  to  ashes,  a  sacrifice  of  £10,000  in 
about  ten  years.  Its  enemies  may  rejoice,  and  its  friends  need  not 
mourn.  If  any  man  should  give  me  £10,000  per  year  to  do  and  suf- 
fer again  what  I  have  done  for  that  house  I  would  not  do  it.  The 
Lord  called  not  Mr.  Whitcfield  nor  the  Methodists  to  build  colleges. 
I  wished  only  for  schools — Dr.  Coke  wanted  a  college.  I  feel  dis- 
tressed at  the  loss  of  the  library." 

♦  "Early  Methodism  in  Baltimore,"  by  Rov.  W.  Hamilton.     Methodist    Quarterly  Review, 

July,  1856. 


512  Illusteated  Histoky  of  Methodism. 

A  Dancings  Hall  Transformed  into  a  Methodist 
School-house. — "No  wajs  discouraged  by  this  severe  calamity, 
seventeen  of  the  principal  Methodists  of  Baltimore  met  together  to 
take  measures  to  supply  the  place  of  Cokesbury  College.  One  of  the 
principal  opponents  oi  Methodism  in  Baltimore  was  a  Mr.  Brydon, 
the  landlord  of  the  Fountain  Inn ;  the  aristocratic  house  in  those 
times.  Merchants,  army  officers,  and  other  distinguished  persons,  Gen- 
eral "Washington  among  them,  were  his  guests.  Brydon  had  been 
a  barber  to  some  of  the  Enghsh  officers  during  the  Revolution,  and 
had  settled  in  Baltimore  on  the  conclusion  of  peace.  He  was  a 
staunch  defender  of  the  Church  of  England ;  and  by  way  of  exhib- 
iting his  Churchmanship,  he  took  special  pains  to  show  his  contempt 
for  the  Methodists. 

It  was  not  only  for  the  purpose  of  furnishing  a  place  of  fashionable 
amusement,  but  also  to  vex  the  Methodists,  that  Brydon  built  a  danc- 
ing-hall next  door  to  the  Light-street  Church ;  and  when  it  was  ready 
for  use  he  systematically  held  his  balls  and  concerts  on  the  same 
nights  with  the  Methodist  meetings.  "  It  was  a  strange  sight  to  look 
upon,"  says  one  of  the  old  Baltimoreans,  "  fiddling  and  dancing  going 
on  in  one  room,  and  singing  and  praying  in  the  next,  within  hearing 
of  each  otlier."  In  the  midst  of  the  dance  a  shout  would  sometimes 
be  heard  in  the  Methodist  camp  over  the  conversion  of  a  soul,  or 
in  view  of  some  high  experience  related  by  a  believer ;  whereupon  the 
dancers  would  break  from  the  set  and  run  to  the  windows  to  ascertain 
the  cau52^  indulging,  doubtless,  in  noises  of  another  sort,  which  were 
by  no  means  edifying  to  the  meeting. 

But  the  singing  and  praying  proved  to  be  more  than  a  match  for 
the  fiddling  and  dancing.  Moreover,  the  conduct  of  Brydon  began  to 
be  blamed  by  sensible  people,  who  regarded  the  war  as  having  secured 
to  every  one  the  privilege  of  worshiping  God  according  to  the  dictates 
of  his  own  conscience.  The  attendance  at  the  dancing-hall  waned, 
while  that  at  the  church  increased ;  and  Brydon,  who  had  expended 
much  money  on  his  hall  of  pleasure,  .which  was  the  most  elegant 
building  in  the  town,  began  to  be  anxious  to  dispose  of  the  property. 
His  hiring  some  ruffians  to  break  up  one  of  the  meetings  greatly 
hastened  his  downfall,  for  his  guests  took  up  the  subject  next  morning 
at  breakfast,  and  remembering  that  Brydon  had  been  in  the  British 


LiGHT-STEEET    ChTJROH,  BALTIMORE. 


5ia 


service,  and  that  he  was  a  Tory  as  well  as  a  Churchman,  they  declared 
that  his  conduct  was  an  insult  to  the  American  people ;  and,  packing 
up  their  effects,  they  left  the  Fountain  Inn  in  a  body. 

This  same  dancing-hall  was  the  building  which  the  Baltimore 
Methodists  purchased  for  an  academy  to  succeed  the  iU-fated  Cokes- 
bury  college.  The  purchase  money  was  fifteen  hundred  and  thirty 
pounds,  six  hundred  pounds  of  which  was  raised  by  solicitation  from 
house  to  house,  after  the  members  of  the  Society  had  subscribed  seven 
hundred  pounds  among  themselves ;  the  remaining  two  hundred  and 
thirty  pounds  being  secured  in  the  names  of  the  seventeen  brethren 
who  had  inaugurated  the  movement. 


THE  OLD  LIGHT-STKEET  PARSONAGE. 


But  the  academy  was  no  more  fortunate  than  the  college.  For 
awhile  it  was  quite  a  popular  institution,  and  contained  at  one  time 
as  many  as  two  hundred  pupils,  but  before  the  end  of  its  first  year  a 
fire  broke  out  in  a  neighboring  carpenter's  she  p,  and  both  the  academy 
and  the  Light-street  Church  were  destroyed.  This  fire  occurred  on 
the  4th  of  December,  1796. 

The  Old  Iii§^ht-street  Parsonage,  which  disappeared 
along  with  the  old  Light-street  Church  a  few  years  since,  was  for  a 
long  time  one  of  the  most  notable  Methodist  edifices  in  America.  It 
stood  in  the  rear  of  Brydon's  dancing-hall,  being  then  used  as  a  dress- 


514  Illusteated  Histokt  of  Methodism. 

ang  room  ;  and  after  the  fire  it  was  purchased  for  a  parsonage,  and  the 
JSTew  Light-street  Church  was  erected  over  the  ruins  of  the  hall. 

After  the  fire,  which  destroyed  the  hall  and  church,  a  conference 
room  was  fitted  up  in  the  garret  of  the  parsonage,  its  partitions  being 
removed  and  the  roof  supported  by  pillars.  This  upper  room,  or  gar- 
ret, was  reached  by  the  flight  of  steps  shown  in  the  picture.  It  was 
the  scene  of  many  a  conference,  both  quarterly  and  annual,  and  under 
these  rafters,  for  the  first  forty  years  of  the  history  of  the  Church, 
more  councils  were  held,  more  questions  debated,  and  more  plans 
determined,  than  in  any  other  one  house  in  the  whole  Connection. 
The  preacher's  office,  which  was  the  business  head-quarters  of  the  de- 
nomination in  Maryland  and  Virginia,  was  on  the  first  floor  of  the  old 
parsonage,  and  on  the  floor  above  was  the  residence  of  Bishop  Asbury ; 
containing  his  meager  library,  which,  with  the  horses  he  wore  out  in 
his  tireless  journeys  up  and  down  the  continent,  comprised  nearly  the 
sum  total  of  his  worldly  goods.  When  he  was  in  health  he  journeyed 
in  the  saddle ;  when  he  was  sick  he  took  refuge  in  a  Jersey  wagon,  or 
a  heavy,  lumbering,  two-horse  chaise;  and  if,  besides  his  saddle  and 
his  carriage  he  may  be  said  to  have  possessed  any  home  on  earth,  it  was 
his  humble  bachelor  quarters  in  the  Light-street  parsonage. 

Male  Free  8ehool,  Baltimore. — The  successor,  though 
not  the  heir,  of  Cokesbury  College,  was  the  Male  Free  School  of  Balti- 
more, which  had  its  beginning  in  this  same  parsonage  garret.  It  was 
organized  by  the  Rev.  George  Roberts,  at  the  time  of  the  first  yellow 
fever  epidemic  in  Baltimore,  as  a  public  charity  for  the  benefit  of  the 
poor  orphans  whose  parents  had  died  of  the  fever.  It  was  supported 
by  personal  contributions  from  people  of  all  rehgious  persuasions,  and 
still  remains  a  flourishing  institution,  though  it  is  no  longer  exclusively 
a  male  school. 

The  Bishop  of  North  America. — Being  now  alone  in 
charge  of  the  whole  work,  Asbury  felt  moved,  if  possible,  to  increase 
his  already  incredible  labors,  and  to  make  himself  felt  as  much  as 
possible  throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of  the  Church;  which 
length  and  breadth  he  was  constantly  planning  to  extend. 

From  Philadelphia,  where  Coke  embarked  for  Europe  on  the  25th 
of  June,  1Y8Y,  Asbury  made  his  way  as  far  north  as  "West  Point,  on 
the  Hudson,  addressing  audiences  sometimes  numbering  a  thousand 


Bishop  of  North  America.  515 

j.eople  in  the  forests,  and  praising  God  for  tlie  privilege  of  suffering 
and  toiKng  in  liis  name.  The  solitary  woods  through  which  he  jour- 
neyed by  rides  of  from  twenty  to  fifty  miles  a  day,  were  especially 
delightful  to  his  soul.  There  are  indications  that  he  possessed  a  sen- 
sitive and  poetic  nature,  which  would  have  been  more  apparent  in  his 
words  and  work,  if  he  had  not  been  constantly  taxed  to  the  utmost, 
even  beyond  his  strength,  "  In  traveling  thus,"  he  says,  "  I  suffer 
much  from  hunger  and  cold.  O  what  a  weariness  would  life  be  with- 
out God,  and  love,  and  labor !  I  am  happy  in  being  alone,  and  pcmr 
out  my  soul  to  God  for  the  whole  work,  and  the  dear  people  and 
preachers  of  my  charge." 

Southward  now,  again,  to  Charleston;  where  he  holds  a  Confer- 
ence, and  is  mobbed  in  the  church ;  the  services  ending  in  "  di-eadful 
confusion."  On  the  evening  of  the  same  day,  however,  he  preaches 
again,  when  the  mob  attack  the  church  with  stones,  one  of  which 
crashes  through  a  window  and  strikes  near  the  preacher  in  the  pulpit. 
The  missile,  however,  only  helps  to  punctuate  his  discourse,  which  he 
proceeds  to  finish  regardless  of  the  uproar  without ;  and  on  reviewing 
his  experience,  he  remarks  :  "  I  have  more  liberty  to  preach  in  Charles- 
ton this  visit  than  I  ever  had  before,  and  am  of  opinion  that  God  will 
work  here,  but  our  friends  are  afraid  of  the  cross." 

This  rough  reception  in  the  capital  of  South  Carolina  was  doubt- 
less in  consequence  of  the  efforts  in  favor  of  the  emancipation  of  the 
slaves  which  had  distinguished  the  labors  of  Coke  and  Asbury  in  this 
region  the  previous  year.  He  appears  to  have  spent  this  winter  at  the 
South,  exploring  the  wilderness  of  South  Carolina  and  Georgia,  into 
which  a  tide  of  immigration  was  pouring  from  the  North,  and  where 
he  was  preparing  to  follow  it  up  with  the  means  of  grace.  There 
were  already  seven  regular  itinerants  and  four  probationers  riding 
their  circuits  in  this  far-away  region,  with  whom  he  held  a  little 
Conference  at  the  Forks  of  Broad  Eiver,  on  the  9th  of  April,  1Y88 ; 
at  which  he  learned,  greatly  to  his  delight,  that  the  seed  which  was 
80^vn  had  already  sprung  up.  "  Many,"  says  he,  "  that  had  no  religion 
in  Virginia,  have  found  it  after  their  removal  into  Georgia  and  South 
arolina." 
He  now  directed  his  course  toward  the  Holstein  country,  over  the 
Alleghanies ;  the  most  distant  region  of  the  West  known  to  his  geog- 


516 


Illusteated  Histoey  of  Methodism. 


raphy.  The  crossing  of  these  mountains  was  no  easy  task,  but  there- 
were  souls  to  be  saved  among  the  straggling  settlements  in  Eastern  Ten- 
nessee and  Kentucky,  and  therefore  he,  being  a  chief  shepherd,  must 
go  and  search  for  these  scattered  sheep  in  the  wilderness. 

After  what  he  calls  "an  awful  journey"  up  and  down  the  steep ■ 
and  slippery  trails,  using  his  horse  as  a  bridge  for  the  streams,  and 
camping  at  night  on  the  floors  of  log-cabins,  soaked  with  the  rain  and' 


'w-  -^^v*^  ^.  \,v 


A  FRONTIEE    RESIDENCE. 


shivering  with  cold,  he  reached  the  scene  of  the  first  Conference  m' 
the  Tennessee  country,  at  Key's  "Woods. 

It  is  interesting  to  note,  in  Asbury's  early  Journals,  the  personal 
relations  of  friendship  and  helpfulness  which  the  frontier  Methodists 
sustained  to  each  other.  Instead  of  mentioning  the  names  of  towns 
or  villages,  or  even  settlements,  where  he  is  entertained  from  time  to 
time,  he  gives  the  names  of  the  brethren  who  showed  him  hospitality ; . 
thus :  "  At  the  head  of  the  Wautaga  we  fed,  and  reached  Ward's  that 
night."  "  After  taking  a  little  rest  here,  we  set  out  next  morning  for 
Brother  Coxe's,  on  Holstein  Kiver."  Again :  "  I  fed  at  I.  Smith's, 
and  prayed  with  the  family."  "And  now,  after  riding  seventy-five 
miles,  I  have  thirty-five  miles  more  to  General  Russell's."  "  Midnight 
brought  us  up  at  Janes's,  after  riding  forty,  or  perhaps  fifty,  miles. "^" 
"After   a   quarterly   meeting   at   Clarksburg,  where   we  stopped  at 


PlONEERrNG.  517 

'Colonel  Jackson's,"  he  says,  "we  rode  thirty  miles  to  Father  Ham- 
mond's."    There  are  continual  records  to  the  same  effect. 

At  Father  Hammond's  he  takes  a  retrospect  of  his  journey  over 
the  Alleghanies,  though  he  does  not  use  much  time  in  recording  it, 
for  he  only  arrives  at  midnight,  and  is  up  again  at  five  o'clock  the 
next  morning.  "My  mind,"  he  says,  "has  been  severely  tried  under 
the  great  fatigue  endured  both  by  myself  and  my  horse.  O  how  glad 
should  I  be  of  a  plain,  clean  plank  to  He  on,  as  preferable  to  most  of 
the  beds ;  and  where  the  beds  are  in  a  bad  state,  the  floors  are  worse. 
The  gnats  are  almost  as  troublesome  here  as  the  mosquitoes  in  the  low- 
lands of  the  seaboard.  This  country  wiU  require  much  work  to  make 
it  tolerable.  The  people  are,  many  of  them,  of  the  boldest  cast  of 
adventurers,  and  with  some  the  decencies  of  civilized  society  are 
scarcely  regarded.  On  the  one  hand,  savage  warfare  teaches  them  to 
be  cruel;  and  on  the  other,  the  preaching  of  Antinomians  poisons 
them  with  error  in  doctrine.  Good  moralists  they  are  not,  and  good 
Christians  they  cannot  be,  unless  they  are  better  taught." 

Pioneering'. — Asbury  seemed  to  carry  the  wliolc  country  in  his 
heart,  and  in  their  hearts  both  preachers  and  people  carried  tlieir 
matchless  Bishop.  He  was  the  leading  and  controlling  spirit  of  the 
little  army  of  itinerants  who  kept  the  Gospel  sounding  up  and  down 
the  continent ;  pushing  their  circuits  under  his  direction  out  into  the 
wilderness,  close  on  the  track  of  the  boldest  frontiersmen.  They 
were  continually  in  peril  of  their  lives,  from  cold  and  exposure, 
from  breaking  their  necks  on  mountain  precipices,  from  drowning  in 
rivers  which  had  no  bridges,  from  being  transfixed  by  the  arrow  of 
some  skulking  Indian,  or  dying  in  the  hands  of  mobs  of  semi-barba- 
rous white  men  who  had  a  constitutional  hatred  for  all  ministers,  more 
especially  these;  but  with  a  courage  which  amounted  to  exultation 
they  kept  steadily  at  work,  gladdened  by  the  wonderful  success  of  the 
word  which  they  preached,  and  conscious  that  the  eye  of  their  heroic 
Bishop  was  watching,  and  his  great  soul  planning,  their  campaigns,  and 
that  his  toils  and  sufferings  were  often  greater  than  their  own. 

Heroism  is  a  loadstone  which  fails  not  to  attract  the  hearts  which 
are  true  as  steel.  On  this  principle  it  must  have  been  that  the  very 
difficulties  and  privations  of  the  itinerants  helped  to  fill  their  ranks,  and 
to  call  out  two  or  three  recruits  to  :ake  the  place  of  every  man  that 


518  Illusteated  History  of  Methodism. 

fell.  They  knew  at  the  outset  that  they  must  carry  their  lives  in  th-^sir 
hands ;  but  this  they  could  do  all  the  more  easily  because  they  had  so 
little  else  to  carry. 

Here  is  a  preacher  on  a  salary  of  sixty-four  dollars  a  year,  pro- 
vided he  could  get  so  much ;  and  if  he  received  any  more  he  carried 
the  sui-plus  up  to  Conference  to  help  out  the  stipends  of  his  less  fortu- 
nate brethren — here  is  a  preacher  starting  out  on  his  way  to  his  dis- 
tant frontier  circuit.  He  fares  well  enough  at  the  Methodist  taverns 
of  Brother  Jones,  or  Father  Hayward,  or  Brother  Smith ;  but  having 
passed  the  last  of  them,  he  finds  no  other  bed  but  the  ground,  and  no 
other  roof  but  the  sky.  Under  these  circumstances  he  fastens  his  horse, 
unrolls  his  blanket,  kneels  down  and  performs  his  evening  devotions 
with  a  freedom  and  fervor  which  makes  many  an  echo  in  the  soHtary 
woods,  and  then,  with  his  saddle  for  a  pillow,  he  lies  down  to  dream 
of  preaching  great  sermons,  and  seeing  the  forest  full  of  sinners  in 
quiring  what  they  must  do  to  be  saved. 

"With  break  of  day  he  springs  to  his  feet,  shivering  with  cold  and 
perhaps  shaking  with  ague,  makes  his  breakfast  off  an  ear  of  raw  corn, 
M-hich  he  shares  with  his  faithful  four-footed  companion,  or  a  frozen 
turnip  which  he  has  picked  up  in  crossing  a  field ;  or,  wanting  these 
comforts  of  civilized  life,  he  gnaws  the  bark  or  the  root  of  some 
shrub  or  tree ;  and  having  looked  well  to  the  wants  of  his  horse,  he 
mounts  and  begins  his  day's  journey,  which  he  enlivens  from  time  to 
time  with  the  practice  of  his  intended  sermons,  or  the  verses  of  some 
of  the  grand  old  Methodist  hymns. 

Has  lie  a  Horse  ? — A  horse  was  indispensable  to  the  itinerant, 
and  the  people  of  the  circuits  were  expected  to  see  that  their  preacher 
was  provided  with  one;  just  as  now  they  are  expected  to  provide 
him  a  parsonage ;  that  is,  in  case  it  were  a  well-to-do  circuit,  and  the 
preacher  a  full  member  of  Conference.  But  the  probationers  must  find 
a  horse  for  themselves,  and  every  new  candidate  must  present  himself 
ready-mounted. 

To  the  great  questions  of  his  examination,  such  as  these,  ""Is 
this  man  traly  converted  ? "  "  Does  he  know  and  keep  our  rules  ? " 
"  Can  he  preach  acceptably  ? "  there  was  added  this  other  one, 
never  before  set  down  in  any  such  catechism,  namely,  "  Has  he  a 
horse?" 


PlONEEKIJSTG. 


519 


The  old  fable  of  tlie  Centaurs  was  never  so  fully  realized  as  in  tlie 
early  Methodist  preachers.  The  horses,  it  is  true,  were  not  in  regular 
orders,  nevertheless,  they  were  a  very  vital  portion  of  the  regular  ti-av- 
eling  ministry  ;  while  for  sound  judgment  as  to  the  points  and  value 
of  that  useful  animal,  the  "saddle-bags  men"  were  rarely,  if  ever, 
excelled.  Ancient  history  has  drawn  the  portrait  of  Bncephalus,  the 
war-horse  of  Alexander  the  Great.     Alas !  that  none  of  the  early  his- 


^  -^?^;?^- 


A    "  SADDLE-BAGS    MAI^." 

torians  in  their  pioneer  chronicles  have  recorded  the  name  and  fame 
of  some  of  those  four-footed  servants  of  the  Chnrch,  which,  besides 
the  usual  duties  of  their  station,  were  often  required  to  serve  as  guides 
in  the  wilderness,  bridges  to  the  rivers,  safety  in  a  race  for  life  before 
mobs  and  Indians,  and  which  were  honored  as  creatures  of  their  kind 
never  were  honored  before,  by  being  held  as  an  essential  part  of  the 
qualification  for  the  holy  office  of  the  ministry. 


520  Illusteated  Histoey  of  Methodism. 

Richmond  IVolley. — As  a  specimen  of  the  persistent  search 
for  souls  in  the  fringes  of  settlements  on  the  far  side  of  the  wilderness, 
Bishop  M'Tyeire,  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Chm-ch,  South,  mentions 
an  experience  of  Richmond  KoUey,  who,  in  1812,  was  appointed  to  the 
Tombigbee  Circuit,  a  wild  region  of  country  lying  about  three  hundred 
and  fifty  miles  beyond  any  known  settlement  in  the  South-west,  and 
just  opened  up  for  white  immigrants  by  the  removal  of  the  Choctaw 
Indians. 

After  camping  out  for  eleven  nights  in  the  woods  NoUey  reached 
the  Tombigbee  River,  and  began  exploring  his  circuit. 

One  day  he  observed  a  fresh  wagon-track,  and  .being  bent  on  find- 
ing any  thing  that  had  a  soul  to  be  saved,  he  struck  in  and  followed 
it  till  he  came  upon  an  immigrant  family  just  halted  at  the  spot  where 
they  were  intending  to  make  their  future  home.  The  man  was  caring 
for  his  horses  and  the  woman  was  busy  at  the  fire  preparing  supper. 

"  What ! "  exclaimed  the  settler,  as  he  heard  the  salutation  of 
ISToUey,  "  another  Methodist  preacher !  Have  you  found  me  already  ? 
I  left  Yirginia  to  get  out  of  their  reach,  and  went  to  a  new  settlement 
in  Georgia,  but  they  hunted  me  out  and  got  my  wife  and  daughter 
into  the  Church ;  then  I  heard  there  was  some  good  land  down  here 
in  Choctaw  Corner,  and  I  made  sure  I  should  get  clear  of  you  by 
coming  off,  and  now,  a  preacher  comes  along  before  I  can  unpack  my 
wagon ! " 

"  My  friend,"  replied  Nolley,  "  if  you  were  to  go  to  heaven,  you 
would  find  Methodist  preachers  there ;  if  you  go  to  hell,  I'm  afraid 
you  will  find  some  of  them  there ;  and  you  see  how  it  is  in  this 
world,  so  you  had  better  make  terms  with  us,  and  be  at  peace." 

Like  many  another  brave  itinerant,  ITolley's  faithfulness  and  self- 
f orgetf ulness  cost  him  his  life.  Cost  him  his  life,  did  I  say  ?  !Nay, 
rather,  but  gained  him  immortality  and  eternal  life  among  the  glorious 
company  of  the  martyrs,  in  exchange  for  the  toils  and  privations  of 
his  ministry  below. 

After  faithful  service  he  went  up  to  the  far-distant  Conference  at 
Baltimore,  in  failing  health,  which  was  the  result  of  the  severity  of 
his  work ;  but  the  Bishop  sent  him  back  again,  for  thus  it  seemed  best 
for  the  interests  of  the  Church ;  and  in  those  days  the  comfort  of  the 
man  was  not  very  much  considered. 


Asbury's  Episcopal  DiscrPLEsrE.  521 

His  route  lay  across  a  swift,  deep  river,  at  that  time  mucli  swollen 
with  storms  of  rain,  and  clogged  with  floating  drift-wood.  Its  only 
bridge  was  his  horse ;  but  the  faithful  animal,  with  an  instinct  of  dan- 
ger, refused  to  enter  the  stream.  However,  his  master  was  inexorable, 
and  in  he  plunged,  only  to  be  carried  off  his  feet  in  an  instant. 
Bravely  he  breasted  the  current,  and  at  length,  completely  exhausted, 
bore  liis  rider  to  the  opposite  shore  ;  but  the  bank  was  steep,  and  in 
his  desperate  efforts  to  moimt  it  he  unseated  his  rider,  who,  falling 
into  the  stream,  was  nearly  drowned. 

At  length,  however,  Nolley  reached  the  shore,  drenched  and  half- 
frozen,  for  the  weather  was  cold,  utterly  exhausted,  far  from  any 
human  habitation,  and  night  just  coming  on.  His  faithful  animal  was 
lost,  and  being  too  weak  to  walk,  he  knelt  upon  the  ground  to  offer 
his  last  prayer,  as  it  appeared  to  those  who  found  his  body,  from  the 
marks  of  his  knees  in  the  haK-frozen  earth :  then  choosing  a  mossy 
spot  underneath  a  tree,  he  calmly  laid  himseK  out  for  death  and 
burial.  His  eyes  were  closed,  his  hands  folded  across  his  breast,  and 
a  peaceful  smile  Hngered  on  his  cold,  dead  face. 

Asbury's  Episcopal  Discipline. — The  sacrifice  which  As- 
bury  deliberately  made  of  the  health,  the  comfort,  and  even  the  lives 
of  the  preachers  under  his  episcopal  authority,  has  been  charged 
against  him  as  a  blot  upon  his  administration  if  not  upon  his  charac- 
ter. Men  will  glow  with  enthusiasm  over  the  brilKant  manner  in 
which  some  army  officer  leads  his  command  to  inevitable  destruction 
for  the  purpose  of  gaining  some  paltry  victory  of  the  military  sort. 
Shall  it  be  counted  a  crime  against  mankind  that  a  captain  of  the 
hosts  of  the  Lord  should  lead  to  certain  death,  and  certain  and  eternal 
victory,  the  men  who,  when  they  entered  this  line  of  service,  conse- 
crated their  lives  as  well  as  their  time  and  talents  to  the  work  ? 

Asbury  sent  no  man  where  he  was  not  willing  to  go  himseK ;  and 
if  men  perished  under  his  eyes,  in  their  efforts  to  save  the  souls  of 
lost  sinners,  it  was  in  a  godly  judgment  a  sacrifice  eminently  fit  to  be 
made.  A  Greater  than  Bishop  Asbury  has  said,  "  He  that  findeth  his 
life,  shall  lose  it ;  and  he  that  loseth  his  life  for  my  sake,  shall  find  it." 
Acting  on  this  principle,  Asbury  counted  the  health,  the  strength,  and 
the  life  of  the  ministry  as  the  rightful,  as  well  as  the  consecrated, 
property  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  to  be  expended  with  such  wisdom 


522  Illusteated  History  of  Methodism. 

as  miglit  be  given  to  Mm,  for  the  welfare  and  progress  of  the  Church^ 
As  he  understood  the  matter,  the  ministry  was  for  the  Chm'ch,  and 
not  the  Church  for  the  ministry ;  and  the  men  who  entered  that  min- 
istry under  his  command  knew  at  the  outset  that  danger  and  death 
must  not  for  one  moment  frighten  them  from  duty. 

That  the  Bishop  himself  should  have  lived  thirty-two  years  after 
entering  upon  his  Episcopal  labors,  upon  which  he  entered  with  feeble 
health  and  an  apparently  broken  constitution,  is  one  of  those  modem 
miracles  which  are  sometimes  scouted  by  those  who  declare  that  the 
ago  of  miracles  has  ceased.  During  all  this  time  he  traveled  about 
six  thousand  miles  a  year ;  much  of  the  way  on  horseback ;  for  the  suf- 
ficient reason  that  along  the  roads  he  traveled  any  other  method  of 
conveyance  was  impossible.  He  ranged  incessantly  from  Canada  to 
Georgia,  and  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  ever-extending  borders  of  civili- 
zation toward  the  "West ;  riding  thirty  or  forty  miles  a  day,  preaching,, 
leading  classes,  administering  sacraments,  almost  daily;  holding  fre- 
quent conferences,  writing  a  thousand  letters  a  year,  sharing  the  pov- 
erty and  privations  of  the  poorest  people  in  his  great  parish  without 
condescension  or  complaint;  and  on  the  other  hand,  enjoying  the 
princely  hospitality  of  the  few  wealthy  Methodists  in  America,  with- 
out being  tempted  by  it  into  any  "  softness,"  or  delay ;  and  suffering, 
the  greater  part  of  his  time,  from  rheumatism,  chills  and  fever,  and 
other  bodily  afflictions  brought  on  by  exposure  and  overwork. 

Bishop  Asbury  was  a  man  of  prayer.  In  his  pastoral  visits  among 
the  people  he  always  prayed  with  them.  It  was  his  custom  to  pray 
with  the  families  that  entertained  him  at  the  close  of  every  meal. 
During  sessions  of  Conference,  he  prayed  over  each  name  on  the  list 
of  appointments,  and  for  years  he  made  it  a  part  of  his  duty  to  offer 
prayer  daily  for  every  one  of  his  preachers  by  name,  until  the  muster- 
roll  of  the  itinerant  army  became  so  long  as  to  be  a  burden  to  his 
memory. 

Such  a  leader  could  be  followed  anywhere.  It  was  an  honor  which 
the  early  itinerants  appreciated,  to  be  under  the  command  of  such  a 
man.  He  stood  before  them  as  the  Yicar  of  Christ,  in  a  higher  sense 
than  that  in  which  the  most  abject  Papist  was  ever  able  to  comprehend 
that  glorious  title ;  he  dwelt  in  a  superior  region,  which  may  be  called 
the  "  prayer  country ;"   no  wonder,  therefore,  that  in  his  presence- 


The  First  Conference  in  New  York.  523 

men  often  felt  themselves  privileged  with  the  society  of  a  superior 
being.  His  broad  and  rich  humanity  equalled  their  largest  concep- 
tion of  a  man ;  and,  superadded  to  this,  there  was  a  halo  of  spiritual 
glory  about  him  which  was  God's  own  seal  of  approbation  of,  and 
special  baptism  for,  the  fulfillment  of  his  mighty  task.  With  such  a 
man  at  their  head,  and  with  a  sense  of  the  Lord  above  them,  toil  was 
pleasure  to  the  itinerants,  pain  was  honor,  and  death  was  heaven. 

What  are  soldiers  good  for  who  dare  not  go  into  battle  lest  they 
should  be  shot  ?  What  are  sailors  good  for  who  dare  not  go  to  sea 
lest  they  should  be  drowned  ?  What  were  itinerant  Methodist  preach- 
ers good  for  who  were  afraid  of  being  "  worn  out  ?  "  If  a  man  died  on 
his  circuit  of  hard  work  and  exposure,  was  killed  by  the  Indians,  or 
was  di'owned  in  crossing  a  stream,  that  was  doubtless  the  proper  time 
and  place  for  hun  to  die.  Either  he  was  not  the  man  for  the  work,  or 
else  he  had  done  his  share  of  it  and  gone  to  his  rest.  That  a  circuit 
rider  was  in  continual  peril  of  hfe  and  Hmb  was  a  matter  of  course; 
if  the  man  counted  himseK  to  possess  any  thing,  even  to  his  own  body 
and  soul,  which  he  did  not  hold  loosely,  and  use  freely  in  doing  the 
work  of  the  Lord,  he  was  not  fit  for  one  of  Asbury's  preachers.  If 
their  task  wearied  them  they  must  keep  at  it  till  it  did  not  weary 
them.  If  fevers  burned  them,  they  must  burn  out  the  fevers.  If  the 
ague  shook  them,  they  must  shake  it  off.  JSTo  wonder  that  a  ministry 
enlisted  and  commanded  on  these  principles  should  have  become  the 
greatest  religious  power  on  earth.  The  system  killed  off  the  feeble 
ones  and  drove  off  the  lazy  ones,  but  those  who  remained  were  the 
giants  of  those  days,  and  indeed,  of  all  days ;  for,  taking  the  world 
over  and  the  centuries  through,  no  class  of  God's  servants  have  ever 
given  a  better  account  of  themselves,  or  left  behind  them  more  abun- 
dant proofs  of  faithfulness  and  power. 

But  while  the  Church  gazes  in  admiration  at  this  band  of  itinerant 
heroes,  let  it  not  fail  to  think  what  sort  of  man  that  Bishop  must  have 
been  who  could  call  out,  energize,  and  command  such  a  ministry, 
and,  through  aU  his  long  career,  never  lose  his  place  as  the  grand- 
est hero  of  them  ah. 

The  First  Conference  in  New  York  was  held  by 
Asbury  at  the  Wesley  Chapel,  commencing  Tuesday,  the  30th  of 
September,  1788.     Thomas  Morrill  was  here  ordained  a  deacon,  and 


o24 


iLLdSTRATED    HiSTORY    OF   MeTHODISM. 


appointed  to  the  Trenton  Circuit.  This  was  the  first  Conferenci. 
held  north  of  Philadelphia,  at  a  time  when  Conferences  were  held 
every  six  months ;  a  fact  which  would  indicate  that  Methodism,  in 
what  is  now  the  metropolitan  city  of  the  Church,  and  in  the  region 
round  about,  had  hitherto  been  of  a  much  slower  growth  than  in 
Maryland,  Virginia,  and  Pennsylvania.  But,  at  the  second  Confer- 
ence in  the  State  of  New  York  the  membership  was  reported  as 
2,004,  being  an  increase  of  900  in  less  than  a  year. 

Enconrag^in^  Reports. — Conferences  were  held  during  the 
eecond  visit  of  Dr.  Coke,  in  Georgia,  on  the  8th  of  March,  1789,  where 

2,011  members  were  reported,  being  an 
increase  of  784  for  the  year ;  in  Charles- 
ton, South  Carolina,  on  the  lYth  of 
March,  in  which  State  there  were  3,377 
members,  being  an  increase  of  907  for 
the  year ;  in  North  Carolina,  at  the 
house  of  a  planter  named  M'Knight, 
on  the  Yadkin  Eiver,  on  the  20th  of 
April,  at  which  the  membership  in  this 
State  was  reported  at  6,779,  being  an 
increase  of  741 ;  and  on  the  18th  of 
May,  for  the  State  of  Yirginia,  at 
•Petersburgh,  which  was  the  second 
Conference  ever  held  in  that  State. 

On  this  tour  Coke  had  further  in- 
teresting experiences  of  itinerating  in 
America.  "  Frequently,"  he  says,  "  we  were  obliged  to  lodge  in 
houses  built  with  round  logs  and  open  to  every  blast.  Often  we 
rode  sixteen  or  eighteen  miles  without  seeing  a  house  or  a  human 
-creature,  and  often  were  obliged  to  ford  deep  and  dangerous  rivers 
and  creeks.  Many  times  we  ate  nothing  from  seven  in  the  morning 
till  six  in  the  evening,  though  sometimes  we  took  our  repast  on  stumps 
of  trees  near  some  spring  of  water." 

On  the  23d  of  May  the  first  New  Jersey  Conference  was  held  at 
Trenton,  in  which  place,  for  a  notable  exception,  Methodism  had  been 
decreasing.  The  report  showed  1,751  members  in  New  Jersey,  a 
decrease  of  295. 


METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH, 
MORRISTOWl^,  N.  J. 


Revival  Scekes.  525 

The  whole  number  of  Methodists  reported  at  the  Conference  of  th& 
year  1T89  was  43,265,  being  an  increase,  since  the  Conference  of  the 
year  before,  a  period  of  about  eight  months,  of  6,111.  Of  the  above 
members,  35,021,  were  whites;  8,241,  were  blacks,  and  three  were  In- 
dians. Alas !  what  had  become  of  all  Mr.  Wesley's  delightful  antici- 
pations of  building  up  a  purer  form  of  Christian  civilization  among 
those  uncorrupted  children  of  nature  ? 

Revival  Scenes. — During  this  tour  Coke  was  amazed  at  the 
revival  scenes  which  he  witnessed.  As  a  notable  example  he  mentions 
the  services  which  he  held  at  Annapolis,  Maryland  :— 

"  After  my  last  prayer,"  he  says,  "  the  congregation  began  to  pray 
and  praise  duoud  in  a  most  astonishing  manner.  At  first  I  felt  some 
reluctance  to  enter  into  the  business,  but  soon  the  tears  began  to  flow, 
and  I  have  seldom  found  a  more  comforting  or  strengthening  time. 
What  shall  we  say  ?  Souls  are  awakened  and  converted  by  multitudes, 
and  the  work  is  surely  genuine,  if  there  be  a  genuine  work  of  God 
upon  the  earth.  Whether  there  be  wildfire  in  it  or  not,  I  do  most, 
ardently  wish  that  there  was  such  a  work  at  this  time  in  England." 

At  the  Baltimore  Conference,  opened  on  the  4th  of  May,  still  more 
demonstrative  scenes  occurred.  After  an  evening  sermon  by  Coke, 
the  crowded  assembly  spent  the  night  till  two  o'clock  in  prayer  and 
praise.  "  Out  of  a  congregation  of  two  thousand  people,  I  suppose,'^ 
he  says,  "  two  or  three  hundred  were  engaged  in  praising  God,  praying 
for  the  conviction  and  conversion  of  sinners,  or  exliorting  those  around 
them ;  and  hundreds  more  were  engaged  in  wrestling  prayer  either  for 
their  own  conversion  or  sanctification.  One  of  our  elders  was  the 
means  that  night  of  the  conversion  of  seven  poor  penitents  within  hi& 
little  circle  in  less  than  fifteen  minutes.  Such  was  the  zeal  of  many, 
that  a  tolerable  company  attended  the  preaching  at  five  the  next  morn- 
ing, notwithstanding  the  late  hour  at  which  they  parted.  Next  even- 
ing Mr.  Asbury  preached,  and  again  the  congregation  began  as  before. 
This  praying  and  praising  aloud  has  been  common  in  Baltimore  for  a 
considerable  time,  notwithstanding  our  congregation  in  this  town  was 
for  many  years  before  one  of  the  calmest  and  most  critical  upon  the 
Continent.  Many  also  of  our  elders,  who  were  the  most  sedate  of  our 
preachers,  have  entered  with  all  their  hearts  into  this  work.  And  it 
must  be  allowed,  that  gracious  and  wonderful  has  been  the  change, 


526  Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 

our  greatest  enemies  themselves  being  the  judges,  that  has  been 
wrought  on  multitudes  on  whom  this  work  begun  at  those  wonderful 
seasons."  He  notices  with  interest  "  a  custom  peculiar  to  the  Ameri- 
can preachers.  If  there  be  more  preachers  than  one  in  a  congrega- 
tion, the  preachers  that  have  not  preached  give  each  of  them  a  warm 
exhortation.  And  so  far  as  I  can  judge,  by  external  effects  wrought 
on  the  congregations,  and  by  constant  inquiry  and  information,  more 
good  has  been  done  in  most  instances  by  the  exhortations  than  by  the 
sermon."    . 

These  revival  scenes,  which  at  first  so  surprised  and  afterward 
gladdened  the  heart  of  Bishop  Coke,  were  but  the  drops  before  a 
more  plentiful  shower.  Asbury  mentions  a  quarterly-meeting  in  Dela- 
ware, in  November,  of  which  he  says  : — 

"  The  first  day  the  Lord  was  powerfully  present,  and  the  people 
greatly  agitated.  On  the  second  day,  at  the  love-feast  and  sacrament, 
there  was  a  shout,  and  I  believe  two  Imndred  souls  praised  God  at  one 
time.     My  soul  was  happy  among  them." 

His  next  entry  is  as  follows :  "  Maryland,  Saturday,  [November] 
Tthj  (1Y89)  :— 

"  At  Anamessex  quarterly  meeting  the  Lord  was  among  the  peo- 
ple on  the  first  day.  On  Sunday,  at  the  love-feast,  the  young  were 
greatly  filled,  and  the  power  of  the  Most  High  spread  throughout. 
It  appeared  as  if  they  would  have  continued  till  night  if  they  had  not 
been  in  some  measure  forced  to  stop  that  we  might  have  public  wor- 
ship. I  stood  near  the  window  and  spoke  on  Isaiah  Ixiv,  1-5.  There 
was  a  stir,  and  several  sinners  went  away.  There  were  very  uncom- 
mon circumstances  of  a  supernatural  kind  said  to  be  observed  at  this 
meeting.  The  saints  of  the  world  are  dreadfully  displeased  at  this 
work,  which,  after  all,  is  the  best  evidence  that  it  is  of  God. 

"  The  preachers  urged  me  to  preach  at  Princess  Anne.  I  did  so, 
and  many  poor,  afflicted  people  came  out.  I  trust  some  will  be  able 
to  say  of  Christ,  '  He  is  altogether  lovely.' 

"I  felt  uncommon  power  in  preaching  at  Thomas  Garrettson's. 
Surely  the  Lord  will  work." 

And  so  on  through  the  remainder  of  the  year. 

O'Kelly  and  the  ''Republican  Alethodist  Church." 
— On  the  12th  of  January,  1790,  after  holding  a  quarterly  meeting  on 


"Republican  Methodist  Church."  527 

the  old  Brunswick  Circuit,  "  where  there  was  a  considerable  quick- 
ening and  manifestation  of  the  Lord's  power,"  and  where  an  increase 
of  the  Society  of  more  than  a  hundred  souls  was  reported,  Asbury 
makes  this  mournful  record  in  his  Journal : — 

"  I  received  a  letter  from  the  presiding  elder  of  this  district, 
James  O'Kelly :  he  makes  heavy  complaints  of  my  power,  and  bids  me 
stop  for  one  year,  or  he  must  use  his  influence  against  me.  Power ! 
power !  there  is  not  a  vote  given  in  a  Conference  in  which  the  presid- 
ing elder  has  not  greatly  the  advantage  of  me ;  all  the  influence  I  am 
to  gain  over  a  company  of  young  men  in  a  district  must  be  done  in 
three  weeks ;  the  greater  part  of  them,  perhaps,  are  seen  by  me  only 
at  Conference,  while  the  presiding  elder  has  had  them  with  him  all  the 
year,  and  has  the  greatest  opportunity  of  gaining  influence.  This  ad- 
vantage may  be  abused ;  let  the  Bishops  look  to  it :  but  who  has  the 
power  to  lay  an  embargo  on  me,  and  to  make  of  none  effect  the 
decision  of  all  of  the  Conferences  of  the  Union  ? " 

James  O'Kelly,  who,  from  his  name,  might  be  of  Irish  extraction, 
was  the  first  reformer  in  the  line  of  Church  polity  which  American 
Methodism  produced.  He  commenced  his  ministerial  work  during 
the  war  of  the  Revolution,  as  a  local  preacher ;  and  in  1Y78  was  ad- 
mitted into  the  traveling  connection,  being  then  only  about  twenty- 
four  years  old.  He  was  one  of  the  elders  ordained  by  Coke  and 
Asbury  at  the  Christmas  Conference  of  1784,  and  was  for  a  number 
of  years  one  of  the  most  enterprising  and  influential  itinerants  in 
Virginia ;  in  which  State  he  was  presiding  elder  of  the  Southern  Dis- 
trict, and  a  member  of  the  first  ministerial  council,  (the  forerunner  of 
the  first  General  Conference,)  which  was  held  at  Cokesbury  College  in 
1789.  O'Kelly  was  an  ardent  republican,  and  it  is  to  be  feared  that 
he  allowed  his  pohtics,  if  not  his  ambition,  to  modify  and  flavor  his 
rehgion.  Like  many  another  reformer  since  his  day,  he  appears  to 
have  leaped  to  the  conclusion  that  because  a  republican  form  of  Gov- 
ernment was  good  for  the  State,  it  was,  therefore,  good  for  the  Church ; 
forgetting  the  words  of  his  Master,  who  never  calls  his  Church  a  repub- 
lic, and  who  distinctly  says,  "  My  kingdom  is  not  of  this  world." 

The  O'Kelly  secession  was  projected  and  justified  on  the  ground 
of  episcopal  tyranny.  In  the  General  Conference  of  1792,  which 
began  on  the  1st  of  November,  at  Baltimore,  O'Kelly  offered  a  reso- 


528  Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 

latioi),  "  That  if  any  preacher  feels  himself  aggrieved  or  oppressed  by 
the  appointment  made  by  the  Bishop,  he  shall  have  the  privilege  of 
appealing  to  the  Conference ;  which  shall  consider  and  finally  deter- 
mine the  matter."  After  full  and  thorough  debate  the  resolution  was 
lost,  whereupon  he  withdrew  from  the  Conference,  and  was  joined  by 
three  of  the  regular  preachers,  and  a  number  of  local  preachers,  with 
whom  he  organized  the  so-called  Eepublican  Methodist  Church,  in 
which  all  the  preachers  were  to  stand,  as  nearly  as  possible,  on  an 
equal  footing.  No  degrees  were  allowed  in  the  ministry,  and  greater 
liberty  was  promised  to  the  people  than  they  had  hitherto  enjoyed. 

The  influence  of  O'Kelly  in  Southern  Virginia  and  North  Caro- 
lina was  very  great ;  and  in  his  zeal  for  republican  liberty  in  th& 
Church  he  appeared  to  forget  all  about  "brotherly  kindness  and 
charity."  Bishop  Asbury  was  the  object  of  his  peculiar  displeasure, 
and  the  members  of  the  new  organization  not  only  "professed  to 
regard  the  name  of  bishop  with  holy  horror,"  but  used  every  possible 
means  to  impeach  the  character  and  break  down  the  authority  of  the 
man  whose  severe  administration  of  discipline  they  sought  to  escape 
by  secession. 

In  the  contentions  which  resulted  from  this  first  reform  movement 
a  few  of  the  preaching-houses  were  seized  and  the  rightful  owner& 
turned  out  of  doors ;  families  were  rent  asunder ;  old  friends  became 
open  enemies ;  and  Jesse  Lee  says :  "  It  was  enough  to  make  the  saints 
of  God  weep  between  the  porch  and  the  altar,  and  that  both  day  and 
night,  to  see  how  the  Lord's  people  was  carried  away  captive  by  the 
division."  During  the  six  years,  from  1792  to  1798,  the  Conference 
minutes  show  a  declension  in  membership  of  about  8,000 ;  but  not 
all  of  these  joined  the  Repubhcan  Methodists,  as  would  appear  from 
the  disappointment  of  O'Kelly  at  the  smallness  of  the  number  of  hia 
followers. 

This  opponent  of  Episcopacy  at  length  assumed  Episcopal  func- 
tions, and  ordained  such  new  preachers  as  joined  his  party;  but, 
in  1801,  finding  that  Republicanism  and  Methodism  did  not  work  well 
together,  or,  perhaps,  to  cut  loose  completely  from  that  body  of  be- 
lievers which  persisted  in  prospering  in  spite  of  his  opposition,  he 
changed  the  name  of  his  enterprise  to  "  The  Christian  Churcli,"  thus 
supplying  in  the  title  a  quality  which  was  notably  lacking  in  the  char- 


Thomas  Waee. 


52^ 


Acter  of  the  body.  The  enterprise  began  in  contention,  continued  in 
strife,  and  resulted  in  very  little  good  and  an  untold  amount  of  evil ; 
and  poor  James  O'Kellj,  having  wasted  the  best  part  of  his  life,  died 
a  disappointed,  and,  no  doubt,  a  penitent  man,  on  the  16th  of  October, 
1826,  in  the  69th  year  of  his  age. 

Thomas  Ware. — One  of  the  sturdiest  and  most  efficient  of 
Asbury's  itinerants  was  Thomas  "Ware,  already  mentioned  in  connec- 
tion with  the  Christmas  Conference ;  a  man  in  whom  were  mingled 


THOMAS  WARE. 


some  of  the  most  substantial  qualites  of  his  English  and  Scotch  ances- 
try. He  was  born  at  Greenwich,  l!^ew  Jersey,  December  19,  1Y58. 
His  Presbyterian  mother  carefully  instructed  him  in  the  Larger  and 
Shorter  Catechisms,  and,  what  was  much  more  to  the  purpose,  she 
trained  him  and  the  rest  of  the  children  to  pray. 

While  he  was  yet  a  child  his  father  died,  leaving  his  mother  with 
eight  young  children  to  provide  for  ;  and  her  great  sorrow  in  bereave- 
ment was  heightened  by  the  doubt  she  often  indulged  as  to  whether 
she  was  one  of  the  elect.     "  She  was,"  says  her  son,  "  harassed  with 


530  Illusteated  History  of  Methodism. 

fears  that  what  she  had  taken  for  saving  grace  was  nothing  more  than 
common  grace : "  a  distinction  which  she  had  heard  preached  along 
with  "  effectual  calling,"  and  other  Calvinistic  inventions,  by  the 
expounders  of  that  notable  catechism  of  whose  theology  she  was  the 
victim. 

About  this  time  one  of  their  neighbors,  who  had  long  been  a 
member  of  the  Church,  had  committed  suicide  in  consequence  of  his 
doubts  respecting  his  own  election,  which  act  was  held  to  be  conclusive 
evidence  that  this  apparently  good  man  had  experienced  nothing  more 
than  "  common  grace ; "  and  the  incident  cast  additional  gloom  upon 
the  mind  of  Mrs.  Ware,  who  argued  from  this  sad  circumstance  the 
probabiHty  that  she  also  had  been  "  passed  by "  in  the  sovereign  and 
■eternal  purposes  of  God's  electing  grace. 

The  gloom  which  rested  upon  the  soul  of  his  mother  presently 
■extended  to  her  son  Thomas,  who  was  seized  with  a  spirit  of  melan- 
•choly.  He  began  to  wander  in  lonely  places,  brooding  over  his  griefs 
and  fears;  and  when  the  two  youngest  of  the  family  were  taken 
away  by  death,  he  declares  that  he  was  troubled  lest  even  they  might 
not  have  been  of  the  number  of  the  elect. 

About  this  time  the  Methodists  began  to  be  talked  of  in  Greenwich, 
and  the  parish  minister,  fearing  lest  the  pure  minds  of  his  people 
should  be  infected  with  the  doctrine  of  Free  Grace,  (which  was, 
doubtless,  a  damnable  heresy,  not  being  taught  in  the  Shorter  or  Larger 
Catechism,)  began  to  preach  with  additional  emphasis  on  the  Sover- 
eignty of  God,  Election,  Eeprobation,  and  other  such  theories  of  doc- 
trine as  were  Ukely  to  suffer  damage  at  the  hands  of  the  itinerant  preach- 
ers. However,  there  were  two  kinds  of  Methodists :  the  followers  of 
Wesley  and  of  Whitefield,  and  it  was  one  of  the  latter  class  who  first 
made  his  appearance  in  Greenwich ;  so  that  the  fears  of  the  old  pastor, 
which  had  become  excited  by  the  near  approach  of  the  set  of  "  wild, 
fanatical  heretics,"  proved  to  be  vain. 

The  war  of  the  Revolution  coming  on  young  Ware,  having  arrived 
at  military  age,  enlisted  in  the  patriot  army ;  but  his  soldierly  duties 
in  that  slow-moving  struggle  left  him  plenty  of  leisure  to  reflect  upon 
his  spiritual  condition.  The  term  of  his  enlistment  was  a  brief  one, 
and  after  its  close  he  began  the  study  of  navigation,  intending  to  serve 
his  country  on  the  sea.     About  this  time  Pedicord,  one  of  the  chief 


Thomas  Waee.  531 

of  the  itinerants,  coming  into  the  place  was  announced  to  preach  in 
the  neighboring  village  of  Mount  Holly,  and  "Ware  determined  to  go 
and  hear  him.  The  result  of  this  service  "Ware  gives  in  his  autobiog- 
raphy as  follows : — 

"  Soon  was  I  convinced  that  all  men  were  redeemed  and  might  be 
saved,  and  saved  now,  from  the  guilt,  practice,  and  love  of  sin.  "With 
this  I  was  greatly  affected,  and  could  hardly  refrain  from  exclaiming 
aloud,  '  This  is  the  best  intelligence  I  ever  heard ! '  " 

On  the  next  round  of  the  itinerant  Ware  hastened  to  see  him. 
Pedicord  received  him  with  joy,  and  began  to  pray  for  him  with  lov- 
ing tears,  and  presently  the  soul  of  the  young  man  was  filled  with 
unutterable  dehght,  and  he  felt  and  knew  that  he  was  a  new  creature. 
With  this  experience  of  grace  all  his  warlike  taste  departed,  and 
many  of  his  brethren  began  at  once  to  tell  him  that  they  thought  he 
was  called  to  preach.  His  own  opinion  was,  that  his  literary  acquire- 
ments were  too  limited  for  such  a  work ;  nevertheless,  on  one  occasion 
he  filled,  for  a  week,  the  appointments  of  George  Mair,  who  was  sud- 
denly called  from  his  circuit  by  sickness  in  his  family,  and  on  several 
other  occasions  had  opened  his  mouth  in  eidiortation  with  excellent 
effect. 

In  1Y83  Mr.  Asbury  paid  a  visit  to  the  Mount  Holly  Circuit,  and 
sent  for  the  young  man,  of  whose  parts  and  promise  Pedicord  had 
given  him  a  favorable  account,  and  upon  examination,  so  well  was  he 
pleased  with  him  that  he  at  once  laid  claim  to  him  for  service  on  the 
Dover  Circuit,  where  there  was  another  preacher  wanting..  "  You  may 
tell  the  people,  if  you  please,"  said  Asbury,  "  that  you  do  not  come  in 
the  capacity  of  a  preacher,  but  only  to  assist  in  keeping  up  the  ap- 
pointments until  another  can  be  sent." 

"  Here  I  was  caught,"  says  "Ware,  in  his  autobiography,  "  and  how 
•could  I  dechne  ?  And  being  now  regularly  licensed  to  exhort,  I  told 
him,  if  he  insisted  on  it,  I  would  go  and  do  the  best  I  could ;  and  early 
in  September,  1783,  I  set  my  face  toward  the  Peninsula  with  a  heavy 
heart." 

The  Dover  Circuit  was  one  of  the  choice  portions  of  the  Methodist 
vineyard.  Here  resided  those  eminent  Christian  ladies  the  wife  of 
•Counselor  Bassett,  and  Mrs.  White,  wife  of  Judge  White,  already  men- 
tioned ;  both  of  whom  encouraged  the  young  preacher  as  true  mothers 


532  Illusteated  Histoey  of  Methodism. 

in  Israel.  After  a  successful  term,  which  at  that  time  was  six 
months  in  length,  Ware  attended  his  first  Conference,  in  Baltimore,  in 
1784,  at  which  Asbury  presided,  and  whom  he  describes  as  "  excelling 
in  prayer  to  such  a  degree  that  he  sometimes  disappointed  the  expec- 
tation thereby  raised  in  his  auditors  in  the  sermon  which  followed." 
The  Rev.  Freeborn  Garrettson  has  said  of  Bishop  Asbury :  "  He 
prayed  the  most,  and  he  prayed  the  best,  of  any  man  I  ever  knew ; " 
and  Ware  records  the  opinion,  that,  "  had  he  been  equally  eloquent 
in  preaching  he  would  have  excited  universal  admiration  as  a  pulpit 
orator." 

The  modest  young  neophite  was  so  struck  with  the  superior  powers 
of  the  preachers  whom  he  met  at  this  Conference  that  he  was  inclined 
to  give  up  preaching,  at  least  until  he  should  become  able  to  do  it'  bet- 
ter ;  but  his  timidity  was  overruled  by  the  pressure  of  the  work,  and 
from  that  time  he  bravely  bore  the  banner  of  the  cross  through  a  long, 
varied,  and  useful  career. 

The  timidity  which  at  first  was  so  noticeable  in  him  was  ultimately 
succeeded  by  an  exceptional  boldness  and  power.  It  is  of  this  same 
Tliomas  Ware  that  the  following  anecdote  is  related  : — 

"  Coming,  one  evening,  to  a  fann-house  on  one  of  his  frontiei  cir- 
cuits, he  sought  its  hospitality  for  the  night ;  but  the  farmer,  seeing  by 
his  dress  that  he  was  a  minister,  received  him  very  gruffly,  expressed 
his  disgust  that,  of  aU  men,  a  Methodist  preacher  should  come  to  his 
house,  and  during  the  evening  behaved  so  mdely  and  wickedly  that 
Ware  felt  constrained  to  reprove  him. 

"  The  next  day  some  of  his  neighbors  were  asking  him  about  the- 
preacher  whom  he  had  entertained  over  night. 

" '  He  is  a  man  of  God,'  said  the  farmer. 

"  '  IIow  do  you  know  that  ? '  they  inquired. 

' "  Ah ! '  said  the  farmer,  '  when  he  reproved  me  for  my  sins,  1 
could  feel  the  devil  shake  in  me.'  " 

As  specimens  of  the  experience  of  the  circuit  riders  appointed 
to  the  Holston  country,  west  of  the  AUeghanies,  the  following,  from 
the  "  Life  of  Ware,"  may  be  related : — 

At  the  first  Holston  Conference,  in  1788,  the  road  by  which  the- 
place  of  meeting  was  reached  from  the  east  was  so  infested  with  hos- 
tile Indians  that  it  could  not  be  traveled  except  by  considerable  com- 


Thomas  Ware.  533 

panies  together.  While  the  first  comers  waited  for  the  Bishop  and 
his  party  they  held  a  protracted  meeting,  at  which  there  were  a  large 
number  of  souls  converted,  among  whom  "Ware  mentions  General 
Russell  and  lady ;  the  latter  a  sister  of  the  illustrious  Patrick 
Henry. 

At  this  Conference  Ware  was  appointed  to  the  East  New  River 
Circuit,  among  the  mountains.  On  one  of  his  rounds  he  encountered 
a  fearful  storm  of  snow  and  hail,  in  the  teeth  of  which  he  was  forced 
to  traverse  one  of  the  mountain  passes ;  a  struggle  which  called  for  the 
■exercise  of  all  his  strength  and  resolution. 

It  was  near  nightfall  when  he  came  within  sight  of  the  little  ham- 
let, where  he  was  sure  of  finding  shelter ;  but,  to  his  dismay,  he  found 
that  a  creek  was  so  swollen  that  he  could  not  cross  it.  The  cold  was 
intense,  and  becoming  more  and  more  severe  every  moment.  His 
shouts  for  assistance  were  unanswered.  Seeing  some  stacks  of  hay 
with  a  few  cattle  shivering  around  them,  he  fastened  his  horse  on  the 
leeward  side  of  one  of  them,  leaving  him  at  liberty  to  eat,  and  crept 
into  it  to  spend  the  night,  unless  some  one  should  come  to  feed  the 
cattle,  who  might  ferry  him  over  the  creek. 

It  was  soon  dark,  and  no  one  came.  His  blood  began  to  be  chilled, 
and  it  was  evident  that  if  he  remained  where  he  was  he  would  freeze 
to  death  before  morning.  The  nearest  shelter  he  knew  of  that  he 
could  reach  was  a  sorry  little  hut  which  he  had  passed  five  miles  back 
on  his  road ;  and  thither  he  made  his  way. 

When  he  leached  the  place  he  was  so  overcome  wifh  cold  as  to  be 
almost  unable  to  give  account  of  himself  and  his  wants ;  and  the  man 
in  the  cabin,  evidently  taking  him  for  a  drunken  man,  refused  him 
hospitality.  But  Ware  was  already  inside  the  door,  and  declared  that 
he  would  stay  in  spite  of  them  unless  they  were  able  to  put  him  out  by 
force.  At  length  his  unwilling  host  began  to  stir  up  the  fire,  and  his 
young  wife  prepared  him  a  comfortable  supper. 

In  the  morning,  having  discovered  the  ministerial  character  of  their 
guest,  they  desired  him  to  baptize  their  children,  which  he  did ;  and 
then,  mounting  his  horse,  which  had  also  received  the  good  ofiices  of 
the  master  of  the  cabin,  the  man  accompanied  him  to  a  safe  fording- 
place  across  the  creek,  and  Ware  pushed  on  to  his  next  appomtment. 
It  was,  however,  a  memorable  night  to  him,  for  the  fearful  cold  he 


534  Illustrated  Histoey  of  Methodism. 

had  suffered  nearly  cost  him  the  loss  of  his  feet,  which,  throughout  the 
remainder  of  his  life,  gave  liim  painful  reminders  of  that  ten'ible 
ride. 

At  another  time,  on  the  Casswell  Circuit,  in  North  Carohna,  he 
mentions  the  fact  that  he  was  without  money,  that  his  coat  was  out  at 
the  elbows,  and  his  boots  completely  useless ;  and  the  only  means  he 
knew  of  for  replenishing  his  wardrobe  was  to  sell  his  horse,  for  it 
appears  that  money  in  that  region  was  very  scarce,  and  as  a  rule  but 
very  little  of  it  ever  passed  into  the  possession  of  the  circuit  riders. 
He  could  not  endure  the  thought  of  parting  with  the  faithful  compan- 
ion of  so  many  toils  and  journeys,  and  to  whose  instinctive  sagacity  on 
at  least  one  occasion  he  actually  owed  his  Uf e ;  and,  therefore,  resolved 
that  nothing  but  death  should  separate  them.  This,  however,  soon 
occurred ;  for  in  a  few  days  the  noble  animal,  the  only  property  he 
possessed  in  the  world,  sickened  and  died,  leaving  him  on  foot — a 
most  wretched  condition  for  an  itinerant — several  hundred  miles  from 
home,  ragged,  penniless,  and  proud. 

The  pride  of  these  itinerants,  however,  consisted  largely  in  tliat 
high  sense  of  honor  which,  in  spite  of  all  privations,  kept  them  from 
asking  money  for  themselves.  If  God  put  it  into  the  hearts  of  their 
people  to  give  them  any  thing  it  was  thankfully  received ;  but  a  man 
of  the  stamp  of  Thomas  Ware  would  sooner  drown  or  freeze  to  death, 
than  take  up  a  collection  for  his  own  benefit  in  one  of  his  public  con 
gregations:  yet  so  far  as  food  and  shelter  for  themselves  and  theii 
horses  were  concerned  these  servants  of  God  had  no  hesitancy  in  quar- 
tering themselves  upon  the  country ;  for  this,  they  had  the  authority 
of  the  Lord  himself ;  but  for  any  thing  more  they  waited  till  the  Lord 
should  send  it.  It  is  pleasant  to  know  that  while  in  such  great  straits 
one  good  brother  furnished  him  a  horse,  and  another,  seeing  his  sad 
j)hght,  gave  him  an  order  on  his  store  in  Newbern  for  such  personal 
outfit  as  he  required. 

Wonders  of  grace  accompanied  the  labors  of  Ware  in  his  frontier 
circuits.  In  one  place  he  gathered  in  six  weeks  a  Society  of  eighty 
members,  mostly  heads  of  families,  converted  under  his- labors.  At 
one  of  his  quarterly  meetings,  on  New  River,  thirty  persons  on  one 
planter's  estate  were  converted,  twelve  of  whom  were  whites ;  and  the 
revival    pervaded   a  large   district   of   country,  in  which,  for  weeks 


Thomas  Wake.  535 

togetlter,  almost  all  worldly  business  was  suspended,  and  the  whole 
opulation  gave  themselves  up  to  the  services  of  religion. 

At  his  last  quarterly  meeting,  in  Mecklenburg,  North  Carolina,  he 
witnessed  one  of  those  scenes  of  wild  and  over-powering  excitement 
wherein  people  fell  prostrate  under  the  power  of  God,  both  in  the 
congregation  within  doors  and  among  the  crowds  that  had  gathered 
under  the  suiTOunding  trees.  Loud  cries  for  mercy  were  mingled 
with  shouts  of  joyful  deliverance ;  blatant  scoffers  were  suddenly  trans- 
formed into  trembling  penitents ;  and  so  great  was  the  tumult  at  the 
eight  o'clock  love-feast,  on  Sunday  morning,  that  preaching  was  out  of 
the  question  ;  nor  did  there  appear  to  be  any  need  of  it,  for  the  whole 
multitude  seemed  to  be  subdued  by  the  gracious  influence,  and  with 
tearful  eyes  and  melting  hearts  were  ready  to  confess,  "  This  is  the 
work  of  God." 

The  last  experience  of  Ware  on  his  North  Carolina  Circuit  shows 
that  it  was  not  from  necessity  but  from  choice  that  he  suffered  the  loss 
of  all  things  for  Christ's  sake.  Among  the  converts  on  that  memor- 
able day  just  mentioned  was  a  very  aged  couple,  possessed  of  a  large 
property,  but  with  no  children  to  inherit  it.  Even  before  their  con- 
version tliey  had  become  greatly  attached  to  their  preacher,  and,  on 
the  eve  of  his  departm-e,  they  desired  him  to  write  their  will.  To  this 
he  objected  on  the  ground  that  he  did  not  understand  the  proper  form 
of  such  a  document.  They  replied  that  their  will  was  simply  the 
bequest  of  all  their  worldly  possessions  to  him  on  condition  that  he 
would  stay  with  them  and  care  for  them  during  the  reniainder  of  their 
short  stay  on  earth.  "  This,"  says  Ware,  "  presented,  a  strong  induce- 
ment to  exchange  a  life  of  poverty  and  toil  for  one  of  affluence  and 
ease.  But  I  could  not  do  it  with  a  good  conscience ;  so  I  bid  them  and 
North  Carohna  adieu  forever." 

Ware  was  now  a  rising  man  in  the  Methodist  fraternity,  as  is  indi- 
cated by  his  appointment  to  Wilmington,  in  1791,  and  to  Staten  Island 
the  following  year.  He  was  the  first  man  to  propose  a  delegated  Gen- 
eral Conference,  in  view  of  the  increasing  difficulties  of  assembling  all 
the  elders  from  their  widely-extended  fields  of  labor.  At  the  General 
Conference  of  1812  he  was  elected  Book  Agent,  which  office  he  held 
for  four  years,  when  he  again  returned  to  the  pastorate,  in  which  form 
of  service  he  spent  the  remainder  of  his  life. 


-if 


( 


FIRST    METHODIST   PREACHING    HOUSE    IN    BOSTON. 

(Froi.   the  supposed  only  picture  in  existence  ;  for  the  loan  of  which  the  author's  thanks  are  due  to  th« 

Rev.  Samuel  H.  Upham,  D.D.,  of  Boston. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 


EARLY  METHODISM  IN  NEW  ENGLAND. 

The  First  Methodist  Societies  in  "Sew  England.— 

For  a  considerable  number  of  years  after  Methodism  was  firmly  estab- 
lished in  other  parts  of  the  United  States,  even  its  name  was  scarcely 
known  in  New  England.  Garrettson  and  Black  had  passed  through  it, 
and  preached  in  its  chief  city  on  their  way  to  meet  their  brethren  at  New 
York  or  Baltimore ;  but  the  successors  of  the  Pilgrims  for  many  years 
appeared  to  regard  this  form  of  faith  and  order  somewhat  as  the  Hol- 
landers do  the  sea,  and  against  which  they  built  up  a  system  of  social 
and  ecclesiastical  dykes,  large  ruins  of  which  are  visible  unto  this  day. 
On  three  sides  of  this  historic  region  the  itinerants  had  early  marked 
out  their  circuits,  but  it  was  not  until  the  year  1Y91  that  the  "  Bishop 
of  North  America "  ventured  to  explore  it.  By  this  time  there  were  a 
good  many  believers  in  free  grace  scattered  along  the  valley  of  the 
Connecticut,  and  in  some  of  the  interior  towns  of  Massachusetts 
between  that  river  and  Boston  Bay. 

One  of  these  towns  was  Charlton,  in  Worcester   County,  where 

EHjah  Batchelder,  a  soldier  in  the  Continental  army,  had  settled  after 
34 


538  Illusteated  Histoey  of  Methodism, 

the  close  of  his  term  of  service ;  during  which  he  had  been  converted 
under  the  labors  of  the  itinerants.  On  his  return  from  camp,  in  1778, 
he  began  relating  his  experience  to  his  neighbors  in  good  Methodist 
fashion,  in  which  simple  story  there  was  so  much  of  interest  that 
people  from  the  surrounding  towns  came  to  hear  him  tell  it ;  which 
humble  labors  resulted  in  quite  a  revival,  and  the  organization  of  a 
Society  that  at  one  time  had  as  many  as  forty  members. 

Growing  out  of  the  Charlton  meetings  an  organization  was  effected 
m  Southbridge,  and  subsequently  in  West  Brookfield ;  but  about  the 
year  1810  there  was  a  great  rush  of  emigration  from  these  towns  to 
"  The  Ohio,"  as  the  far  West  of  that  day  was  called,  in  consequence  of 
which  the  Societies  were  broken  up  and  disappeared,  and  this  form  of 
religion  did  not  reach  the  city  of  Worcester  until  1830. 

About  the  year  1792  a  few  Methodist  meetings  were  held  in  Mid- 
dlesex County,  in  the  towns  of  Harvard,  Milford,  and  Holliston ;  and 
soon  afterward  in  Ashburnham,  Fitchburgh,  Orange,  and  a  few  of  the 
southern  towns  in  the  State  of  New  Hampshire;  but  these  first 
beginnings  were  afterward  required  to  be  made  over  again. 

In  1803  Bishop  Asbury,  on  his  tour  through  Massachusetts,  passed 
through  Milford,  Needham,  and  Waltham,  to  Boston,  where  the  Con- 
ference was  held  in  the  "  solitary  little  chapel."  The  slow  progress  of 
the  work  in  this  part  of  the  field  grieved  him,  and  he  writes  in  his 
Journal  these  sorrowful  words :  "  Poor  ISTew  England,  she  is  the  valley 
of  dry  bones  still.  Come,  O  breath  of  the  Lord,  and  breathe  upon 
these  slain  that  they  may  live ! " 

It  is  related  of  one  Joseph  Ball,  a  Baptist  deacon,  in  central  Massa- 
chusetts, that  in  the  month  of  October,  1791,  being  then  about  to  die, 
he  called  his  son  to  his  bedside  and  said  to  him :  "  My  son,  there  will 
be  another  denomination  established  here,  and  you  will  know  them  by 
this,  that  they  will  preach  a  free  salvation."  Within  a  week  this 
prophecy  was  fulfilled  in  the  arrival  of  a  Methodist  itinerant,  who  of 
course  preached  "  free  salvation ; "  a  doctrine  which  had  been  wholly 
lost  sight  of  in  IsTew  England.  From  Milford,  where  a  Society  was  es- 
tabhshed,  the  itinerants  extended  their  labors  to  the  town  of  Harvard, 
where  a  preaching  house  was  built — ^not  finished,  however ;  for  when 
it  was  dedicated  the  minister  was  obliged  to  make  use  of  a  work-bench 
which  the  carpenters  had  left  as  a  platform,  on  which  he  placed  a 


Methodism  an  Intruder  in  New  England.        539 

smaller  bench  as  a  pulpit.  In  memory  of  tliis  incident  one  of  the  moth- 
ers in  this  Israel  long  afterward  remarked:  "In  old  times  we  had 
golden  sermons  from  wooden  pulpits,  but  now  we  have  wooden  ser- 
mons from  golden  pulpits."  The  historic  inaccuracy  of  this  excellent 
old  woman  will  doubtless  be  pardoned  on  account  of  her  wit.* 

Methodism  an  intruder  in  New  Eng^land. — The 
cm-se  of  State-churchism,  in  a  modified  form,  had  fallen  upon  this 
favored  portion  of  free  America. 

The  descendants  of  the  Pilgrims  were  never  in  a  mood  to  welcome 
rehgious  intniders,  whether  Baptists,  Quakers,  or  Methodists.  They 
held  New  England  as  the  portion  of  land  which  God  had  given  to 
their  fathers,  both  as  a  refuge  from  oppression  and  as  a  field  in  which 
to  plant  and  propagate  their  pecuhar  views  of  religion  ;  it  was  natural, 
therefore,  that  they  should  regard  it  as  exclusively  their  ,own.  The 
Uberty  of  conscience  for  which  they  had  braved  the  wilderness,  did  not 
at  all  imply  the  liberty  of  later  arrivals  in  their  colony  to  undermine  or 
pull  down  the  ecclesiastical  structure  which  they  and  their  fathers  had 
reared  with  so  much  toil  and  pains ;  this  was  their  State  and  their 
Church  all  in  one,  and  the  red  Indian  did  not  watch  tlie  encroach- 
ments of  the  pale-faces  upon  his  hunting-grounds  with  more  anxiety 
and  jealousy  than  did  the  orthodox  Churches  of  New  England  watch 
the  efforts  of  the  first  itinerants  to  establish  the  Methodist  order  and 
the  Arminian  theology  in  their  midst. 

The  land  was  divided  into  parishes  and  dotted  over  with  meeting- 
houses, and  it  was  held  to  be  the  duty  of  every  citizen  to  support  the 
Gospel  just  as  much  as  to  support  the  pubHc  roads  or  the  public 
schools.  The  clergy  were  the  ruling  class  in  secular  as  well  as  in  spir- 
itual affairs.  Many  of  them  were  settled  for  Hfe  ;  their  salaries  were 
raised  by  pubhc  taxes,  which  were  collected  by  process  of  law  from 
unwilling  parishioners ;  and  for  years  no  one  could  hold  office,  or  even 
vote,  unless  he  were  a  member  of  a  Church  of  "  The  Standing  Order  " 
— that  is  to  say,  Orthodox  Congregationalism. 

Even  the  sacraments  had  been  degraded  by  an  admixture  of  pol- 
itics.   Baptism  was  held  to  be  the  privilege  of  "  all  children  of  believ- 

*  For  the  above  facts  relative  to  the  first  Methodist  Societies  in  New  England  the  author 
is  indebted  to  the  Rev.- Dr.  Dorchester,  Secretary  of  the  Historical  Society  of  the  New  England 
Conference. 


540  Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 

ers ; "  but  presently  the  question  arose  whether  both  parents  must  bo 
believers  in  order  to  the  administration  of  this  sacrament  upon  their 
offspring.  To  meet  this  somewhat  dehcate  case  the  "  Half-way  Cove- 
nant," as  it  was  called,  was  contrived ;  whereby,  without  a  profession 
of  personal  piety,  parents  might  signify  their  adherence  to  the  doc- 
trine and  order  of  the  Church,  and  thus  secure  the  holy  ordinance  for 
their  children. 

The  "  venerable  Stoddard,"  one  of  ISTew  England's  leading  divines, 
publicly  defended  the  right  of  all  intelligent  and  respectable  persons  to 
celebrate  the  Lord's  Supper.  In  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  Mid- 
dle States,  also,  tliis  sacrament  was  held  to  be  the  privilege  of  all  bap- 
tized persons  who  were  not  heretical  in  opinion  or  scandalous  in  life  ; 
a  ad  the  experience  of  conversion  was  not  held  to  be  essential  either 
to  Church  membership  or  the  ministerial  office.  As  unquestionable 
proof  of  the  sad  dechne  of  true  rehgion  in  America  may  be  cited 
ill  the  words  of  the  great  Jonathan  Edwards ;  who,  referring  to  tho 
condition  of  the  Churches  previous  to  "the  great  awakening," 
says : — 

"  The  difference  between  the  world  and  Church  was  vanishing  away  ; 
Church  discipline  was  neglected,  and  the  growing  laxness  of  morals 
was  invading  the  Churches ;  and  yet,  never,  perhaps,  had  the  expecta 
tion  of  reaching  heaven  at  last  been  more  general  or  more  confident." 

This  was  previous  to  the  great  revival  of  1740,  under  the  labors  of 
Edwards,  "Wliitefield,  Tennent,  and  others ;  which  revival,  however, 
produced  so  little  permanent  good  that,  three  years  afterward,  the 
Annual  Convention  of  Pastors  in  the  Province  of  Massachusetts  Bay, 
issued  their  protest  ostensibly  against  their  errors  of  the  revival,  but 
actually  against  the  revival  itseK.* 

Dr.  Edwards,  for  his  opposition  to  the  "Half-way  Covenant,"  hit 
bold  denunciation  of  the  sins  of  professed  religionists,  and  his  vigoT*- 
ous  preaching  of  the  doctrine  of  regeneration,  was  presently  driven 
from  his  Northampton  parish,  and  at  last  found  an  asylum  among  the 
remnant  of  one  of  the  tribes  of  Massachusetts  Indians  ;  thus  offering 
another  illustration  of  the  weakness,  not  to  say  wickedness,  of  a  polit- 
ical form  of  religion. 

One  of  the  theological  afflictions  of  New  England,  at  this  time, 

*  Stevens's  "  History  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,"  vol.  ii,  p.  409. 


Methodism  an  Lsttkudee  in  New  England.        541 

was  the  New  Divinity,  which  had  already  erected  itself  into  a  sect, 
[ts  chief  distinctive  doctrines  were  some  very  bold  inferences  fron> 
the  Calvinistic  theory  of  election ;  such  as :  that  it  is  impossible  for 
a  soul  in  its  natural  condition  to  do  any  thing  but  sin ;  that  even 
the  efforts  of  unregenerate  persons  to  bring  themselves  into  a  state  of 
grace  are  only  another  form  of  sin ;  that  the  proper  attitude  of 
mind  for  all  who  are  unsaved  is  to  wait  God's  time,  when,  if  they 
are  of  the  number  of  the  elect,  he  will  call  them  with  his  "  effectual 
calling  ;  "  that  regeneration  is  the  first  work  of  the  Holy  Spirit  upon 
the  soul  of  the  sinner,  and  therefore  prayer,  repentance,  and  faith,  are 
useless  until  this  work  is  accomplished.  Asbury  mentions  several 
Churches  which  he  had  found  estabhshed  on  the  New  Divinity  plan, 
but  they  did  not  seem  to  be  much  more  efficient  as  means  of  grace  than 
the  Old  Divinity  Churches,  which,  indeed,  allowed  a  man  to  pray  for 
pardon  and  regeneration  if  he  felt  moved  thereto  by  the  Holy  Spirit ; 
this  being  an  evidence  that  he  was  probably  one  of  the  elect ;  never- 
theless, if  he  were  not  chosen  from  all  eternity  unto  eternal  life  all  his 
prayers  and  penitence  would  avail  him  nothing.  Whether  his  desire 
to  flee  from  the  wrath  to  come  was  divinely  inspired,  the  Old  Divinity 
offered  the  awakened  sinner  no  means  of  determining,  nor  yet  any 
means  of  knowing  afterward,  with  any  degree  of  certainty,  whether  he 
had  been  converted  or  not ;  that  was  a  question  only  to  be  determined 
by  the  final  disclosure,  at  the  day  of  judgment,  of  the  secret  and  sov- 
ereign will  of  God. 

It  has  been  the  fashion  in  certain  quarters  to  accuse  the  old-time 
clergy  of  New  England  of  "  savage  orthodoxy,"  in  view  of  their  oppo- 
sition to  the  Methodist  movement ;  but  a  careful  study  of  the  situation 
will  show  another  side  to  the  shield.  It  was  not  so  much  the  theology 
of  Geneva  and  Westminster  which  they  were  defending  as  it  was  their 
political,  financial,  and  social  pre-eminence.  Free  grace  and  free  wiU 
were  bad  enough,  but  free  Churches  were  worse.  There  was  too 
much  freedom  already ;  and  if  Methodist  Churches,  on  the  voluntary 
system,  were  to  become  numerous,  there  would  doubtless  be  a  still 
further  falling  off  in  parish  revenues,  and  a  further  damage  to  their 
autocracy. 

Nevertheless,  the  Methodists  were  destined  to  help  rather  than 
hinder  the  outward  prosperity  of  the  orthodox  Churches,  and,  what 


542  Illustrated  History  op  Methodism. 

is  of  far  more  importance,  to  save  them  from  being  overwhelmed 
by  the  rising  tide  of  TJnitarianism.* 

The  Calvinistic  Controversy  A^ain. — The  Methodists, 
on  entering  New  England,  opened  their  guns  at  once  against  itg  Cal- 
vinism ;  not,  however,  for  the  sake  of  controversy,  but  simply  because 
sinners  were  wont  to  take  refuge  behind  some  of  its  teachings,  and 
defend  themselves  thereby  for  their  impenitence. 

The  itinerants  thought  it  necessary,  first  of  all,  to  show  the  sinner 
that  on  God's  part  there  is  absolutely  no  obstacle  whatever  to  his 
salvation ;  and  also,  that  the  obstacles  which  are  in  the  heart  of  the 
sinner  himself  God  is  constantly  ready,  willing,  and  anxious  to 
overcome ;  on  the  only  conditions  whereby  the  work  of  saving  grace 
is  possible,  namely,  repentance  toward  God  and  faith  in  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ.  "  Methodism  has  a  theology  that  can  be  preached,"  is  a 
saying  accredited  to  an  eminent  Congregationalist  of  our  day,f  and  from 
first  to  last  it  has  been  preached ;  the  whole  of  it ;  all  the  time,  and 
without  the  slightest  mental  reservation.  If,  therefore,  the  providence 
of  God  is  of  any  authority  in  determining  his  opinions  and  purposes, 
it  must  be  evident  that,  as  between  the  Calvinism  of  ]^ew  England 
and  the  doctrine  of  free  grace,  the  latter  rather  than  the  foi^ner 
is  their  most  approved  statement.  By  it  God  has  chiefly  carried  on 
his  work  all  over  Christendom  in  this  age  which  seems  to  be  the 
harbinger  of  the  millennium,  while  the  theories  which  so  long  held 
men's  souls  in  darkness  and  inaction  have  now  nearly  perished  from 
the  earth. 

Asbury  among^  the  Sons  of  the  Pilg^rims. — On  Satur- 
day, the  4th  of  June,  1Y91,  Bishop  Asbury  set  out  to  explore  New 
England.  Having  passed  the  last  Methodist  out-post  in  the  State  of 
New  York,  he  entered  the  State  of  Connecticut ;  stopping  the  first 
night  in  the  town  of  Reading.  He  appears  to  have  projected  this 
tour  somewhat  in  the  spirit  of  prophecy ;  for,  on  the  first  day,  he 
writes  in  his  Journal  as  follows  : — 

'''  Surely  God  will  work  powerfully  among  these  people,  and  save 
the  isands  of  them.  ...  I  feel  faith  to  believe  that  this  visit  to  New 

*  Professor  Mead,  of  Andover  Theological  Seminary,  is  credited  by  Dr.  David  Sherman  with 
Baying,  in  a  public  lecture,  that  Methodism  saved  Congregationalism  from  the  tid«  of  Unita^ 
nanism,  turning  the  tide  in  favor  of  Orthodoxy. 

f  Joseph  Cook. 


ASBURY  AMONG  THE  SoNS  OF  THE  PiLGEIMS.     543 

England  will  be  blessed  to  my  own  sonl,  and  to  the  souls  of  others 
...  I  do  feel  as  if  there  had  been  religion  in  this  country  once ;  and 
I  apprehend  there  is  a  httle  in  form  and  theory  left.  There  may 
have  been  a  praying  ministry  and  people  here ;  but  I  fear  they  are  now 
spiritually  dead ;  and  am  persuaded  that  family  and  private  prayer  Is 
very  httle  practiced.  Could  these  people  be  brought  to  constant,  fer- 
vent prayer,  the  Lord  would  come  down  and  work  wonderfully  among 
them.     I  find  my  mind  fixed  on  God  and  the  work  of  God," 

The  next  day  he  preached  in  the  morning  at  Reading,  to  a  congre- 
gation of  about  three  hundred  persons,  who  were  assembled  in  a  large 
barn ;  on  which  occasion  he  says,  "  I  felt  freedom,  and  the  truth  came 
clearly  to  my  mind ;"  but  in  the  evening  at  Newtown,  twelve  miles 
farther  on,  where  a  multitude  of  people  were  assembled  in  a  Presby- 
terian meeting-house  to  hear  him,  he  declared  that  he  felt  the  power 
of  Satan,  and  soon  ended  his  feeble  testimony. 

On  Monday  he  passed  through  Stepney,  and  on  Tuesday  reached 
Stratford,  where  he  discovered  a  Httle  Methodist  Society,  of  which 
he  says :  "  We  met  the  class,  and  found  some  gracious  souls.  The 
Methodists  have  a  Society  consisting  of  twenty  members,  some  of  them 
converted ;  but  they  have  no  house  of  worship.  They  may  now  make 
a  benefit  of  a  calamity — being  denied  the  use  of  other  houses,  they  will 
the  more  earnestly  labor  to  get  one  of  their  own.  The  Presbyterians 
and  the  Episcopahans  have  each  one,  and  both  are  elegant  buildings." 

On  the  9th  of  June  he  arrived  at  New  Haven,  that  famous  seat  of 
learning,  and  his  appointment  to  preach  having  been  published  in  the 
newspapers,  he  had  the  honor  of  the  President  of  Yale  College,  some 
of  the  faculty  and  students,  and  a  few  prominent  citizens,  to  hear 
him.  They  all  listened  respectfully,  but  their  coolness,  as  compared 
with  the  warm  hospitahty  to  which  he  had  been  accustomed  on  his 
episcopal  jom-neys  in  the  Middle  and  Southern  States,  led  him  to 
make  the  following  entry  in  his  Journal : — 

"  I  talked  away  to  them  very  fast.  When  I  had  done  no  man 
6po"ke  to  me.  I  thought  to-day  of  dear  Mr.  Whitefield's  words  to  Mr. 
Boardman  and  Mr.  Pilmoor  at  their  first  coming  over  to  America : 
'  Ah ! '  said  he,  '  if  ye  were  Calvinists,  ye  would  take  the  country 
before  ye.'  We  visited  the  college  chapel'  at  the  hour  of  prayer :  I 
wished  to  go  through  the  whole,  to  inspect  the  interior  arrangements, 


544  Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 

but  no  one  invited  me.  The  divines  were  grave,  and  tlie  students  wer& 
attentive ;  they  used  me  like  a  fellow-Christian  in  coming  to  hear  me 
preach,  and  like  a  stranger  in  other  respects.  Should  Cokesbury  or 
Baltimore  ever  furnish  the  opportunity,  I,  in  my  turn,  will  requite 
their  behavior  by  treating  them  as  friends,  brothers,  and  gentlemen. 
The  difficulty  I  met  with  in  New  Haven  for  lodging  and  for  a  place 
to  hold  meeting,  made  me  feel  and  know  the  worth  of  Methodists 
more  than  ever." 

The  rapid  growth  of  Christian  courtesy  and  catholicity  at  once 
suggests  itself  in  connection  with  this  incident.  It  is  but  a  short  time 
since  Bishop  Simpson  delivered  his  Lectures  on  Preaching  before  the 
theological  department  of  this  same  university ;  his  words  being 
listened  to  with  eager  admiration,  equalled  only  by  the  affection  and 
reverence  called  forth  by  his  personal  character  and  representative 
position.  A  Methodist  Bishop  in  1879  is  invited  to  instruct  the 
candidates  for  New  England  Congregational  pulpits  in  the  manner 
and  the  power  of  gospel  preaching :  another  prophecy  and  promise, 
among  so  many,  of  the  speedy  harmony  and  the  ultimate  unity  of  the- 
Church  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

From  New  Haven  Asbury  passed  on  into  Rhode  Island,  reach- 
ing Newport  on  the  16th  of  June.  Here  he  found  two  Presbyterian 
meeting-houses,  one  New  Divinity,  one  Kegular  Baptist,  one  New- 
Light  Baptist,  one  Sabbatarian,  one  Quaker,  one  Episcopal,  and  one 
Moravian  house  of  Christian  worship,  besides  a  synagogue  of  the 
Jews.  Thus  it  was  evident  that  the  people  of  Rhode  Island  had  no 
lack  of  variety  in  the  forms  of  rehgion ;  but  in  the  opinion  of  Asbury 
there  was  still  a  want  which  only  a  Methodist  Society  could  supply. 

Two  days  after  lie  came  to  Bristol,  where  he  "found  a  degree  of 
liberty  "  in  preaching  at  the  Court-house  from  the  text,  "  The  Son  of 
man  is  come  to  seek  and  to  save  that  which  is  lost ; "  but  he  says : 
"  I  fear  religion  is  extinguished  by  confining  it  too  much  to  church 
and  Sunday  service  and  reading  of  sermons.  I  feel  that  I  am  not 
among  my  own  people,  although  I  believe  there  are  some  who  fear 
God ;  and  I  find  reason  to  hope  that  souls  have  gone  to  glory  from  this 
town."     Indeed !  and  why  not,  pray  ? 

At  Providence  he  found  a  "few  gracious  souls,"  and  he  praises 
this  Baptist  city  thus : — 


Methodism  in  Boston.  545 

"  The  people  here  appear  to  be  pnident,  active,  frugal,  cultivating^ 
a  spirit  of  good  family  economy ;  and  they  are  kind  to  strangers. 
They  have  had  frequent  revivals  of  rehgion :  I  had  faith  to  beHeve 
the  Lord  would  shortly  visit  them  again,  and  that  even  we  shall  have 
something  to  do  in  this  town." 

From  Providence  he  proceeded  to  Boston,  thence  along  the  coast 
to  New  Hampshire,  and  back  again  into  ITew  York  by  way  of  Wor- 
cester, Hartford,  and  Litchfield. 

methodisin  in  Boston. — The  first  Methodist  preacher  ever 
seen  in  New  England  was  Charles  "Wesley.  In  the  month  of  Septem- 
ber, 1Y36,  the  vessel  on  which  he  had  taken  passage  from  Charleston 
at  the  close  of  his  brief  missionary  labors  with  General  Oglethorpe's 
colony  at  Savannah,  was  driven  by  stress  of  weather  into  Boston  Bay  ^ 
and,  being  recognized,  not  as  a  Methodist,  but  as  a  minister  of  the 
Church  of  England,  he  was  invited  to  address  the  congregation 
at  King's  Chapel,  at  that  time  the  only  Episcopal  Church  in 
Boston. 

Four  years  later  came  George  Whitefield,  the  Calvinistic  Method- 
ist, whose  reputation  had  long  preceded  him  as  the  prince  of  preach- 
ers, though  he  was  not  known  in  New  England  as  a  Methodist. 
There  was  no  church  in  the  little  town  of  Boston  wliich  could  con- 
tain the  multitudes  that  flocked  to  hear  him ;  and,  on  Saturday,  the 
20th  of  September,  1740,  he  sought  the  hospitable  shade  of  the  great 
elm,  which  then  stood  alone  in  the  center  of  the  open  lot  in  the  rear  of 
the  town ;  then,  as  now,  called  "  The  Common ;"  and  here  he  preached 
one  of  his  matchless  sermons  to  a  congregation  of  about  eight  thou- 
sand people,  some  of  whom  admired  and  blessed  him  wliile  others 
cast  out  his  name  as  evil.  But  Whitefield's  administrations  were  little 
more  than  a  marvel  and  a  memory.  They  produced  intense  excitement, 
but  left  few  permanent  impressions,  and  for  more  than  thirty  years 
Boston  eyes  were  not  blessed  with  the  sight  of  a  Methodist  preacher. 
In  1TY2  or  "73  Kichard  Boardman,  one  of  the  first  two  missionaries 
gent  out  to  America  by  Mr.  Wesley,  "  wandered  into  Boston,"  and 
gathered  a  little  company  of  spiritual  worshipers,  but  when  the  mis- 
sionary was  gone  the  mission  expired,  and  who  those  Methodists  were, 
and  what  they  were,  no  one  now  can  tell.* 

*  Hamilton's  "  Memorial  of  Jesse  Lee  and  the  Old  Elm." 


-546  Illusteated  History  of  Methodism. 

In  1Y84,  William  Black,  returning  from  the  Christmas  Conference 
at  Baltimore,  where  he  had  been  in  search  of  reinforcements  for 
Nova  Scotia,  stopped  in  the  capital  of  the  Bay  State,  hoping  to 
plant  therein  a  permanent  Methodist  Society ;  but  the  most  of  the 
churches  were  closed  against  him,  and  his  ministry  was  limited  to  pri- 
vate families  and  public  school-houses.  "His  labors,  nevertheless, 
were  encouraging  and  successful,  and  a  small  Society  was  organized  in 
the  older  part  of  the  town."  Being  compelled  to  return  to  Nova 
Scotia,  he  was  permitted  to  preach  his  farewell  sermon  from  the  pulpit 
of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Elliot,  in  the  new  North  Church,  on  which  occasion 
his  audience  numbered  more  than  two  thousand  persons.  Before  his 
departure  he  commended  the  Boston  Society  to  the  care  of  Bishop 
Asbury,  but  his  letter  was  never  received,  and  the  little  band  were 
presently  scattered  among  the  other  Churches  of  the  town. 

In  the  spring  of  1788  Freeborn  Garrettson,  returning  from  his 
term  of  service  in  Nova  Scotia,  passed  through  the  place,  visiting 
those  who  were  friendly,  and  endeavoring  to  revive  the  Society  ;  but 
this  effort  also  resulted  in  failure. 

The  Boston  mind  was  calm,  logical,  averse  to  religious  exitement. 
Even  the  eloquent  Whitefield  had  been  denounced  by  some  of  the 
Boston  critics  as  a  "  vagrant,"  a  "  thief,"  and  a  "  robber."  Harvard 
University  published  its  protest  against  him,  and  one  Dr.  Douglas 
declared  that  "  every  exhortation  he  dehvered  in  Boston  was  a  damage 
to  the  town  of  a  thousand  pounds."  *  Thus  the  pioneers  of  Method- 
ism in  the  Athens  of  America  encountered  a  task  of  greater  difficulty 
than  that  assigned  to  the  explorers  of  the  Holston  country,  or  the 
missionaries  to  Choctaw  Corner.  It  required  good  courage  to  face  a 
hurricane  of  snow  among  the  passes  of  the  Alleghanies ;  but  to  face 
the  cold  self-satisfaction  of  this  stronghold  of  Puritanism  called  for 
a  courage  and  devotion  which,  even  among  Asbury's  itinerant  heroes, 
was  not  commonly  found. 

Jesse  Lee. — There  was,  however,  one  man  among  them  whose 
spirit  was  stirred  within  him  at  the  thought  of  the  repeated  failures  to 
evangehze  the  chief  city  of  the  East.  As  early  as  1784  he  had  resolved 
to  press  the  Bishop  to  send  him  into  New  England ;  but  it  was  not 
nntil  the  spring  of  1790  that  he  was  permitted  to  set  out  for  Boston, 
*  Hamilton's  "  Memorial  of  Jesse  Lee." 


Jesse  Lee.  5  47 

though  he  had  traveled  and  preached  extensively  in  -western  Massachu- 
setts and  Connecticut  during  the  previous  year. 

Jesse  Lee  was  bom  in  Prince  George's  County,  "Virginia,  in  1758, 
and  entered  the  itinerant  ministry  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
in  1783.  To  compass  the  hfe  and  character  of  such  a  man  within  the 
limits  of  a  book  is  manifestly  impossible.  His  was  one  of  those  gener- 
ous, capacious,  splendidly-endowed  natures  which  challenges  admira- 
tion no  less  than  it  discourages  all  attempts  at  description.  To  the 
warmth  and  energy  of  his  southern  blood  was  added  a  readiness  of  wit 
worthy  of  a  thoroughbred  Irishman,  and  a  keenness  and  sagacity 
which  would  have  done  no  discredit  to  a  canny  Scotchman,  or  the  best 
product  of  the  very  focus  of  New  England  life. 

His  parents  were  parishioners  of  Jarratt,  the  evangelical  Episcopal 
pastor,  and  one  of  the  few  men  in  America  who  preached  a  pres- 
ent, personal,  and  conscious  salvation ;  and  under  his  ministiy  young 
Lee,  in  his  fifteenth  year,  was  brought  to  a  saving  knowledge  of  Christ. 
At  nineteen  he  was  a  class-leader  in  Nortlr'  Carolina,  whither  he  went 
to  manage  the  farm  of  a  widowed  relative  ;  and  in  1784,  at  the  invita- 
tion of  Bishop  Asbury,  he  adjusted  his  affairs,  equipped  himseK  with 
horse,  saddle-bags,  Bible,  and  Hymn  Book,  and  started  out  on  a  career 
which  has  made  his  name  immortal.  The  next  year  he  was  invited  to 
accompany  the  Bishop  on  his  tour  through  the  South,  where  he  made 
the  acquaintance  of  a  Massachusetts  man  who  gave  him  such  a  descrip- 
tion of  New  England  life,  manners,  and  theology,  as  filled  him  with 
an  irrepressible  desire  to  become  a  missionary  among  that  highly 
civilized  but  poorly  evangelized  people. 

The  appointment  of  Jesse  Lee  to  New  England,  at  the  New  York 
■Conference  of  1789,  was  a  case  of  special  adaptation  of  the  man  to  his 
work.  He  was  possessed  of  a  courage  which  nothing  could  daunt ;  it 
■doubtless  amounted  to  impudence  in  the  estimation  of  the  Boston 
mind,  which  was  by  no  means  fiattered  at  the  idea  of  a  man  coming  to 
them  as  a  missionary  from  among  the  mountains  of  Yirginia ;  his  style 
of  address  was  full  of  shrewdness  as  well  as  of  force,  whereby  he  could 
win  the  respect  and  rivet  the  attention  of  any  audience,  especially  a 
Boston  audience ;  and  withal,  he  had  such  faith  in  the  divineness  of 
his  mission,  and  in  the  power  of  the  Gospel  which  he  was  sent  to 
preach,  that  his  words  went  straight  to  the  hearts  of  his  hearers,  put- 


548  Illustkated  History  of  Methodism. 

ting  them  at  once  on  the  defensive  if  they  were  inchned  to  contro- 
versy, or  carrying  them  completely  with  him  if  they  were  honest 
seekers  after  the  truth. 

He  was  a  man  of  magnificent  presence,  much  above  the  ordinary 
size ;  he  had  the  manners  of  a  southern  gentleman ;  his  voice  was 
musical  or  mighty,  at  pleasure,  and  he  could  sing  the  Methodist 
hymns  in  a  manner  which  left  him  little  use  for  Church  bells .  to  call 
together  his  congregation.  His  education  was  not  so  extensive  as  the 
uses  he  made  of  it,  but  it  served  the  purposes  of  his  ministry, 
and  left  no  cause  of  complaint  even  among  a  people  with  whom  a 
collegiate  training  was  regarded  as  indispensable  in  a  minister  of  the 
Gospel. 

At  one  of  his  first  preaching-places  in  Connecticut,  on  his  way  to 
Boston,  he  was  asked  by  his  hostess  if  he  possessed  a  liberal  education ; 
to  which  he  replied :  "  Tolerably  Kberal ;  enough,  I  think,  to  carry  me 
through  the  country." 

On  another  occasion  he  applied  to  a  minister  for  permission  to 
preach  in  his  church ;  and  the  pastor,  anxious  to  know  whether  he 
were  a  learned  man  before  admitting  him  to  his  pulpit,  addressed  him 
a  question  in  Latin.  This  was  quite  beyond  Lee's  literary  latitude ;  but, 
while  on  his  North  Carolina  Circuit,  he  had  picked  up  a  little  of  the 
speech  of  the  Dutch  mountaineers,  in  which  language  he  gravely 
rephed  to  the  question. 

The  pastor  was  surprised,  but  not  satisfied ;  accordingly  he  repeated 
the  question,  this  time  in  Greek,  to  which  Lee  responded  with  some 
more  Dutch  ;  which  language,  being  unknown  to  the  pastor,  he  imag- 
ined it  might  be  Hebrew,  of  which  he  was  himself  ignorant ;  and,  on 
the  presumption  that  Lee  was  the  better  scholar  of  the  two,  he  granted 
him  the  use  of  his  pulpit. 

On  the  first  round  of  his  Connecticut  Circuit  Lee  was  frequently 
treated  with  rudeness,  sometimes  approaching  to  violence.  The  ma- 
jority of  the  ministers  warned  the  people  against  him  as  a  pestilent 
heretic,  whom  it  was  the  duty  of  all  good  Christians  to  thrust  out  of 
their  neighborhood  as  soon  as  possible ;  alleging  that  he  had  come  to 
break  up  the  Congregational  Churches  and  drive  away  their  ministers. 
When  in  Fairfield,  Conn.,  it  became  known  that  there  were  three 
Av^omen  who  intended  to  join  his  Society,  there  was  great  excitement 


Jesse  Lee.  549 

and  alarm,  and  a  convention  comprising  forty-five  ministers  and  ninety 
deacons  was  held,  witli  a  view  to  forming  a  compact  combination 
against  the  intruders. 

The  next  year  Lee  was  re-enforced  from  the  ranks  of  the  old  Balti- 
more Circuit  by  three  preachers — Jacob  Brush,  George  Roberts,  and 
Daniel  Smith.  These  he  left  in  charge  of  the  circuit  which  he  had 
abeady  organized,  while  he  himself  made  a  long  excui'sion  through 
the  States  of  Massachusetts,  Kew  Hampshire,  and  Yermont,  and  back 
again  to  Connecticut.  All  this  while  his  eye  was  fixed  upon  Boston,  and, 
having  resolved  to  pay  a  visit  to  this  place,  he  was  not  a  little  dehghted 
on  his  journey  thither  to  fall  in  with  the  Rev.  Freeborn  Garrettson, 
who  was  on  his  return  from  Nova  Scotia,  whither  he  had  been  on  a 
missionary  tour.  The  hearts  of  these  sturdy  itinerants  were  gladdened 
at  this  providential  meeting.  They  passed  the  night  together,  and 
the  next  morning  Lee  passed  on  to  Boston,  where  he  arrived  on  the 
9th  of  July,  1790. 

For  several  days  he  persistently  sought  for  a  preaching-place,  but 
no  door  was  opened  to  him.  Why  he  should  have  expected  Boston 
to  open  its  doors  for  Methodist  preaching  does  not  appear.  It  certain- 
ly was  not  conscious  of  wanting  any  thing  in  the  way  of  religious 
instruction.  But  Boston  was  always  ready  to  listen  to  almost  any 
thing  new  in  the  way  of  philosophy  or  religion,  provided  it  was  clearly 
and  eloquently  set  forth  ;  and  bethinking  him  of  the  method  which 
he  had  so  successfully  used  elsewhere,  he  gave  notice  of  his  inten- 
tion to  preach  on  the  Common  on  the  afternoon  of  the  ensuing  Sab- 
bath. He  managed  to  borrow  a  table  and  have  it  conveyed  to  a 
convenient  spot  under  the  old  elm,  and  at  the  appointed  time  he 
mounted  this  rude  pulpit  and  began,  as  usual,  to  sing  a  congregation 
together.  Then,  kneeling  on  his  table,  he  offered  a  simple  and  fervent 
prayer.  "  When  he  entered  into  the  subject-matter  of  his  text,"  says 
one  who  was  present,  "  it  was  such  an  easy,  natural  fiow  of  expression, 
and  in  such  a  tone  of  voice,  that  I  could  not  refrain  from  weeping,  and 
many  others  were  effected  in  the  same  way.  When  he  was  done,  and 
we  had  an  opportunity  of  expressing  our  views  to  each  other,  it  was 
agreed  that  such  a  man  had  not  visited  New  England  since  the  days 
of  Whitefield.  I  heard  him  again  and  thought  I  could  follow  him  to 
the  ends  of  the  earth."     His  congregation  on  this  occasion  was  esti- 


550  Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 

mated  at  between  two  and  tliree  thousand  people,  and  they  all  gave 
him  a  quiet  and  respectful  attention. 

The  success  of  his  first  effort  at  preaching  under  the  old  ehn  was 
so  great  that  he  was  encouraged  to  continue  his  ministry  there  during 
a  considerable  part  of  the  summer ;  and  at  length,  in  one  of  the  alleys 
of  the  town,  a  place  was  found  where  it  was  permitted  to  build  a 
Methodist  house  of  worship.  This  first  Methodist  preaching  house  in 
New  England  was  built  with  money  begged  by  Lee  in  southern  cities, 
and  carried  to  the  builders  with  his  own  hands.  [See  cut  at  the  head 
of  this  chapter.] 

In  Lynn  a  more  hospitable  reception  was  accorded  to  him,  and 
there  he  formed  his  first  Society  in  Massachusetts,  February  20,  1791 ; 
consisting  of  eight  members.  On  the  2Tth  of  the  same  month  it  had 
increased  to  twenty-nine  members,  and  in  May  following  more  than 
seventy  persons  took  certificates  of  their  attendance  on  his  ministry — 
a  measure  rendered  necessary  by  the  laws  of  the  State,  in  order  to 
secure  them  from  taxation  for  the  support  of  the  clergy  of  the  "  stand- 
ing order." 

This  fact  will  serve  to  illustrate  the  actual  status  of  the  Congrega 
tional  Churches  in  New  England.  By  the  terms  of  agreement  made 
between  the  Church  and  parish  on  one  hand,  and  the  minister  about 
to  be  settled  on  the  other,  the  salary  of  the  minister  was  a  legal  claim 
upon  the  property  of  the  people  of  the  town,  and  a  tax  was  assessed 
upon  them  by  the  parish  authorities  to  raise  it.  No  one  was  exempted 
from  this  tax  unless  he  certified  to  the  parish  authorities  that  he  "  did 
duty"  in  connection  with  some  other  established  rehgious  Society. 
Thus  the  formation  of  other  Societies  within  the  territory  tributary  to 
"  the  standing  order,"  furnished  an  opportunity  for  disaffected  persons 
to  take  themselves  and  their  property  out  from  under  the  operation 
of  the  Church  tax  law ;  on  which  account,  as  has  been  suggested,  the 
setting  up  of  any  new  religious  organization  was  a  serious  affair, 
financially  as  well  as  theologically. 

At  the  Conference  of  1791,  which  opened  in  New  York,  May  26th, 
the  appointments  for  New  England  were  as  follows  :  Jesse  Lee,  Elder ; 
Litchfield — Matthias  Swain,  James  Covel;  Fairfield — Nathaniel  B. 
Mills,  Aaron  Hunt ;  Middlefields — John  Allen,  George  Roberts ;  Hart- 
ford— Lemuel  Smith,  Menzies  Rainor  ;  Stockbridge — Robert  Green ; 


The  First  Conference  est  New  England.  551 

Lynn — John  Bloodgood,  Daniel  Smith :  one  district  and  six  circuits, 
four  of  them  in  Connecticut  and  two  in  Massachusetts,  with  eleven 
circuit  preachers  and  one  presiding  elder. 

The  first  Methodist  Society  in  Boston  was  organized  on  the  13th 
of  July,  1792. 

The  First  Conference  in  IVew  Eng^land  was  held  at 
Lynn,  commencing  August  3d,  1792.  There  were  eight  persons  pres- 
ent besides  Bishop  Asbury,  among  whom  were  Jesse  Lee,  who  was 
now  exulting  in  having  gained  a  permanent  foot-hold  in  this  unprom- 
ising region;  Hope  Hull,  "the  Summcrfield  of  his  time;"  Rainor, 
fresh  from  the  revivals  of  the  Hartford  Circuit ;  Allen,  the  Boanerges, 
as  his  brethren  called  him ;  and,  probably,  Lemuel  Smith  and  Jere- 
miah Cosden. 

Extensive  revivals  were  reported  in  the  region  of  •  Lynn  and  Pitts- 
field,  in  Massachusetts,  and  of  Reading  and  Hartford,  in  Connecticut, 
and  of  Albany,  in  New  York,  and  the  number  of  members  reported 
was  one  thousand  three  hundi-ed  and  fifty-eight,  showing  a  gain  of 
nearly  nine  hundred  for  the  Conference  year,  which  was,  however, 
about  fifteen  months  in  length.  JS'otwithstanding  the  general  preju- 
dice against  the  new  Church,  invitations  for  preachers  began  to  come 
in  from  various  quarters.  Jesse  Lee  was  returned  as  Presiding  Elder 
to  New  England  for  another  year,  in  which  territory  were  the  follow- 
ing circuits :  Lynn,  Boston,  Needham,  Providence,  Fairfield,  Litchfield, 
Middletown,  Hartford,  and  Pittsfield.  This  last  circuit  was,  however, 
on  the  Albany  District  and  under  the  presiding  eldership  of  Garrettson. 
The  Providence  District,  of  wliich  Jacob  Brush  was  the  Presiding 
Elder,  embraced  a  part  of  the  State  of  New  York,  as  well  as  consider- 
able portions  of  Connecticut. 

The  membership  on  some  of  the  Eastern  circuits  was  still  very 
small.  After  all  his  labors  in  Boston,  Lee  had  thus  far  gathered  only 
fifteen  members,  and  at  Needham,  thirty-four.  At  Lynn,  however, 
which  from  the  first  was  a  garden-plot  for  the  Methodists,  one  hun- 
dred and  eighteen  members  were  reported — a  gain  of  sixty  in  a  single 
year.  Middletown,  Connecticut,  reported  one  hundred  and  twenty- 
four  members,  and  Hartford,  nearly  two  hundred — one  hundred  and 
sixty  of  whom  were  brought  in  during  this  year. 

Having  estabhshed  Societies  in  Boston,  Lynn,  and  the  sun-ounding 


552  Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 

country,  Lee  pushed  next  his  outposts  over  into  the  Province  of  Maine, 
then  a  part  of  Massachusetts,  consisting  chiefly  of  dense  forests,  with  a 
narrow  fringe  of  settlements  along  the  sea-coast  and  a  few  small  towns 
on  the  rivers  in  the  interior.  Lee,  as  has  already  been  noticed,  was  a 
man  of  magnificent  proportions,  physically  as  well  as  mentally ;  an  id- 
vantage  by  no  means  to  be  despised,  yet  sometimes  a  disadvantage  as 
Avell.  There  were  now  but  few  roads  through  the  Province  of  Maine, 
and  much  of  his  journey  lay  along  bridle-paths  which  were  beset  with 
rocks  and  fallen  timber,  and  crossed  by  broad  streams,  most  of  them 
innocent  of  bridges.  No  one  horse  was  equal  to  the  itinerancy  on  thit 
occasion,  and  Lee  provided  himself  with  two  good  animals,  which  he 
tired  out  by  turns.  In  this  way  he  explored  this  new  country  in  aU 
•directions,  preaching  at  York,  "Wells,  Portland,  Newcastle,  "Waldo- 
.  borough,  and  Thomaston.  The  farthest  point  inland  that  he  reached 
was  Old  Town.  As  the  result  of  this  tour  of  observation  he  organ- 
ized a  circuit  west  of  the  Kennebec  River,  which  he  called  Readfield, 
after  the  name  of  one  of  its  principal  appointments,  where  the  first 
■Conference  of  the  Province  of  Maine  was  held  in  1Y98. 

In  1794  Phillip  Wager  was  placed  on  the  Readfield  Circuit,  while 
Lee  took  the  general  oversight  of  the  work,  and  devoted  himself  to 
further  explorations.  The  region  beyond  the  Penobscot  was  to  him 
a  terra  incognita^  into  whose  mysterious  depths  he  was  desirous  to 
penetrate.  Passing  up  that  river,  which  he  crossed  at  Orrington,  he 
traveled  eastward,  crossing  the  Union  Piver  at  Ellsworth ;  thence  wind- 
ing around  Frenchman's  Bay,  to  Machias,  on  the  border  of  New  Bruns- 
wick, whence  he  passed  over  to  St.  Stevens,  and  thence  to  the  city  of 
St.  John,  on  the  Bay  of  Fundy,  the  principal  port  of  the  British  Prov- 
ince of  New  Brunswick.*  Having  made  himself  historic  by  his  work 
in  New  England,  Lee  returned  again  to  the  South,  thenceforth  to  be 
honored  as  the  most  brilliant  Methodist  of  his  time. 

For  some  years  previous  to  the  General  Conference  of  1800  Lee 
assisted  Bishop  Asbury  in  holding  Conferences,  visiting  the  Societies, 
and  preaching  throughout  the  Connection  from  Maine  to  Georgia,  and, 
in  the  judgment  of  many  of  his  brethren,  he  was  the  most  suitable 
man  for  Bishop ;  but  when  the  Conference  came  to  vote  there  was 
a  tie  between  Lee  and  Whatcoat,  and  on  the  third  ballot  the  latter  was 
*  Sherman's  sketch  of  Jesse  Lee,  in  "  New  England  Divines." 


1'he  Wesleyan  Academy. 


553 


elected  by  a  majority  of  four.  There  does  not  appear  to  have  been 
an}'  mere  party  division  in  the  case.  The  chief  distinction  between 
the  men  was  this  :  Lee  was  brilliant,  energetic,  sound  in  judgment,  and 
evidently  born  to  success ;  "Whatcoat  was  gentle,  lovable,  and  pious ; 
and  in  tliis  first  contest  piety  triumphed  over  talent,  and  the  precedent 
was  set  that  the  evident  favor  of  God  should  be  held  as  the  highest 
qualification  for  the  chief  office  in  the  Methodist  Communion. 

Lee  took  his  defeat  with  great  good  humor.  A  friend  suggested 
to  him  that  probably  he  was  thought  to  be  too  witty  for  a  Bishop ; 
to  which  he  rephed,  "  You  would  not  expect  me  to  assume  the  gravity 
of  a  r.ishop  previous  to  my  election." 

In  1809  Lee  was  chosen  chaj^lain  to  the  House  of  Representatives, 
at  Washington,  an  ofiice  which  he  held  until  1815,  and  which  he  then 
resigned  to  satisfy  the  scruples  of  certain  brethren  who  thought  this 
to  be  too  near  an  approach  to  secular  work  for  a  man  who  had  taken 
th'^.  vows  of  a  Methodist  preacher. 

His  death  occured  in  September,  1816,  at  the  age  fifty-eight,  and 
his  grave,  in  the  Mount  Ohvet  Cemetery,  in  Baltimore,  was  honored 
with  a  simple  monument,  which  has  recently  been  replaced  by  an  ele- 
gant shaft  of  Scotch  granite,  erected  in  this  chief  mausoleum  of  his 
Church  in  America,  by  his  spiritual  descendants  in  Boston  and  vicinity. 
[See  page  597.] 

The  Wesleyan  Academy,  one  of  the  oldest  schools  of  the 
Ci.urch,  was  established  by  the  New  England  Methodist  preachers  at 


35 


Boarding  House.  Principars  Eesldence. 

WESLEYAN    ACADEMY,  WILBEAHAM,    MASS. 


554 


Tllusteated  History  of  Methodism. 


'New  Market,  ^.  H.,  in  1818,  from  whence  it  was  removed  to  Wilbra- 
liam,  Mass.,  in  1825. 

Its  first  princijjal,  after  the  removal,  was  AYilbnr  Fisk,  D.D.  His 
successors  have  been  as  follows:  AY.  M'K.  Bangs,  A.M.,  1831-32; 
John  Foster,  A.M.,  1832-34  ;  David  Patten,  D.D.,  183-1-41 ;  Charles 
Adams,  D.D.,  1841-45  ;  Eobert  Allyn,  D.D.,  1845-48  ;  Minor  Eay- 
mond,  D.D.,  1848-64  ;  Edward  Cooke,  D.D,  18G4-T4  ;  Xathaniel  Fel- 
lows, A.M.,  1871-T9  ;  George  M.  Steele,  18Y9. 

Minor  Ravmoiicl.  D.D. — A  Mance  at  the  above  list  of  names 

»  7  O 

and  dates  will  show  to  whose  hand  the  task  has  chiefly  fallen  of  shap- 
ing the  character,  earning  the  reputation,  and  guiding  the  course  of 
this  historic  school.     In  its  halls  more  than  fifteen  thousand  young 


J  i  ,i  !!''|i 


^'ALl 


Fi«k  Hall.  Binnov  Hall. 


Old  Acadpiny. 

WESLEYAX    ACADEMY,    WILBRAHAM,    MASS. 

men  and  women  have  received  instruction ;  in  its  services  of  religion 
hundreds  upon  hundreds  have  been  converted ;  and  to  the  talent  it  has 
developed  and  the  intelligent  piety  it  has  inculcated  .the  Methodism  of 
America  doubtless  owes  more  than  to  any  other  of  its  literary  institu- 
tions. From  1848  to  1864  Minor  Eaymond  was,  humanly  speaking, 
its  leading  spirit  and  its  motive  power ;  under  his  administration  it 
attained  a  New  England,  if  not  a  national,  reputation ;  by  his  labors 
and  the  gifts  of  its  wealthy  friends,  Eich,  Claflin,  Sleeper,  and  other 
Massachusetts  Methodists  of  smaller  fortunes  but  equally  generous 
hearts,  it  outgrew  its  three  modest  houses,  and  entered  into  the  spa- 
cious halls  which  these  pages  represent.     Twice  has  its  boarding  house 


Mlnor  Raymond,  D.D.  o55 

risen  from  its  ashes;  the  last  fire  destroying  a  new  structui-e  scarcely 
inferior  to  the  one  here  shown  ;  but  these  swift  and  crushing- calamities 
in  nowise  swerved  the  sturdy  purpose  or  jarred  the  serene  equanimity 
of  the  man  to  whose  head  and  heart  their  existence  was  cliiefly  due. 
Presently  a  third  home  for  his  great  family  was  ready  ;  whereupon,  feel- 
ing that  his  work  for  this  school  had  been  well  and  faithfully  done,  he 
bade  good-bye  to  New  England,  and  gave  himself,  first  to  the  West, 
as  Professor  of  Systematic  Theology  in  the  Garrett  Biblical  Institute, 
at  Evanston,  Illinois,  and  then  to  the  whole  Church,  in  his  three  vol- 
umes of  Theology  and  Moral  Philosophy.  If  the  number  of  his  pupils, 
the  service  he  has  rendered  them,  and  the  love  they  bear  him  be  fair 
bases  of  reckoning,  then  Minor  Raymond  has  no  superior  among  edu- 
cators in  our  Church  ;  though  there  is  among  its  large  and  admirable 
force  of  presidents  and  professors  one  other  name  which  fast  approaches 
his — that  of  the  Methodist  Plato,  Erastus  O.  Haven,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  a 
Boston  man,  now  also  claimed  both  by  the  East  and  "West, 

Dr.  Raymond  was  born  in  the  city  of  New  York,  August  29, 
1811,  but  nearly  the  whole  of  his  life  until  1864  was  spent  in  New 
"  England,  either  as  student,  professor,  pastor,  or  principal.  By  trans- 
fer from  the  New  England  Conference  he  is  now  a  member  of  tlic 
Rock  River  Conference,  both  of  which  he  has  represented  in  the 
General  Conference. 

The  Wesleyan  University,  the  first  of  the  long  hst  of 
Methodist  colleges  in  America,  wiU  hardly  be  recognized  by  its  early 
alumni  in  the  present  array  of  spacious  edifices,  [see  page  557,]  which 
attest  the  love  and  liberality  of  its  graduates  and  other  noble  friends. 

In  the  year  1830  the  original  buildings.  North  College  and  South 
College,  which  had  been  erected  for  a  mihtary  academy,  came  into  the 
possession  of  the  New  York  and  New  England  Conferences  ;  in  1831  a 
charter  was  obtained,  and  the  University  opened  its  doors  and  offered 
Its  services  to  aid  in  the  training  of  students,  who  hitherto  had  been 
obliged  to  seek  outside  their  Church  the  advantages  of  higher  education. 

Wilbur  Fisk,  D.D.,  the  Fletcher  of  America,  whose  courtly 
manner,  saintly  spirit,  and  approved  success  as  an  educator,  pointed 
him  out  as  the  man  for  this  important  charge,  commenced  his  labors 
therein  in  the  autumn  of  1831,  and  closed  them  with  the  close  of  his 
peaceful  and  almost  perfect  life,  in  1839. 


556 


Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 


His  cliaracter  was  a  ricli  treasury  of  the  brightest,  the  sweetest,  and 
the  purest  thouglits  and  actions,  and  both  as  an  educator  and  a  preacher 
lie  has  been  set  down  as  an  ideal  man.  At  the  age  of  twenty  he  en- 
tered the  University  of  Yerraont,  in  which  State  he  was  born  at  Brat- 
tleborough,  on  the  31st  of  August,  1792 ;  and  after  his  graduation  in 
1815  coni?nenced  the  study  of  law.  A  severe  illness,  which  endangered 
Ills  life,  revived  the  religious  impressions  of  which  he  had  been  the 
subject  while  yet  a  child,  and  feeling  himself  called  to  the  ministry,  he 
joined  the  'New  England  Conference  in  1818. 


WILBUR  FisK,  n.n. 


From  the  Presiding  Eldership  of  the  Yermont  District  he  was> 
in  1826,  elected  President  of  the  Wilbraham  Academy,  where  he 
made  his  first  reputation  as  a  preceptor,  and  from  which  position  he 
ascended  to  the  President's  Chair  of  the  Wesleyan  University. 
Through  his  untiring  efforts,  as  well  as  through  the  marvelous  attrac- 
tions of  his  personal  character,  the  new  college  soon  began  to  exercise 
a  wide  and  blessed  influence.  The  young  men  who  had  the  good  fort- 
une to  be  under  his  instruction  and  government  learned  to  love  him> 


The    WeSLEYAN    UlilVERSITY. 


Di)i 


and  for  love's  sake  to  obey  liim,  since  it  was  evident  that  he  was  de- 
voted, body  and  soul,  to  the  work  of  making  the  most  of  his  pupils  for 
the  Lord  and  for  the  Church.  As  a  preacher  he  was  every-where  ad- 
mired ;  as  a  Christian  he  was  honored,  and  almost  envied.  For  many 
years  he  professed  the  high  attainment  of  perfect  love,  and  his  daily 
life  and  conversation  were  such  as  proved  the  work  of  the  sanctifying 
Spirit  upon  him.  Few  men  have  been  so  happy  in  their  friendships, 
and  few  so  spotless  in  their  fame. 


Orange  Judil  H:xM 
of  Natural  Science. 


Observatory. 
Library. 


Chapel.  South  College. 

Gymnasium. 


North  College. 


WESLEYAN    UNIVERSITY,  MIDDLETOWK,  CONN. 


In  1828,  while  Principal  of  the  "Wesleyan  Academy,  he  was  elected 
Bishop  of  the  Canada  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  which  office  he 
felt  compelled  to  decline.  Again,  in  1836,  his  own  Church  elected 
him.  one  of  its  Bishops,  but  he  modestly  and  conscientiously  refused 
the  office,  saying,  "  If  my  health  will  allow  me  to  perform  the  work 
of  the  Episcopacy  I  dare  not  accept  it,  for  I  believe  I  can  do  more  for 
the  cause  of  Christ  where  I  am  than  I  could  do  as  a  Bishop."     If  any 


5^8  Illustrate)  History  of  Methodism. 

other  man  lias  twice  declined  such  honors  as  these  his  name  has  not 
appeared  in  our  Church  history. 

Dr.  Fisk  was  an  able  writer,  as  appears  from  his  works  :  "The  Cal- 
vinistic  Controversy,"  "  Travels  in  Europe,"  "  Sermons  and  Lectures 
on  Universalism,"  etc. ;  but  his  great  popular  power  was  in  the  pulpit, 
where  he  found  his  way  straight  to  the  hearts  of  his  hearers.  His 
manner  was  simple  and  natural ;  it  was  more  like  earnest  conversation 
than  Kke  ordinary  pulpit  oratory ;  his  words  contained  the  richest 
imagery  of  thought,  and  breathed  a  spirit  of  sublime  devotion,  by 
which  he  lifted  his  hearers  out  of  themselves  up  to  the  high  plane  of 
liis  own  spiritual  life.  No  excitement  accompanied  his  sermons,  no 
impetuous  passion  swept  through  his  congregations,  but  people  listened 
with  their  hearts  as  weU  as  their  ears,  as  if  the  lips  of  the  speaker  had 
indeed  been  touched  with  a  hve  coal  from  off  the  altar  of  God  ;  and 
when  the  records  of  the  unseen  world  are  brought  forth  and  read, 
doubtless  it  will  appear  that  to  Wilbur  Fisk  has  been  given  fully  as 
many  seals  of  his  ministry  as  to  some  of  those  sons  of  thunder  whose 
words,  indeed,  caused  multitudes  to  quake  and  tremble,  but  the  echoes 
whereof  too  quickly  rolled  away. 

For  years  he  struggled  with  a  fatal  pulmonary  disease,  and  died  at 
Middletown,  Conn.,  on  the  22d  of  February,  1S38.  Ilis  dust  reposes 
in  the  college  burying-ground,  surrounded  now  by  tlie  forms  of  many 
who  have  here  fallen  out  of  the  race  for  earthly  honors,  while  his 
memory  dwells  in  the  hearts  of  the  older  Methodists  of  the  East,  who 
think  of  him  almost  as  a  re-appearance  of  the  beloved  Apostle  John. 

8teplieii  Olin,  D.D.,  is  another  of  the  historic  presidents  of 
the  Wesleyan  University.  In  1842  he  succeeded  Dr.  Nathan  Bangs 
in  the  chair  of  the  lamented  Fisk,  and,  like  him,  died  at  his  post  in 
1851.  He  was  a  native  of  Vermont;  a  graduate  of  Middlebury  Col- 
leo-c,  where  lie  won  first  honors;  an  experienced  preceptor;  a  tourist 
in  Eo-ypt  and  the  Iloly  Land,  of  which  tour  he  published  two  volumes 
of  admirable  notes ;  a  vigorous  thinker ;  a  mighty  orator,  and,  withal, 
a  man  of  a  simple,  transparent,  godly  soul,  which  was  evidently  too 
laro-e  for  his  body,  for  he  died  of  nervous  exhaustion,  at  Middletown, 
at  the  age  of  fifty-four. 

His  posthumous  works  were  edited  and  published  by  his  accom- 
plished wife,  Mrs.  Julia  M.  (Lynch)  Olin,  in  1852 ;  his  "  Life  and  Let- 


The  Wesleyax   University. 


559 


ters,"  ill  1853,  and  a  work  entitled  "Greece  and  the  Golden  Horn,"  in 

1854. 

Dr.  Olin  was  sncceeded  in  1851  hy  Prof.  William  Aug.  Smith, 
LL.D.,  eminent  as  an  instructor  in  mathematics ;  who,  on  his  retire- 
ment in  185T,  was  succeeded  by  Joseph  Cummings,  D.D.,  LL.D., 
under  whose  administration,  during  seventeen  years,  those  three  fine 
edifices  the  Memorial  Clia|)cl,  the  Lil)i-ary,  and  the  Orange  Judd 
Hall  of  Natural  Science  were  erected.  The  Library  Hall  was  the 
gift  of  the  late  Isaac  Rich,  Esq.,  of  ]'>oston.  The  library  contains 
nearly  thirty  thousand  volumes,  and  a  fnnd  has  been  i)rovided  for  its 
regular  increase.* 


STEPUEX    OT.TX,   T).D. 

In  1875  Dr.  Cummings  was  succeeded  by  the  Eev.  Cyrus  D.  Foss, 
D.D.,  a  scholarly  man  in  the  early  prime  of  his  life,  a  Wesleyan  grad- 
uate, with  first  honors,  in  the  class  of  '54,  and  a  member  of  the  New 
York  Conference. 

«  The  author  acknowledges  his  ohligiitiou  to  I'residcnt  Foss  for  free  access  to  the  rich  and 
voluminous  collection  of  Methodist  books,  pamphlets,  etc.,  contained  in  the  University  Library, 
comprising  every  obtainable  early  publication  in  England,  great  and  small,  which  is  of  his- 
Toric  v:ilue.  either  as  attacking  or  defending  the  great  Wesleyan  movement. 


560 


Illusteated  History  of  Methodism. 


WESLEYAN  ASSOCIATION  BUILDING. 
[Bromfleld-street,  Boston.] 


In  1872  the  institution  was  opened  to  women,  quite  a  number  of 
whom  have  graduated  with  distinction.  The  whole  number  of  itF 
graduates  is  now  nearly  twelve  hundred,  a  large  proportion  of  whom 
have  entered  tlie  service  of  the  Church. 

Zion's  Herald.— New  England,  the  hot-bed  of  ideas,  the 
school-house  of  the  nation,  claims  the  honor  of  founding  the  tirst 

Methodist  newspaper  in  the  world. 
"Zion's  Herald"  was  commenced  in 
January,  1823,  in  Boston,  by  a  few 
Methodist  preachers  and  laymen.  In 
June  of  the  same  year  it  was  officialij 
recognized,  and  in  September,  1824, 
purchased  by  the  Kcw  England  Con- 
ference, by  which  body  it  was  sold 
to  the  Book  Concern  at  New  York 
in  1828.  In  1831  the  Wesleyan  As- 
sociation, a  Methodist  body  of  twenty 
members,  was  organized  for  the  pur- 
]>ose  of  publishing  a  paper  for  New  England,  and  another  "  Zion's 
Herald,"  with  the  addition,  in  1841,  of  the  ""Wesleyan  Journal,"  ^vas 
issued,  in  which  name  and  style  it  continued  until  1848,  when  the  last 
title  was  dropped,  and  it  became  plain  "  Zion's  Herald ;"  the  New 
York  organ  of  Methodism  having,  meanwhile,  become  "  The  Christian 
Advocate  and  Journal." 

"  The  Boston  Wesleyan  Association,"  says  Dr.  Newhall,  in  his  ad- 
dress at  the  semi-centennial  "  Herald  "  celebration,  in  1873,  "  without 
securing  the  least  pecuniary  profit  from  this  enterprise,  or  compensa- 
tion for  their  services,  often,  on  the  other  hand,  being  obhged  to  stand 
individually  under  heavy  financial  responsibilities,  simply  from  love  of 
the  Gospel  as  taught  by  Methodism,  have  for  these  last  forty-two  years 
maintained  an  independent  Methodist  paper  in  Boston.  Be  it  also 
known,  that,  more  than  to  any  other  cause,  it  is  due  to  the  enci'gy,  pru- 
dence, and  faithfulness  of  Franklin  Rand,  who  put  the  best  thirty 
years  of  his  life  into  the  "  Herald,"  that  it  has  been  a  financial  success." 
Among  its  editors  appear  the  familiar  names  of  Abel  Stevens,  Daniel 
Wise,  E.  O.  Haven,  N.  E.  Cobleigh,  Gilbert  Haven,  and  Bradford  K. 
Peirce;  the  last-named  being  the  present  incumbent  of  its  editorial 


The  Boston  Univeiisity.  5G1 

chair,  who  lias  filled  it  since  1872.  The  present  publishing  agent  is 
Alonzo  S.  Weed,  Esq.,  who  has  served  since  1871. 

The  Boston  University,  whose  foundation  is  intended  to 
comprise  a  complete  system  of  affiliated  colleges  in  all  departments  of 
learning,  was  incorporated  in  1869,  its  financial  basis  being  furnished 
by  the  munificent  bequest  of  the  late  Isaac  Rich,  and  the  further  bene- 
factions of  Lee  Clafiin  and  Jacob  Sleeper. 

The  following  are  colleges  and  schools  already  in  operation,  and  t)ir 
dates  of  their  establishment,  respectively: — 

College  of  Liberal  Arts March  14,  1873. 

College  of  Music July  3,  1872. 

College  of  Agriculture   Feb.  11,  1875. 

School  of  Tlieology May  3,  1871. 

School  of  Law Feb.  17,  1872. 

School  of  Medicine Feb.  15,  1873. 

School  of  Oratory .June  17,  1873. 

School  of  All  Sciences April  9.  1874. 

In  all  departments  women  enjoy  all  the  privileges  of  men.  It  is  the 
first  university  in  the  world  organized  upon  this  principle.  The  Col- 
lege of  Liberal  Arts  has  fixed  a  hio-her  standard  of  admission  than  has 
heretofore  been  maintained  in  any  American  or  English  nnivci'sity, 
and  for  some  years  the  number  of  students  in  the  three  professional 
schools  of  Theology,  Law,  and  Medicine  has  exceeded  the  aggregate 
number  of  professional  students  of  any  other  American  university 
maintaining  the  same  courses  of  study. 

The  School  of  Theology  was  projected  in  Boston,  in  1839 ;  opened 
m  Concord,  N.  II.,  as  the  Methodist  General  Biblical  Institute,  in 
184.7 ;  removed  to  Boston,  and  reorganized  as  the  Boston  Theological 
Seminary,  ill  1SC7.  Since  1871  it  has  been  the  Theological  Department 
of  Boston  University.  This  department  occupies  the  rooms  and  halls 
of  the  Boston  Wesleyan  Association.  The  president,  Rev.  Dr.  W.  F. 
Warren,  is  well  known  as  an  instructor,  and  by  his  writings,  both  in 
tiie  United  States  and  in  the  German  missions  of  our  Church.  He  is 
assisted  by  an  able  faculty  in  each  department.* 

*  Simpson's  "  Cyclopedia."     The  names  of  the  otlier  Methodist  schools  in  New  England 
appear  in  the  proper  statistical  table  at  the  end  of  this  volume. 


562 


Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 


Fatlier  Taylor,  the   Sailor  Preacher  of  Boston.— 

From  the  forecastle  of  a  coasting  schooner  to  the  position  of  the  fore- 
most pulpit  genius  in  America  seems  a  long  distance,  yet  over  all  this 
distance  this  fatherless  and  motherless  waif — Edward  T.  Taylor — has 
passed ;  and  after  a  career  as  wild  and  as  free  as  the  ocean  itself,  tliie 
man,  who  did  not  even  know  his  own  birthday,  entered  into  heavei' 
and  history  on  the  6tli  of  Ajjril,  1871. 


EDWARD    T.    TAYLOR. 


To  the  best  of  his  recollection  he  first  discovered  himself  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Richmond,  Ya.,  in  the  household  of  a  lady  to  whom 
ho  liad  been  given  away.  He  was  a  preacher  born.  In  his  child- 
iiood  he  used  to  gather  a  congregation  of  the  negro  boys  and  girls  be- 
longing to  the  plantations  about  him,  and  preach  to  them  most  pathetic- 


Edward  T.  Taylor.  563 

ally ;  sometimes  taking  for  his  theme  the  mortal  remains  of  a  kitten 
or  chicken  which  had  died  in  the  course  of  nature  or  had  been  assisted 
to  death  for  the  occasion,  and  so  vivid  a  picture  was  this  young  orator 
able  to  draw  of  the  sufferings  and  virtues  of  the  deceased  that  he 
actually  brought  tears  to  the  eyes  of  his  auditors ;  though  it  is  said 
that  if  they  failed  to  give  this  evidence  of  appreciation  of  his  orator- 
ical efforts  he  would  rush  down  from  his  temporary  pulpit  and  bring 
out  tears  by  other  means. 

One  day,  when  he  was  about  seven  years  old,  while  he  was  picking 
up  chips  for  his  foster-mother,  a  sea-captain  passed  along,  who,  taking 
a  fancy  to  the  boy,  asked  him  if  he  did  not  want  to  be  a  sailor ;  and 
the  impetuous  lad,  suddenly  inspired  with  a  love  for  a  sea-faring  life,  left 
his  chips  and  his  home,  and  started  off  without  giving  his  guardian 
the  slightest  notice. 

His  first  voyage  of  which  there  is  any  record  was  to  the  port  of 
Boston,  in  1811,  when  he  was  about  seventeen  years  of  age ;  at 
which  time  the  metropolis  of  New  England  was  a  lively  little  town  of 
about  thirty  thousand  inhabitants.  Unhke  many  other  young  mari- 
ners, Taylor  was  a  steady  and  temperate  lad,  and  having  received  per- 
mission to  go  ashore,  instead  of  making  for  some  of  the  dens  and 
dives  where  so  many  sea-faring  men  were  spoiled  and  plundered,  he 
took  a  tramp  through  the  town  and  brought  up,  without  intending  it, 
at  the  old  Bromfield-street  Church,  where  Elijah  Iledding  —  after- 
ward bishop — was  preaching  a  sermorl  from  the  words,  "  But  he  hed 
unto  him."  There  was  an  immense  crowd  about  the  door,  and  the 
sailor  boy,  finding  no  cliance  of  entrance,  climbed  in  at  the  window, 
and  at  the  close  of  the  sermon,  which  impressed  him  most  deeply, 
one  of  the  brethren,  seeing  his  condition  of  mind,  invited  him  to 
go  to  the  altar  for  prayer.  This  he  did,  and  not  long  afterward  he 
met  with  a  joyful  experience  of  saving  grace,  which  he  briefly  de- 
scribes as  follows  :  "  I  was  dragged  through  the  lubber  hole,  brought 
down  by  a  broadside  from  the  seventy-four  Elijah  Hedding,  and  fell 
into  the  arms  of  Thomas  W.  Tucker." 

The  Methodist  meetings  in  those  times  were  by  no  means  remarka- 
ble for  their  stillness,  and  young  Taylor,  having  learned  to  sing  and 
shout  in  the  midst  of  storms  and  hurricanes,  was  able  to  make  his  full 
share  of  religious  noise  in  the  meetings  at  the  old  Bromfield-street 


564  Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 

Church.  His  conversion  was,  however,  recognized  as  genuine  and 
thorougn,  and  he  was  permitted  to  enjoy  great  liberty.  He  was  so 
ignorant  that  he  could  not  read  the  words  in  a  plain  English  sentence ; 
but  when  he  fell  upon  his  knees  to  talk  with  his  Father  in  heaven  he 
displayed  such  a  simpHcity,  and  withal  such  a  rich  imagination  and 
familiar  acquaintance  with  spiritual  things,  that  he  presently  became 
quite  a  favorite. 

After  a  voyage  on  a  privateer  during  the  war  of  1812  Taylor  re- 
turned to  Boston,  and  having  had  enough  of  the  sea,  he  settled  down 
on  shore  as  a  junk  peddler,  in  which  mercantile  line,  equipped  with  a 
cart  well  stocked  with  tinware,  and  provided  with  proper  receptacles 
for  rags  and  old  iron,  he  traveled  about  the  country,  buying  and  sell- 
ing, preaching  and  praying,  and  growing  in  grace  and  knowledge. 
Sometime  in  the  year  1814,  a  pious  old  lady  named  Sweetzer,  in  the 
sea-coast  town  of  Saugus,  took  a  liking  to  the  young  peddler,  and 
offered  him  employment  in  the  care  of  her  httle  farm ;  which  being 
more  to  his  liking  than  the  junk  business,  he  left  the  cart  and  settled 
down  as  a  farmer. 

Of  course  such  a  zealous  young  man  could  not  be  silent,  and  when 
liis  talents  became  known  he  was  invited  to  preach  in  the  old  Rock 
School-house,  in  East  Saugus  ;  where,  for  a  considerable  length  of  time 
he  aiiinscd  bad  people  and  edified  good  ones ;  using  such  plain  language 
as  he  had  picked  up  on  sea  and  shore ;  devoting  himself  betimes  with 
absolute  desperation  to  the  work  of  reading  and  committing  to  memory 
the  texts  of  Scripture  which  were  to  be  the  foundation  of  his  discourses, 
and  the  first  two  hnes  of  the  hymns  which  he  intended  to  give  out  to 
be  sung.  Some  rude  fellows,  of  the  baser  sort,  would  occasionally  at- 
tend his  meetings  in  the  Rock  School-house  to  make  disturbance,  but 
Taylor  always  found  ready  hands  to  defend  him.  Many  a  time  he  tore 
along  at  the  top  of  his  voice  with  his  rough  and  ready  sermon  while 
the  rowdies  of  the  neighborhood  were  howling  without,  or  stamping 
and  groaning  within.  In  the  spring  of  1817  Taylor  had  the  good 
fortune  to  fall  in  with  that  eminent,  wealthy,  and  hberal  Methodist, 
Amos  Binney,  who,  seeing  the  genius  of  the  young  man,  sent  him  to 
the  New  Market  Seminary,  which  was  then  the  only  Methodist  school 
in  America.  The  proper  studies,  of  course,  for  a  pupil  of  his  limited 
acquirements  were  the  simple  rudiments  of  the  Enghsh  language ;  but 


Edward  T.  Taylor.  565 

Taylor  was  a  man  in  stature  and  in  spirit,  if  not  in  scholarship,  and 
therefore,  instead  of  giving  himseK  to  reading  and  spelKng,  and  the 
rules  of  English  grammar,  he  plunged  into  philosophy,  astronomy, 
and  other  high  departments  of  learning,  with  which  he  struggled  like 
a  hero  for  a  period  of  six  weeks ;  after  which,  feehng  more  and  more 
the  pressure  of  his  call  to  the  pulpit,  he  bade  good-bye  to  the  school ; 
having,  however,  in  that  short  time  reached  the  highest  honors,  and 
been  appointed  to  dehver  the  valedictory  address.  Thenceforth  he 
was  wholly  innocent  of  any  scholastic  training  or  restraint. 

The  New  England  Conference,  in  1819,  was  composed  of  about 
one  hundred  members,  with  appointments  scattered  all  over  the  New 
England  States,  and  as  a  member  of  this  Conference  Taylor  ranged  as 
!i  circuit  preacher  until  1829,  when  he  was  appointed  chaplain  to 
the  seamen,  under  the  auspices  of  the  Boston  Port  Society;  a  position 
in  which  his  name  was  destined  to  become  a  household  word  in  many 
lands  and  over  all  seas.  While  his  Bethel  was  building  Taylor  com- 
menced his  labor  in  the  old  Methodist  Alley  Church,  now  Hanover- 
street  ;  which  would  accommodate  but  five  or  six  hundred  hearers ; 
where  he  often  preached  four  times  a  day.  The  chapel  soon  became 
too  strait  for  his  audience.  Crowds  of  sailors  from  the  sea,  and 
crowds  of  landsmen  from  the  shore,  thronged  the  plain  old-fashioned 
cliapel,  and  preser^tly  the  untutored  preacher  in  his  humble  church 
became  the  acknowledged  prince  of  pulpit  orators  in  the  learned  and 
critical  city  of  Boston,  From  a  wandering  circuit  rider  he  had  be- 
come the  city's  favorite,  and  it  was  often  necessary  for  him  to  demand 
that  his  wealthy  and  elegant  hearers,  who  were  likely  to  monopolize 
the  sittings  of  his  Bethel,  should  give  place  to  his  "  boys,"  as  he  called 
the  sailors,  whose  rights  he  was  ever  ready  to  defend. 

It  is  said  that  he  seldom  thought  out,  and  certainly  never  wrote  out, 
his  matchless  sermons.  Those  flashes  of  rhetoric  which  gave  him  place  as 
the  foremost  pulpit  genius  of  America  were  sudden  inspirations,  some- 
times as  startling  as  the  lightning  itseK,  and  apparently  as  inexhausti- 
ble in  variety  and  beauty  as  the  pictures  in  sunset  skies.  It  was  not 
the  quaintness  of  his  speech  nor  yet  its  bluntness — which  was  some- 
times absolutely  shocking — that  brought  the  scholarly  Bostonians  to 
have  their  spuits  swept  by  his  hurricanes :  they  had  the  sense  to  dis- 
cern in  him  a  marvelous  gift  from  God  to  see  things  which  no  otlicr 


566  Illusteated  History  of  Methodism. 

man  could  see,  and  to  say  things  as  nc  :\Qe  else  could  say  them. 
Such  a  man  would,  of  course,  be  guilty  of  what,  in  ordinary  persons, 
would  be  called  extravagance,  but  in  all  his  sky-piercing  rhetoric  there 
was  always  some  perfectly  evident  practical  lesson  which  was  thus 
brought  home  to  the  understanding  and  conscience  of  his  hearers. 

Father  Taylor  was  never  tired  of  praising  that  class  of  men  who 
go  down  to  the  sea  in  ships.  He  declared  that  it  was  impossible  to 
make  a  sailor  out  of  an  ordinary  man.  "  Sailors'  hearts,"  said  he,  "  are 
as  big  as  an  ox's  and  open  like  a  sunflower  ;  and  they  carry  them  about 
in  their  right  hand  ready  to  give  them  away."  Again,  "  sailors'  hearts 
are  as  big  and  sweet  as  sugar  hogsheads,"  but  they  "  cut  off  the  bottom 
of  their  pockets  with  a  rum  bottle."  From  first  to  last  this  child  of 
the  sea  was  a  sailor.  His  pulpit  was  his  quarter-deck.  Wliile  he  talked 
to  his  sailors  in  nautical  phrase  they  could  almost  hear  the  sighing  oi 
the  wind  through  the  rigging  over  their  heads,  and  feel  the  rocking 
of  the  ship  on  the  waves,  though  it  was  anchored  hard  and  fast  on  £. 
good  foundation  of  Quincy  granite. 

Another  notable  trait  in  his  character  was  his  catholicity.  He  was 
on  excellent  terms  with  all  his  orthodox  brethren,  and  his  heart  was 
capacious  enough,  after  they  had  been  properly  stowed,  to  take  in 
Universalists,  Unitarians,  Eoman  Catholics,  and,  indeed,  "  all  sorts  and 
conditions  of  men,"  except  those  whose  small  nati'j*es  were  wholly  oc- 
cupied with  their  own  opinions.  On  one  occasion  an  orthodox  minis- 
ter declined  to  sit  with  Father  Taylor  in  his  pulpit  because  it  had  once 
been  occupied  by  the  Unitarian,  Henry  Ware  ;  whereupon  the  old  sea- 
king  fell  upon  his  knees  and  prayed  thus :  "  O  Lord,  there  are  two 
things  that  we  want  to  be  delivered  from  in  Boston  ;  one  is  bad  rum 
and  the  other  is  rehgious  bigotry ;  which  is  worse  thou  knowest,  and 
I  don't.     Amen." 

Yet  Father  Taylor  was  by  no  means  loose  in  his  doctrinal  notions. 
In  theology,  he  was  a  sturdy  Methodist,  and,  like  all  the  early  New 
England  preachers,  he  felt  called  to  do  battle  with  Calvinism.  On 
one  occasion,  after  hstening  to  a  preacher  of  this  creed,  who  was  insist- 
ing upon  the  impossibility  of  saving  the  non-elect.  Father  Taylor 
inquired,  "  When  did  you  hear  from  Jesus  Christ  last  ? "  To  another, 
who  was  setting  forth  some  of  the  hardest  inferences  from  the  hard 
Geneva  doctrines,  he  responded :  "  There  is  no  use  talking,  brother ; 


Edwaed  T.  Taylor.  567 

vour  God  is  my  devil.  Give  him  my  compliments."  If  any  other 
iran  liad  spoken  such  ^vords  they  would  have  been  taken  as  an  insult, 
but  Father  Taylor  was  privileged  by  common  consent  to  say  what  he 
liked,  since,  for  the  most  part,  his  sayings  were  enjoyable  as  well  as 
profitable. 

For  forty-three  years,  in  unbroken  succession,  Father  Taylor  was 
appointed  to  the  Mariner's  Church,  which  organization,  in  1833, 
moved  into  the  spacious  Bethel,  erected  by  the  merchants  of  Boston, 
in  !N^ortli  Square,  which  building,  during  Father  Taylor's  occupancy 
of  it,  was  one  of  the  best-known  structures  on  the  continent. 

In  January,  1868,  having  already  fought  for  some  years  against 
the  feebleness  of  age,  fighting  it,  indeed,  almost  as  if  he  expected  to 
conquer  instead  of  being  conquered,  Father  Taylor  resigned  his  pre 
cious  Bethel  pulpit,  and  his  dear  "  old  workshop,"  as  he  called  his  prayer 
room,  into  younger  hands,  being  now  in  the  seventy -third  year  of  liis 
age.  In  June  of  the  following  year  his  admirable,  devoted  wife 
passed  on  before  him  to  the  land  of  rest,  after  which  her  husband 
broke  up  still  more  rapidly  than  ever ;  his  memory  failing,  his 
strength  decaying,  and  before  his  death,  which  occurred  two  years 
after  that  of  liis  wife,  he  had  passed  far  down  toward  that  second 
childhood,  which,  for  the  most  part,  is  held  to  mark  the  completion  of 
the  circuit  of  this  life,  but  whose  very  name  suggests  the  speedy 
commencement  of  another  and  a  better. 

During  his  last  few  months  he  was  exceedingly  nervous  and  rest- 
less, and  no  bed  could  hold  him.  He  seemed  to  be  squaring  o£E  against 
death,  determined  not  to  be  driven  out  of  existence.  During  these 
times  the  old  fire  would  sometimes  kindle,  and  the  strength  of  man- 
hood for  a  moment  thriU  his  wasted  form,  and  the  ruhng  passion, 
Ftrong  in  approaching  death,  would  set  him  preaching  and  praying. 

About  ten  days  before  his  death  occurred  an  incident  which 
shows  with  how  great. a  love  he  had  pursued  his  work  of  warning  sin- 
ners and  helping  them  to  come  to  Christ.  One  day,  as  with  nervous, 
restless  steps  he  was  pacing  his  room,  like  a  caged  lion,  his  eye  caught 
the  figure  of  a  tottering  old  man  in  the  glass.  He  instantly  stopped, 
turned  to  the  stranger,  made  his  very  best  bow,  and  then  began  to 
j)reach  to  him.  "  My  dear  sir,"  said  he,  "  you  are  old,  you  are  infirm, 
but  Christ  will  save  you.     Come  now,  my  dear  sir,  come  now;  he 


568 


Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 


will  save  you."  Exhausted  by  this  effort  to  bring  one  more  sinner  to 
liis  Saviour  he  sank  upon  the  sofa,  and  lost  sight  of  the  old  man,  who 
thus  strangely  furnished  to  him  his  last  audience  as  a  preacher.  Then 
calling  to  the  nurse  and  housekeeper,  he  said,  "  Sally,  come  here.  That 
old  man  did  not  know  enough  to  be  saved ;  he  didn't  stir  a  peg  while 
I  was  talking  to  him."  Two  days  afterwards  being  again  able  to  walk, 
he  again  caught  sight  of  the  old  man,  and  making  a  most  courteous 
bow,  again  renewed  his  exhortation.  "  It  is  a  very  late  hour,"  he 
said,  "  but  Jesus  will  save  you.  Make  the  venture ;"  and  then,  over- 
come by  his  feelings,  he  again  sank  upon  the  sofa,  and  again  called  his' 
attendant,  saying,  "  That  old  man  is  an  infidel ;  he  wont  have  salva- 
tion at  any  price  ;  "  and  over  the  hardness  of  this  imaginary  auditor's 
heart  he  grieved  with  real  sorrow. 

Just  at  the  tui-n  of  tide,  a  little  after  midnight,  on  the  morning  of 
April  6th,  1871,  the  spirit  of  this  brave  old  sailor-preacher  slipped  its 
moorings  and  sailed  away  on  the  bright  waters  of  the  infinite  sea. 
He  died  in  the  faith  he  had  hved  to  preach,  and  among  his  countless 
lovers  on  sea  and  shore  his  memory  still  is  cherished  as  that  of  a  soul 
too  free  for  the  restraints  endured  by  common  mortals,  and  a  heart 
too  large  to  be  filled  by  aught  besides  the  love  of  God^  which  also 
means  the  love  of  all  mankind.* 

*  The  authority  for  this  sketch  is  the  "  Life  of   Father  Taylor,"  by  Gilbert  Uaven,  D.D., 
Editor  of  "Zion's  Herald,"  and  Hon.  Thomas  Russell,  Collector  of  the  port  of  Boston,  1872 


Meridian  Street  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  Indianapolis. 


BISHOP   M'KEXDREE. 


CHAPTER   XXII. 


"m 


WESTERN  PIONEERS. 

HE  West "  is  a  variable  term.     During  tlie  first  quarter  of  the 

present  century  it  signified  that  portion  of  the  great  valley  of 

the  Mississippi  now  comprised  in  the  State  <.f  Ohio  and  the  eastern 

ends  of  Kentucky  and  Tennessee,  though  the  latter  section  was  more 

frequently  called  the  Ilolston  country.     To  record  all  the  steps  of  the 

36 


570  Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 

progress  of  Methodism  in  its  westward  sweep  over  that  vast  valley 
would  be  an  endless  task.  The  little  band  of  itinerants  had  at  length 
become  an  army  in  which  there  were  scores  of  men  any  one  of  whom 
would  have  been  a  hero  if  he  had  been  alone ;  and  it  is  to  the  efforts 
of  these  Methodist  pioneers,  more  than  to  any  other  human  agency, 
that .  this  great  central  empire  of  America  owes  its  Christian  civiliza- 
tion.    Here  at  present  is  the  seat  of  power  both  in  Church  and  State. 

It  was  in  the  year  1785  that  Kichard  Swift  and  Michael  Gilbert 
first  crossed  the  AUeghanies  and  penetrated  the  Holston  country.  In 
1786  Haw  and  Ogden  were  sent  into  Kentucky,  and  in  1789  the  first 
regular  Kentucky  District  was  formed,  with  Francis  Poythress  as 
Presiding  Elder.  Three  years  afterward  Western  Methodism  reported 
three  districts,  comprising  portions  of  Western  Yirginia,  Western 
Pennsylvania,  Kentucky,  and  Tennessee,  under  the  direction  of  Poy- 
thress, Barnabas  M'Henry,  and  Amos  Thompson. 

Another  prominent  frontier  district  at  this  time  was  the  Red  Stone 
Country,  which  confronted  the  immense  wilderness  known  as  the 
North-west  Territory,  and  which  was  explored  by  John  Cooper  and 
Samuel  Breeze  as  early  as  1784 ;  following  in  the  footsteps  of  Robert 
Wooster,  a  local  preacher  who  settled  in  this  country  in  1781.  It  was 
still  little  more  than  a  wilderness,  with  no  other  roads  than  bridle- 
paths, and  the  chief  settlement  in  the  whole  district  was  Fort  du 
Quesne,  which,  after  its  capture  from  the  French,  had  been  rechris- 
tencd  Fort  Pitt,  and  which  occupied  tlie  site  of  the  present  city  of 
Pittsburgh.  At  that  time  the  town  was  composed  of  a  few  huts  which 
nestled  under  the  shelter  of  the  fort,  and  Pittsburgh  was  not  incor- 
porated until  twenty  years  after. 

The  first  Western  Conference  was  held  among  the  Holston  mount- 
ains in  1788,  and  the  first  Kentucky  Conference  in  1790.  The  names 
of  Poythress,  Cooper,  Breeze,  Haw,  Ogden,  Wilson  Lee,  Phoebus, 
Henry  Willis,  Ware,  Burke,  M'Henry,  Kobler,  Hitt,  Henry  Boehm, 
M'Cormick,  Valentine  Cook,  and  a  host  of  other  men  of  the  same 
stamp,  stand  in  the  records  of  early  Methodism  in  this  country  as  the 
founders  of  a  great  spiritual  empire.  They  were  the  giants  of  those 
days,  and  performed  their  ministry  on  circuits  ernbracing  several  coun- 
ties ;  the  presiding  elders'  districts  covered  areas  which  afterward 
formed  entire  States ;  while  evangelists  and  explorers  were  sent  out 


Western  Pioneers.  571 

to  unknown  Western  regions  to  lay  out  new  sections  of  the  ever- 
extending  kingdom  of  Christ. 

The  older  districts  also  were  still  of  ample  size.  The  Albany  Dis- 
trict, for  instance,  traveled  successively  by  those  two  great  organizers, 
Freeborn  Garrettson  and  Jesse  Lee,  comprised  the  whole  north-eastern 
portion  of  the  State  of  New  York,  a  considerable  part  of  Vermont, 
and  as  much  as  they  pleased  of  Canada ;  and  the  New  York  Confer- 
ence, in  which  this  district  was  situated,  was  an  immense  territory,  com- 
prising all  of  New  England  west  of  the  Connecticut  River  and  the 
Green  Mountains,  and  all  the  Methodism  in  Canada  and  in  the  State 
of  New  York  westward,  till  it  reached  the  outposts  of  the  Philadel- 
phia Conference  somewhere  in  the  mountains  of  Pennsylvania. 

Ohio,  one  of  the  frontier  circuits  of  this  period,  was  named 
from  "  the  Great  Piver,"  as  it  used  to  be  called,  before  the  majestic 
proportions  of  the  Father  of  Waters  had  made  the  Oliio  seem  to  be 
but  a  moderate-sized  stream.  In  1803  the  Ohio  District  was  organ- 
ized, and  William  Burke  was  appointed  to  take  charge  of  it.  It  in- 
cluded all  the  settlements  from  the  Big  Miami  to  the  neighborhood  of 
Steubenville,  which  was  then  called  the  West  Wheeling  Circuit,  and 
down  the  Ohio  Piver,  including  the  Little  Kanawha  and  Guyandotte 
Circuits,  in  Virginia,  and  some  settlements  on  the  Licldng  Piver,  in  the 
State  of  Kentucky.  On  the  north  and  the  west  the  Ohio  District  had 
no  boundaries  at  all.  The  first  year  after  the  organization  of  this  dis- 
trict the  Methodist  membership  thereon  was  reported  at  1,215,  while 
the  entire  strength  of  the  denomination,  on  what  was  called  the  West- 
em  section,  was  9,780.  In  1810,  seven  years  after,  the  number  in 
Oliio  was  8,781 ;  and  in  the  bounds  of  tlie  Western  section,  22,904 ; 
a  rate  of  progress  which  is  equally  suggestive  of  the  tide  of  immigration 
which  flowed  into  this  new  country,  and  of  the  tireless  work  of  the 
Methodist  itinerants  in  following  up  the  immigrant  wagons  and  spying 
out  the  cabins  which  nestled  among  the  primeval  forests. 

The  country  here  was  still  beset  by  hostile  Indians,  and  the 
preachers  were  sometimes  obliged  to  pass  from  their  Conferences  to 
their  frontier  circuits  in  bodies  thoroughly  armed ;  it  being  a  very  un- 
comfortable experience,  particularly  for  a  nervous  man,  to  ride  alone 
through  those  woods  and  swamps,  where,  in  all  probability,  any  large 
tree  might  conceal  an  Indian,  who  would  not  be  able  to  distinguish  a 


572  Illusteated  History  of  Methodism. 

Methodist  preacher  from  any  common  mortal  if  once  he  should  come 
within  range  of  his  nmsket.  Congregations  marched  to  public  worship 
with  their  rifles  on  their  shoulders,  which  they  stacked  in  a  corner 
of  the  cabin  till  the  meeting  was  over.  The  pioneers  had  a  poor 
chance  to  be  religious ;  but  the  preachers  of  these  days  report  some 
very  pious  souls  among  their  frontier  congregations,  as  well  as  some 
very  brave  Indian  fighters,  for  in  that  day  the  red  men  were  regarded 
as  a  common  enemy  whose  rights  few,  if  any'  white  men  felt  bound 
to  respect. 

The  roll-call  of  the  frontier  Conference  brought  out,  among  other 
responses,  "  Killed  by  the  Indians."  How  many  itinerants  fell  victims 
to  their  zeal  and  faithfulness  it  is  not  possible  to  determine ;  but  the 
clumce  of  being  pierced  by  an  arrow  or  a  bullet  and  of  being  scalped 
afterward,  was  one  of  the  ordinary  dangers  which  the  itinerants  of 
those  times  and  regions  dehberately  encountered.  If  they  escaped  it 
was  well ;  if  they  were  killed,  they  only  reached  glory  the  sooner. 

As  has  already  been  seen,  the  pioneer  Bishop  shared  these  dangers 
with  the  men  whom  he  appointed  to  face  them.  Again  and  again, 
though  in  feeble  health,  he  climbed  the  ridge  of  the  Alleghanies  and 
threaded  the  forest  paths  that  he  might  see  and  embrace  the  brave 
boys  who  had  volunteered  for  these  dangerous  fields.  As  fast  as  the 
advance  scouts  could  lay  out  new  circuits  and  districts,  Asbury  fol- 
lowed with  Conferences ;  and  thus  the  outpost  of  to-day  was  the  in* 
trenchment  of  to-morrow,  with  reserve  forces  continually  coming  uj) 
to  form  an  army  of  occupation  from  the  regions  farther  toward  the  sea. 

In  1798  John  Kobler,  one  of  the  notable  itinerants  of  those  times, 
visited  Fort  "Washington,  which  was  the  nucleus  of  the  town  of  Cin- 
cinnati, and  found  that  the  Presbyterians  had  already  made  a  location 
there.  He  describes  the  fort  as  a  declining,  time-stricken  place,  con- 
taining a  few  log  buildings  besides  the  fortress,  one  of  which  was  a 
printing-ofiice,  and  another  a  small  store.  Kobler's  reception  was  not 
very  hearty.  He  found  no  opening  for  a  Society ;  but  the  Methodists 
of  those  days,  although  it  was  not  an  item  set  down  in  their  creed, 
firmly  believed  in  the  perseverance  of  the  saints.  Again  and  again 
the  circuit  riders  appeared  under  the  shadow  of  Fort  Washington, 
and  at  length  came  M'Cormick,  famous  as  the  founder  of  Methodism 
in  Ohio. 


Francis  M'Cormick. 


573 


CINCINNATI    WESLEYAN    COLLEGE. 


Francis  M'Coriiiick  was  born  and  raised  in  the  wilds  of  the 
Virginia  mountains,  where  he  grew  np  wild  and  wicked.  Having 
heard  a  powerful  sermon  by  William  Jessnp,  one  of  the  itinerants  in 
Frederick  County,  "Virginia,  his  heart  was  filled  with  madness,  and  he 
determined  to  have 
nothing  further  to  do 
with  Methodists,  also 
forbidding  liis  young- 
wife  to  attend  their 
services.  However,  he 
was  unable  to  stay  away 
from  the  meetings,  and 
lie  describes  himself  as 
"  miserable  beyond  ex- 
pression." Not  know- 
ing wliat  else  to  do,  he  went  to  hear  another  Methodist,  one  Lewis 
Chasteeu,  of  whom  he  says,  "  The  preacher  took  his  text,  '  And 
now  also  the  ax  is  laid  unto  the  root  of  the  tree.'  It  appeared  to  mc 
that  all  the  wickedness  that  I  had  ever  committed  stared  me  in 
my  face.  A  trembling  seized  me  as  though  all  my  flesh  would  drop 
from  my  bones.  He  preached  Hke  a  son  of  thunder,  as  he  truly  was, 
and,  after  public  services,  gave  an  invitation  to  such  as  desired  to 
become  members  to  join.  Living  in  the  midst  of  about  one  hundred 
relatives,  all  enemies  to  the  Methodists,  how  is  it  possible,  thought  I, 
that  I  can  stand  to  be  opposed  by  such  a  multitude.  It  staggered  me 
in  a  wonderful  manner ;  but  it  appeared  as  though  I  heard  a  voice 
from  heaven,  '  My  Spirit  shall  not  always  strive  with  man.'  This  had 
such  a  powerful  effect  upon  my  mind  that  I  was  resolved  to  make  a 
trial,  let  consc(]uences  be  what  they  might."  This  bold  stand  for 
Christ  and  the  truth  was  soon  followed  by  a  sound  conversion,  and  he 
had  the  joy  of  leading  his  father  and  some  of  his  other  relatives  into 
the  kingdom  of  God. 

He  now  began  to  exhort,  and  at  last  to  preach.  Being  married,  he 
could  not  hope  to  enter  the  itinerancy,  but  he  now  devoted  himself  to 
evangelical  labors ;  working  with  his  hands  for  the  support  of  himself 
and  liis  family  in  good  apostohc  fashion.  In  1795  he  removed  to  Ken- 
tucky, more  to  preach  the  Gospel  than  to  better  his  condition,  and  set- 


574  Illustkated  History  of  Methodism. 

tied  in  Bourbon  County,  the  notorious  head-quarters  of  the  Kentucky 
whisky  interest.  But  here  his  awakened  conscience  and  enlightened 
understanding  taught  him  that  slavery,  which  was  extending  in  all 
directions  around  him,  was  wrong,  and  in  order  to  escape  from  it  he  re- 
moved with  his  family  from  Kentucky  into  tlie  North-west  Territory, 
as  it  was  then  called,  and  settled  in  Clermont  County,  Ohio,  from 
which  he  afterward  removed  to  a  place  called  M'Cormick  Settlement, 
about  ten  miles  from  Fort  Washington,  the  nucleus  of  Cincinnati, 
which  was  then  the  head-quarters  for  the  forces  engn  -ud  in  fighting 
the  Indians,  and  was  under  the  command  of  General  Harrison. 
M'Cormick,  finding  the  settlers  in  those  regions  thoroughly  demoral- 
ized, forthwith  began  to  preach  the  Gospel  among  them,  and  formed 
the  first  Methodist  class  and  Society  in  the  North-west  Territory. 

As  a  specimen  of  the  hardships  endured  by  some  of  these  itinerants 
the  following,  from  the  experience  of  William  Burke,  will  be  of  inter- 
est. At  the  outset  of  his  circuit,  the  neighborhood  of  the  French 
Broad  River,  he  found  himself  in  the  midst  of  the  Cherokee  War, 
which  was  just  then  breaking  out,  and  on  account  of  which  the  sct- 
ders  were  every-where  alarmed.  However,  he  kept  his  first  preacliing 
appointment,  and  on  the  evening  of  this  day  the  whole  neighborhood 
collected,  having  received  intelligence  that  Indians  had  been  seen 
within  the  limits  of  the  settlement.  This  was  rather  discouraging  news ; 
but  he  had  an  appointment  the  following  day  on  the  south  bank  of 
Little  River,  and  it  was  a  point  of  honor  with  the  itinerants  never  to 
miss  an  appointment.  Two  of  the  brethren  offered  their  services  to 
guard  and  pilot  him  through  the  woods  a  part  of  the  way,  but  the 
appearances  were  so  alarming  that  they  left  him  to  make  his  way 
alone,  and  hastened  back  for  tlie  protection  of  their  families. 

Burke  arrived  at  his  second  preaching  place  a  Kttle  before  noon, 
but  found  it  impossible  to  collect  a  congregation,  as  the  people  from 
the  outlying  cabins  and  clearings  were  moving  in  and  concentrating 
for  the  purpose  of  fortifying  themselves  against  their  red  enemies. 
The  work  of  making  a  log-cabin  into  a  fort  was  pressed  on  with  all 
speed,  and  after  dark  the  lights  were  all  put  out  and  each  man  sat 
down,  with  his  gun  on  his  lap,  while  a  spy  was  sent  out  to  detect,  if 
possible,  the  whereabouts  of  the  Indians.  Finding  the  people  in  no 
mood  to  listen  to  a  sermon,  Burke,  under  cover  of  the  night,  started 


Francis  M'ComricK.  575 

for  the  next  preaching-place,  about  ten  miles  distant.  There  was  only 
a  bridle  path  which  led  to  a  river  without  a  bridge,  and  it  was  neces- 
sary for  him  to  reach  an  island  in  the  river.  The  night  was  dark  and 
the  timber  was  very  thick,  so  that  a  stranger  was  very  likely  to  lose 
himself  in  the  forest,  but  Burke  could  not  prevail  on  any  of  the  peo- 
ple to  leave  the  house  or  to  afford  him  any  assistance.  "  However," 
says  he,  "  I  put  my  trust  in  God  and  I  set  off." 

Having  passed  over  a  part  of  his  route  he  was  obliged  to  ahght 
from  his  horse  and  grope  his  way  on  foot ;  but  at  length  he  reached 
the  shore  of  the  stream  and  crossed  over  to  the  island,  at  about  two 
o'clock  in  the  morning.  He  knocked  at  the  door  of  the  cabin  where 
he  was  appointed  to  preach  that  day,  but  no  one  came  to  admit  him. 
Knowing  that  there  were  cabins  not  far  distant  he  commenced  halloo- 
ing at  the  top  of  his  voice,  upon  which  some  men  came  out  with  rifles 
in  hand  aTid  demanded  to  loiow  who  he  was  and  what  he  wanted ; 
being  under  the  impression  that  the  shouts  were  given  by  the  Indians 
for  the  purpose  of  decoying  them  from  their  hiding-places,  and  stand- 
ing in  readiness  to  give  the  supposed  enemy  a  plentiful  supply  of 
powder  and  lead.  Presently  a  woman,  at  whose  house  the  itinerant 
had  been  accustomed  to  preach,  recognized  the  voice  of  the  minister, 
whereupon  he  was  conducted  to  a  place  where  the  whole  neighbor- 
hood was  collected ;  they  being  not  a  little  surprised  that  even  the 
tei-rible  dangers  of  that  region  could  not  keep  a  Methodist  preacher 
from  fulfilling  his  circuit  appointments.  The  next  day  Burke  pushed 
on  again,  followed  by  the  love  and  prayers  of  his  little  flock,  and 
^arr^ing  in  his  own  heart  the  proud  sense  of  having  done  his  duty  at 
the  evident  danger  of  his  life.  But,  alas !  when  he  came  to  the  place 
on  the  next  round  of  his  circuit  he  found  that  all  the  inhabitants  of 
that  neighborhood  had  been  massacred  by  the  Indians. 

Asbury  in  the  ludian  Country. — On  one  occasion  the 
Bishop  was  obliged  to  I'un  the  gauntlet  of  the  Indians  in  order  to  reach 
his  Conference  in  Kentucky,  and  a  band  of  sixteen  persons  gathered 
about  him,  some  of  them  being  ministers  on  their  way  to  the  Confer- 
ence, and  others  laymen,  who  had  volunteered  to  accompany  them. 
They  were  all  armed  except  the  Bishop.  The  distance  to  be  traversed 
was  about  one  hundred  and  thirty  miles  through  the  wilderness,  with 
but  a  single  house  on  the  route.     In  order  to  protect  themselves  from 


57B  Illustrated  Histoky  of  Methodism. 

their  red  enemies  tlie  Bishop  suggested  that  at  night  their  little  camp 
should  ^e  surrounded  by  a  rope,  tied  to  the  trees  at  about  the  height 
of  two  feet  from  the  ground ;  leaving  only  a  small  passage  for  retreat 
in  case  of  attack.  The  rope  was  to  be  so  fixed  as  to  catch  the  Indians 
below  the  knee  and  throw  them  on  their  faces  if  they  advanced  in  the 
darkness,  which  would,  of  course,  give  the  alarm  and  enable  the  epis- 
copal party  to  fire  with  better  aim.  Thus  for  several  nights  they  tied 
themselves  up  in  the  woods,  but  fortunately  no  Indian  foot  was  caught 
in  this  snare. 

One  day,  on  this  march,  when  they  were  passing  up  a  stony  hollow 
from  Richmond  Creek,  at  the  head  of  which  wj^s  the  war-path  from 
the  northern  Indians  to  the  southern  tribes,  they  heard,  just  over  the 
point  of  the  hill,  a  noise  like  a  child  crying  in  distress.  This  they 
doubted  not  was  a  strategy  of  the  Indians  to  decoy  them  into  an 
ambush,  and  immediately  the  party  made  for  a  place  of  safety  near  by 
and  called  a  halt,  to  consult  on  what  was  best  to  be  done.  Night  was 
coming  on,  but  it  was  determined  to  march  through  the  darkness,  two 
men  being  appointed  to  lead  the  Hne  and  keep  the  path,  and  two  to 
act  as  rear  guard  at  some  distance  behind  the  main  body,  whose  duty 
it  was  to  bring  in  intelligence  every  half  hour,  that  it  might  be  known 
whether  the  Indians  were  in  pursuit.  The  rear  guard  soon  reported 
.that  the  Indians  were  following,  but  it  was  thought  the  safest  plan  to 
press  forward ;  whereupon  the  whole  party  dismounted,  and,  leading 
their  horses,  trudged  on  till  day-break,  when  they  stopped  to  take  some 
refreshment.  By  this  time  the  party  were  very  nmcli  fatigued,  but  at 
least  forty  or  fifty  miles  of  their  journey  lay  before  them.  All  day 
they  pushed  on,  and  at  night  arrived  at  the  house  of  a  good  Methodist, 
named  Willis  Green,  near  Lincoln  Court-house,  having  been  on  the 
march  nearly  forty  consecutive  hours. 

8oiiie  Methodist  Oeog^raphy. — The  General  Conference 
of  1804  defined  and  published  in  the  Discipline  the  boundaries  of  the 
Annual  Conferences,  as  follows : — 

1.  The  New  England  Conference  includes  the  District  of  Maine,  and  th<v 
Boston,  New  London,  and  Vermont  Districts. 

2.  The  New  York  Conference  comprehends  the  New  York,  Pittsfield,  Albany, 
and  Upper  Canada  Districts. 

3.  The  Philadelpliia  Conference  includes  the  remainder  of  the  State  of  New 


Henry  Boehm.  577 

York,  all  New  Jersey,  that  part  of  Pennsylvania  which  lies  on  the  east  side  of 
the  Susquehanna  River,  except  what  belongs  to  the  Susquehanna  District,  the 
State  of  Delaware,  tlie  Eastern  Shore  of  Maryland,  and  all  the  rest  of  the 
peninsula. 

4.  The  Baltimore  Conference  comprises  the  remainder  of  Pennsylvania,  the 
Western  Sliore  of  Maryland,  the  Northern  Neck  of  Virginia,  and  the  Greenbrier 
District. 

5.  The  Virginia  Conference  includes  all  tliat  part  of  Virginia  which  lies  on 
the  south  side  of  the  Rappahannock  River  and  east  of  the  Blue  Ridge,  and  all 
that  part  of  North  Carolina  which  lies  on  the  nortli  side  of  Cape  Fear  River, 
except  Wilmington ;  also  tlie  circuits  on  the  branches  of  the  Yadkin. 

6.  The  South  Carolina  Conference  comprehends  the  remainder  of  North  Car- 
olina, South  Carolina,  and  Georgia. 

7.  The  Western  Conference  includes  the  States  of  Tennessee,  Kentucky,  and 
Ohio,  and  that  part  of  Virginia  which  lies  west  of  "the  great  river  Kanawha, 
with  the  Illinois  and  the  Natchez." 

Henry  Boehm.— Henry  Boehm,  the  son  of  Martin  Boehm,  a 
Bishop  of  the  United  Brethren,  or  German  Methodists,  as  thej  are 
sometimes  called,  was  among  the  first  and  foremost  of  the  western  pio- 
neers. He  possessed  the .  double  advantage  of  being  able  to  preach 
both  in  German  and  Enghsh. 

The  General  Conference  of  1800  was  followed  by  a  great  revival 
of  religion,  which  extended  from  Maine  to  Tennessee,  from  Georgia  to 
Canada ;  and  the  triumphs  of  grace  whicli  he  witnessed  inspired  him 
'  for  the  great  mission  of  his  life. 

This  was  a  good  initiation  for  Boehm,  and  when,  during  the  same 
year,  he  was  called  out  by  Thomas  "Ware  to  travel  the  Dorchester  Cir- 
cuit, in  Maryland,  he  possessed  an  experience  and  knowledge  of  spir- 
itual things  which,  to  a  considerable  degree,  supplied  his  lack  of  other 
education.  Asbury  soon  after  chose  Boehm  for  his  traveling  compan- 
ion to  the  West,  and  they  crossed  the  Alleghanies  together,  the  Bishop 
preaching  in  Enghsh  and  Boehm  in  German ;  but  finding  how  well 
the  young  man  was  adapted  to  this  special  work  the  Bishop  said  to 
him,  '*  Henry,  you  had  better  return  and  preach  to  the  Germans,  and 
I  will  pursue  ray  journey  alone." 

In  1808  Boehm  again  became  the  companion  and  associate  of  As- 
bury, in  which  capacity  he  served  for  five  years,  and  afterward  was 
appointed  successively  as  Presiding  Elder  of  Schuylkill,  Chesapeake, 


578 


Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 


and  Delaware  Districts.  Before  1810  he  had  preached  the  Gospel  in 
German  in  thirteen  or  fourteen  different  States  and  was  requested  bj 
Bishop  Asbury  to  superintend  the  translation  of  ''  The  Methodist  Dis- 
cipline "  into  the  German  language.  Few  men  out  of  the  Episcopacy 
have  ever  enjoyed  better  opportunities  for  the  study  of  Methodism  at 
large  than  Henry  Boehm.  During  his  companionship  to  Bishop  As- 
bury he  traveled  through  the  length  and  breadth  of  the  Connection, 


PORTRAIT  OF  HENRY  BOEUM. 


and  his   subsequent  life,  which  was  prolonged  beyond  one  hundred 
years,  was  broadened  and  sweetened  by  those  grand  experiences. 

Bishop  M'Kendree. — [For  portrait  see  heading  of  this 
cliapter.]  The  year  1800  was  signalized  in  the  West  by  the  ap- 
pearance of  William  M'Kendree  at  the  head  of  the  pioneer  itiner- 
ants ;  "  a  man  who  earned  the  title  of  the  Father  of  Western  Metli- 


Bisuop  M'Kendree.  579 

odism."  For  some  years  M'Kendree,  who  was  a  native  of  King 
William  County,  Virginia,  where  he  was  born  in  1757,  had  been 
tending  westward  along  the  frontiers  of  Yirginia.  He  had  been 
a  soldier  in  the  war  of  the  Revolution,  was  converted  in  1787,  and 
received  on  trial  as  an  itinerant  in  1788.  Being  desirous  to  see  for 
himself  the  official  and  personal  character  of  Bishop  Asbury,  of  whom 
he  had  heard  much  evil  from  O'Kelly,  the  schismatic,  he  obtained  per- 
mission to  travel  with  the  Bishop,  and  in  a  short  time  was  thoroughly 
convinced  of  liis  apostohc  character  and  mission. 

In  1799  M'Kendree  was  appointed  to  the  charge  of  a  district  ex- 
tending from  the  waters  of  the  Chesapeake  Bay  to  the  summit  of  the 
Alleghanies,  and  in  the  following  year,  having  passed  only  once  around 
tliis  great  field,  he  fell  in  with  Bishops  Asbury  and  Whatcoat,  and 
received  orders  to  "  pack  up  forthwith  and  throw  himself  into  the 
great  western  field."  At  this  time  the  name  of  this  boundless 
field  was  the  Kentucky  Conference,  which,  in  1801,  was  changed 
to  that  of  the  Western  Conference.  It  embraced  all  the  coun- 
try beyond  the  Alleghanies  occupied  by  the  Methodists,  extending 
from  Central  Ohio  to  the  borders  of  Georgia,  and  reaching  out 
into  the  wilderness  toward  the  Mississippi  farther  and  farther  every 
day.  Over  all  this  region  William  M'Kendree  was  appointed  Pre- 
siding Elder.  The  circuits  that  composed  the  Western  Conference, 
and  the  preachers  stationed  upon  them  this  year,  were  as  follows : 
Scioto  and  Miami,  Ilcnry  Smith ;  Limestown,  Benjamin  Lakin ; 
Hinkston  and  Lexington,  William  Burke,  Thomas  WilliamsoTi,  and 
Lewis  Hunt ;  Danville,  Hezekiah  Ilarraman ;  Salt  River  and  Shelby, 
John  Sale  and  William  Marsh;  Cumberland,  John  Page,  Benjamin 
Young;  Green  Circuit,  Samuel  Dotliel,  Ezekiel  Burdine ;  Ilolston 
and  Russell,  James  Hunter;  New  River  Circuit,  John  Watson. 

The  extent  of  this  district  was  so  great  that  M'Kendree  could  only 
perform  his  round  twice  a  year.  The  outlook  was  at  first  rather  dis 
couraging,  but  the  revival  wave,  which  conamenocd  at  the  Baltimore 
Coiiforence  of  1800,  and  swept  northward  and  southward,  also  over- 
p:issc(l  the  mountains,  and  on  the  Western  District  in  1801  and  1802 
multitudes  of  sinners  were  converted.  In  the  revival  services  which 
were  held — many  of  them  in  the  woods,  because  no  house  would  ac- 
connuodate  the  vast  multitudes  assembled — the  Methodist  and  Presby- 


580  Illustjiated  History  of  Mphhodism. 

tci-iiin  ministers  labored  in  right  brotherly  fashion  ;  every  local  preacher 
or  exhorter  who  could  be  found  or  raised  was  pressed  into  the  work ; 
and  so  completely  were  the  denominational  lines  obliterated  by  the 
floods  of  divine  grace  and  the  comminghng  of  labors  in  drawing  the 
gospel  net,  that  for  awliilc  the  Prcsljyterians  appeared  to  have  forgot- 
ten that  they  were  Presbyterians,  and  the  Methodists  to  a  considerable 
degree  laid  aside  their  strictness,  admitting  to  their  class-meetings 
all  comers,  and  holding  love-feasts  with  open  doors.  Tliis  imion  of 
effort  was  cordially  appi'oved  by  Bishop  Asbury  ;  but  certain  of 
M'Kendrce's  brethren  cxhoitcd  him  to  re-establish  the  restrictions  of 
Discipline,  and  cut  loose  from  this  holy  alliance.  It  a[)pears  that  the 
exhortation  was  heeded,  for  M'Kendree  afterward  says,  "  The  union 
meeting-houses  have  been  no  blessing  to  us,  but  a  great  injury.  For 
two  years  I  was  stationed  in  a  union  church  ;  from  ever  being  stationed 
in  another,  good  Lord,  deliver  me." 

In  spite  of  all  opposition,  however,  the  spirit  of  unity  prevailed  to 
a  sufficient  extent  to  impress  the  Western  Pi-esbytcrian  mind  with 
the  excellence  of  Methodist  methods  and  the  soundness  of  Methodist 
theology;  and  to  this  day  Presbyterianism  in  the  North-west  is  so 
leavened  with  free  grace,  that  large  numbei's  of  Methodist  converts 
tind  a  comfortable  home  in  its  Churches.  Here  and  there  a  Presby- 
terian minister  or  ]u-ofessor  in  a  theological  seminary  may  be  found 
who  insists  upon  the  five  points  of  Calvin,  and  even  teaches  the  old- 
time  heresy  of  limited  atonement;  but  the  visits  of  such  angels  ai-e 
few  and  far  between ;  and  if  any  one  will  carefully  search  among  the 
other  religions  bodies  of  the  Yalley  of  the  Mississippi,  he  will  find 
that  not  only  Presbyterians,  but  Congregational ists  and  Baptists  as  well, 
hold  their  historic  faith  with  a  very  decided  leaning  toward  a  free  and 
full  salvation. 

The  management  of  such  a  district  as  that  comprised  within  the 
limits  of  the  Western  Conference  was  an  admirable  training  for  the 
Episcopacy. 

Up  to  the  time  of  the  first  delegated  General  Conference,  which 
convened  at  the  old  John-street  Church,  New  York,  in  1812,  Asbury 
had  favored  the  election  of  Jesse  Lee  to  the  Episcopate,  from  wliich, 
as  has  been  seen,  he  had  already  had  such  a  narrow  escape ;  but 
^M'Kendrce's  fame  now  filled  all  the  West,  and  the  choice  lay  be- 


Bishop  M'Kendree.  581 

twccn  these  two  admirable  men.  During  the  session,  before  the  vote 
was  t.iken,  M'Kendree  preached  a  miglity  sermon  from  the  text:  "Is 
tliere  no  bahn  in  Gilcad?  is  tliere  no  physician  there?  why  then  is 
not  tlie  liealth  of  the  dangliter  of  mj' people  recovered?"  Tlic  dis- 
course thrilled  the  assembly  like  an  electric  shock,  and  on  its  con- 
clusion Asbury  said,  ''That  sermon  will  decide  his  election."  This 
prophecy  was  presently  fultilled,  and  because  of  his  heroic  achieve- 
ments on  the  frontiei-,  as  well  as  of  the  evident  presence  of  the  Lord 
in  his  soul,  lie  was  elevated  to  the  oftice  of  Bishop — no  small  honor  in 
the  presence  of  such  men  as  Garrettson,  Bangs,  Hedding,  Soule,  Ware, 
and  Lee. 

It  is  rekted  of  Bishop  M'Kendree,  that  when  he  was  sent  to  liis 
first  circuit  in  Virginia  so  unpromising  was  his  appearance,  and  so  un- 
favorable the  first  impression  inade,  that  at  sight  of  him  the  brother, 
who  was  to  be  his  host,  broke  out  with :  "  I  wonder  whom  they  will 
send  next ;  "  which  remark  being  overheard  by  the  timid  young  man 
from  the  backwoods  sei'ved  materially  to  increase  his  embarrassment. 
After  his  first  sermon  this  brother  left  the  church,  supposing  the  young 
preacher  would  follow  him,  but  not  seeing  him  for  some  time  he  re- 
turned, and  there  found  the  poor  boy  seated  on  the  lowest  step  of  the 
puljiit  stairs,  his  face  buried  in  his  hands,  a  perfect  picture  of  for- 
lornity  and  despair.  On  being  invited  to  go  home  to  dinner,  poor 
M'Kendree  replied,  in  a  mournful  tone,  "  I  am  not  fit  to  go  home 
with  any  body." 

"  "Well,"  said  his  friend,  "  you  must  have  something  to  eat  any- 
way." Whereupon  the  young  preacher  dragged  himself  once  more 
into  the  presence  of  the  family. 

After  dinner  bis  host  plainly  told  him  that  he  thought  he  had 
mistaken  his  caUing,  to  which  M'Kendree  readily  assented,  and  it  was 
arranged  between  them  that  the  preaching  appointments  which  had 
been  made  for  him  should  be  recalled,  and  that  he  should  go  back  to 
his  work  in  the  woods.  However,  tliere  were  some  appointments  at 
such  a  distance  that  it  was  necessary  for  the  preacher  himself  to  go  to 
the  places  in  order  to  recall  them.  A  sermon  in  those  days  was  not  a 
privilege  to  be  missed,  and  the  good  people  of  his  circuit  insisted  that 
as  he  was  on  the  ground  he  should  preach  as  well  as  he  could,  and  at 
least  fill  one  round  of  appointments  instead  of  recalling  them ;   to 


582  iLLUSTRATKt)    HiSTORY    OF    MeTHODISM. 

which  he  reluctantly  consented,  and  so  great  was  tlie  blessing  of  the 
Lord  upon  his  humble  efforts,  that,  having  reached  the  end  of  his  cir- 
cuit, instead  of  going  back  to  his  home  he  attempted  another  round ; 
and  thus  a  great  pioneer  light  was  narrowly  saved  from  being  extin- 
guished. 

Episcopal  LiUXUry. — A  glimpse  at  the  primitive  fashion  in 
which  the  pioneer  Bisliops  traveled  is  afforded  in  the  following  brief 
extract  from  Asbury's  Journal,  referring  to  a  time  when  he  and 
M'Kendree  were  making  tlieir  episcopal  tour  of  tlie  Sontli  and  West 
together.  It  must  have  been  while  they  were  in  the  older  and  more 
thidvly  settled  portions  of  that  region,  or  even  this  poor  equipage 
would  have  been  out  of  place.  "My  flesh,"  says  Aslniry,  "sinks 
under  labor.  We  are  riding  in  a  poor  thirty  dollar  chaise  in  partner- 
ship— two  Bishops  of  us — but  it  must  be  confessed  it  tallies  well  with 
the  weight  of  our  purses.  What  Bishops  !  Well,  we  have  great  news 
and  we  have  great  times,  and  each  western  and  southern  Conference, 
together  with  the  Virginia  Conference,  will  have  one  thousand  souls 
truly  converted  to  God.  Isn't  this  an  equivalent  for  a  light  purse, 
and  are  we  not  well  paid  for  starving  and  toil  ?     Yes,  glory  to  God ! " 

M'Kendree  was  a  man  of  great  energy,  fertile  in  resources,  modest 
almost  to  timidity,  and  thoroughly  consecrated  to  his  work.  His  ser- 
mons were  clear,  plain,  and  searching.  His  acquirements  were  varied 
and  extensive,  his  eloquence  ^vras  of  a  high  order,  he  was  careful  in 
the  administration  of  discipline,  and  thereby  he  greatly  improved  the 
order  and  efficiency  of  all  operations  of  the  Church.  After  the  death 
of  Asbury,  in  1816,  M'Kendree  was  senior  Bishop  for  nineteen  years. 
He  died  March  5,  1835,  at  the  residence  of  his  brother  near  Nash- 
ville, Tennessee.     One  of  his  last  expressions  was,  "  All  is  well." 

James  B.  Finley. — Another  distinguished  pioneer  of  Meth- 
odism in  the  West  was  James  B.  Finley,  a  native  of  North  Caro- 
lina, who  commenced  his  itinerant  ministry  as  a  member  of  the  West- 
ern Conference  in  1809,  being  at  that  time  twenty-eight  years  of 
aire.  The  scene  of  his  labors  was  in  the  State  of  Ohio.  In  1853 — 
three  years  before  his  death — the  Methodist  Book  Con"cern  at  Cincin- 
nati pubHshed  his  biography ;  a  book  abounding  in  wild  adventure, 
hair-breadth  escapes,  backwoods  wanderings,  camp-lifo,  and  such  other 
wild  experiences  as  made  up  a  large  proportion  of  the  biography  of 


James  B.  Finley. 


583 


the   western   itinerants  in   that   day.      Here   is  a  point   of  jDecuhar 
interest : — 

The  Hethodist  Epii^copal  Church — the  First  Teiii- 
peraiiee  Society. — "  The  only  Temperance  Society,"  says  Finley, 
'''that  then  existed,  (1812,)  was  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  Tlie 
General  Rules  of  the  Society  prohibited  the  use  of  intoxicating  drinks 
as  a  beverage,  and  only  allowed  their,  use  when  prescribed  as  a  med- 
icine by  a  physician.  No  other  denomination  haviug  prohibited  the 
use  of  ardent  spirits  as  a  beverage,  it  followed,  as  a  necessary  conse- 


JAMES    B.    FINLEY. 


quence,  that  all  persons  who  refused  to  drink  were  called,  by  way  of 
reproach,  'Methodist  fanatics.'  I  often  met  with  oj)j)osition  for  my 
advocacy  of  the  cause   of  temperance." 

On  one  of  his  circuits  Finley  relates  that  at  one  of  his  stoj^ping- 
places  his  host,  who  was  a  member  of  his  Church,  took  him  into  a 
room  where  there  was  a  ten-gallon  keg  of  whisky  which  the  brotliei- 
had  laid  in  on  account  of  a  barn-raising. 

"Do  you  know  that  God  has  pronounced  a  curse  against  the  man 


584  Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 

who  putteth  the  bottle  to  his  neighbor's  lips  ? "  said  the  preacher  to 
his  parishioner. 

"  There  is  no  law  against  using  whisky,  and  I  will  do  as  I  please," 
replied  the  brother,  angrily. 

"Yery  well,"  was  the  reply,  "it  is  a  poor  rule  that  wont  work 
both  ways.  If  you  do  as  you  please,  I  will  do  as  I  please.  Take  thai 
keg  of  whisky  out  of  the  room  or  I  will  leave  the  house  immediately, 
for  I  would  rather  lie  in  the  woods  tlian  sleep  in  a  Methodist  liousc 
with  a  ten-gallon  keg  of  whisky  for  my  room-mate." 

As  might  have  been  expected,  the  host  resented  this  plain  dealing, 
and  Finley,  as  good  as  his  word,  mounted  his  horse  and  rode  off  in 
search  of  other  lodgings.  At  his  appointment  next  day  he  pi'cachcd  a 
rousing  temperance  sermon,  at  the  close  of  which  an  old  exhorter 
came  up  to  him  and  said,  in  a  fierce  and  angry  tone ;  "  Young  man,  i 
advise  you  to  leave  the  circuit  and  go  home ;  you  are  doing  more 
harm  than  good.  If  you  can't  preach  the  Gospel  and  let  people's 
private  business  alone  they  don't  want  you  at  all."  Finley  replied 
that  he  had  a  special  mission  to  break  up  this  stronghold  of  the  devil, 
and  with  the  help  of  God  he  was  determined  to  do  it  in  spite  of  all 
the  distillers  and  whisky-drinkers  in  the  Church. 

This  beginning  he  followed  up  vigorously  with  sermons,  exhoi  ta- 
tions,  and  private  persuasions.  "  Frequently,"  he  says,  "  I  would 
pledge  a  whole  congregation,  standing  upon  their  feet,  to  the  temper- 
ance cause,  and  during  my  rounds  I  am  certain  the  better  portion  of 
the  entire  community  became  the  friends  and  advocates  of  temper- 
ance. In  this  circuit  alone  at  least  one  thousand  had  solemnly  taken 
the  pledge  of  total  abstinence.  This  was  before  temperance  societies 
were  heard  of  in  this  country.  It  was  simply  the  carrying  out  of  the 
Methodist  Discipline  on  the  subject." 

Through  this  region  revivals  of  religion  swept  "  like  fire  in  ji 
prairie,"  not  only  through  the  white  settlements  but  also  among  the 
Indian  tribes.  Through  the  instrumentality  of  a  colored  man  named 
John  Stuart  a  revival  commenced  among  the  Wyandot  Indians  at 
Upper  Sandusky,  Ohio,  and  Finley  for  a  time  labored  among  them  as 
a  missionary.  The  style  of  men  who  wrought  in  this  field  with 
Finley  may  be  indicated  by  a  fact  related  to  the  author  by  "  Father 
Stewart,"  a  late   member  of  the  Ohio  Conference ;  that  during  his 


jAirEs  B.  FiNLEY.  585 

fifty  years  of  service  in  Ohio  he  had  personally  received  five  thousand 
members  into  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 

Finley  was  eight  times  elected  a  delegate  to  the  General  Confer- 
ence. He  also  served  three  years  and  a  half  as  chaplain  of  the  Ohio 
Penitentiary,  and  to  his  labors  as  a  pastor  and  presiding  elder  he  added 
the  preparation  of  his  "Autobiography,"  "An  Account  of  the  Wyan- 
dot Mission,"  a  volume  of  "Sketches  of  Western  Methodism,"  "Life 
Among  the  Indians,"  and  "Memorials  of  Prison  Life."  He  was  a 
man  of  great  energy  of  character,  of  burning  zeal,  of  fervent  piety ;  a 
powerful  preacher,  a  popular  manager  of  camp-meetings  and  other 
great  assemblies,  at  which,  by  the  power  of  his  eloquence  as  well  as  his 
tact  and  knowledge  of  human  nature  he  swayed  the  masses  hke  trees 
swept  by  the  winds,  calmed  the  rage  of  mobs  of  ruffians,  and  moved 
along  the  path  of  his  duty  through  that  great  and  growing  region  of 
country  as  a  prince  and  master  in  Israel.  His  death  occurred  on  the 
6th  of  September,  1856,  in  the  75th  year  of  his  age. 

The  North-west.— From  Ohio  the  itinerants  presently  pushed 
on  westward  over  the  Indiana  Territory,  which  included  the  whole  of 
what  is  now  the  States  of  Indiana,  Ilhnois,  and  Michigan.  In  1805 
Michigan  Territory  was  carved  out  of  it,  and  the  territory  of  Illinois 
in  1809.  The  western  frontier  had  now  become  so  extensive  that  the 
army  of  itinerants  was  not  sufficiently  numerous  to  be  distributed 
very  thickly,  and  the  progress  of  the  Church  was  for  a  time  compar- 
atively slow.  The  first  Methodist  Society  in  what  is  now  Indiana 
was  formed  in  1802,  at  a  place  called  Gassoway,  near  Charleston,  in 
Clarke  County,  by  Nathan  Kobertson,  the  first  Methodist  preacher  in 
the  Territory.  In  1810  there  were  within  the  limits  of  Indiana  only 
three  circuits,  four  preachers,  and  seven  hundred  and  sixty  members ; 
but  this  was  the  beginning  of  a  mighty  host ;  and  at  present  Indiana, 
with  its  four  large  Conferences,  its  admirable  churches,  and  its  thriv- 
ing literary  institutions,  may  almost  be  claimed  as  a  Methodist  State. 

The  pioneer  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  Illinois  was 
Captain  Joseph  Ogle,  who  entered  the  State  in  1785  and  settled 
in  St.  Clair  County.  In  1798  came  John  Clark,  a  South  Carolinian, 
who  was  the  first  man  to  preach  the  Gospel  west  of  the  Mississippi 
River. 

In  the  year  1804  Benjamin  Young  was  appointed  to  Illinois — one 
37 


586  Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 

man  for  a  territory  containing  not  far  from  haK  a  million  square  miles : 
but  in  those  days  territory  was  more  plenty  than  preachers,  and  each 
itinerant,  especially  in  the  Yalley  of  the  Mississippi,  might  have  as 
large  a  parish  as  he  pleased. 

Young  formed  a  circuit  in  Randolph  County,  organized  five  classes, 
was  blessed  with  about  fifty  conversions,  and,  as  the  result  of  his  labors 
during  the  first  Conference  year,  (1804,)  he  returned  a  hst  of  sixty- 
seven  members  of  the  Church  which  he  had  gathered  from  the  sparse 
population  of  his  vast  and  promising  circuit. 

In  1803  a  local  preacher  by  the  name  of  Freeman  found  his  way 
into  tliat  lake-encompassed  country  now  the  State  of  Michigan,  and 
preached  at  Detroit.  The  following  year  Nathan  Bangs  passed  over 
from  Canada,  which  at  that  period  formed  a  part  of  the  New  York 
Conference.  lie  found  the  place  wofully  depraved,  with  a  conglomer- 
ate population  of  French,  Indians,  and  immigrants,  who  were  in  no 
mood  to  be  reproved  for  their  sins  or  converted  from  them ;  but  soon 
after  his  departure  an  Irisli  local  preacher,  WilHam  Mitchell  by  name, 
organized  the  first  Metliodist  Episcopal  Society  in  Detroit,  which  was 
also  the  first  Church  of  any  denomination  in  the  State  of  Michigan. 

During  the  first  eight  years  of  the  frontier  work  in  the  North-west 
Territory  Bishop  Asbury  made  five  expeditions  thither.  He  would 
not  send  a  preacher  wliere  he  was  not  willing  to  go  himseK. 

Dr.  Alfred  Brunson,  whose  autobiography  covers  a  period  of  over 
seventy  years,  and  under  whose  eye  and  hand  the  early  Methodism  of 
the  North-west  took  form  and  gathered  power,  was  appointed  to  De- 
troit in  1822.  In  order  to  reach  his  circuit  it  was  necessary  to  cross 
Lake  Erie  in  a  saihng  vessel,  this  being  before  the  era  of  steamboat 
navigation :  and  off  Cleveland,  nearly  out  of  sight  of  land,  when  the 
crew  and  all  the  passengers  were  in  high  glee,  drinking  whisky,  sing- 
ing songs,  and  telling  yarns,  Brunson  happened  to  go  on  deck,  and 
looking  up  saw  a  squall  coming  down  upon  them,  and  instantly  gave 
the  alarm.  Already  the  roar  of  the  coming  tempest  was  heard,  and 
the  captain  gave  the  hasty  order,  "  Let  run  every  rag  of  sail !  "  Brun- 
son, who  was  near  the  main-mast,  understood  the  order,  slacked  the 
sheets,  and  down  came  the  mainsail  with  a  run ;  and  having  shortened 
sail  in  this  lively  fashion  Brunson  seized  the  helm  and  brought  the 
vessel  up  into  the  wind.     Meanwhile  the  crew  had  hauled  down  the 


The  North-west.  587 

gafP-topsail  and  jib,  and  a  few  seconds  afterward  the  storm  burst  upon 
tliem.  If  the  sails  had  been  standing,  as  they  doubtless  would  have 
been  but  for  Branson's  providential  appearance  on  deck,  the  vessel 
must  have  been  capsized  and  all  on  board  would  have  perished.  The 
craft  rolled  and  tossed  at  a  fearful  rate,  but  the  quick  eye  and  prompt 
hand  of  the  itinerant  had  saved  her ;  and  when  the  danger  was  over 
the  passengers,  who  had  listened  to  a  sermon  from  him,  began  to  dis- 
cuss the  question  whether  he  were  the  better  sailor  or  preacher. 

It  was  said,  during  the  War  of  the  Rebellion,  that  a  Yankee  regiment 
could  furnish  men  to  perform  any  task,  from  the  building  of  a  locomo- 
tive to  the  editing  of  a  newspaper,  or  the  translation  of  a  passage 
from  the  Yedas ;  but  for  readiness  in  all  emergencies,  and  universal 
knowledge  of  practical  affairs,  a  conference  of  those  pioneer  Methodist 
preachers  would  doubtless  bear  off  the  palm. 

Among  the  notable  men  who  traveled  both  in  the  South-west  and 
North-west  was  Jesse  Walker,  who  appeared  on  the  Illinois  Circuit 
in  1806.  This  sturdy  itinerant  was  a  native  of  North  Carohna,  from 
whence  he  early  emigrated  to  Tennessee.  He  joined  the  Western 
Conference  in  1802,  and  traveled  circuits  in  Tennessee  and  Ken- 
tucky for  about  four  years,  during  which  time  few  men  equalled  him 
in  the  labor  performed  or  the  hardships  endured.  He  was  a  character 
perfectly  unique.  He  was  the  Daniel  Boone  of  the  Church  ;  always 
ahead  of  every  body  else.  His  natural  vigor  was  almost  superhuman. 
He  did  not  seem  to  require  food  or  rest,  like  other  men ;  no  day's 
journey  was  long  enough  to  tire  him,  no  fare  was  poor  enough  to  starve 
him,  no  route  was  too  blind  or  too  rough  for  him.  Roads  and  paths 
he  regarded  rather  as  useless  luxuries.  If  his  horse  could  not  carry 
him  he  led  his  horse,  and  where  the  horse  could  not  follow  he  would 
leave  him  and  press  forward  on  foot ;  and  if  night  and  a  cabin  did  not 
come  together  he  would  camp  in  the  forest  or  prairie,  where  he  felt 
himself  perfectly  at  home. 

It  is  said  of  Daniel  Boone  that  he  had  the  instinct  of  the  bee,  and 
that  he  could  strike  out  for  his  cabin  in  a  straight  line  from  any  point 
in  the  wilderness  to  which  his  wanderings  might  lead  him.  A  similar 
instinct  was  possessed  by  Walker.  He  found  his  way  through  forest 
and  brake  as  if  by  instinct.  He  was  never  lost,  and  being  possessed 
of  this  special  aptitude,  it  is  easy  to  understand  how  the  search  for 


588  Illustrated  History  of  Methodism, 

frontier  settlers  was  one  of  his  chief  dehghts.  As  the  Church  moved 
West  and  North  it  seemed  to  push  Wallcer  before  it.  Every  time  ho 
was  heard  from  he  was  still  farther  out,  and  when  the  settlements  of 
the  white  man  halted  or  moved  too  slowly,  he  pushed  over  among  the 
Indian  tribes. 

At  the  time  of  his  appointment  to  Illinois,  in  180G,  the  region 
between  Kentucky  and  this  new  field  was  an  unexplored  wilderness, 
and  M'Kendree,  then  Presiding  Elder  of  the  Cumberland  District,  to 
which  the  Ilhnois  Circuit  belonged,  set  out  with  Walker  to  assist  him 
on  his  way.  They  journeyed  on  horseback,  sleeping  in  the  woods  on 
their  saddle  blankets  and  cooking  their  meals  under  the  trees.  It  was 
a  time  of  much  rain.  The  river  channels  M'ere  full  to  overflowing, 
and  no  less  than  seven  times  their  horses  swam  the  rapid  streams  with 
their  riders  and  baggage ;  the  travelers  carrying  their  saddle-bags  on 
tlieir  shoulders  that  they  might  not  spoil  their  Bibles,  h}^nn  books, 
and  clothes.  In  due  time  they  reached  their  destination — Central 
Illinois — and  visited  the  principal  neighborhoods  in  the  valley  of  the 
Illinois  River.  M'Kendree  remained  a  few  weeks,  assisting  in  forming 
a  new  circuit,  being  received  by  the  settlers  with  much  favor ;  and 
then,  it  is  thought,  started  for  Missouri  to  explore  a  mission  there. 
Walker  was  now  alone  in  the  Territory,  over  which  he  traveled,  preach- 
ing from  house  to  house,  or  rather,  from  cabin  to  cabin  ;  passing  none 
without  calling  and  delivering  the  Gospel  message ;  and  the  Lord 
blessed  him  with  a  general  revival  of  religion  all  over  his  circuit. 

Fort  Dearborn. — In  1804  Fort  Dearborn  was  built  by  the 
United  States  Government  on  the  Chicago  River,  close  to  Lake  Michi- 
gan, and  here  the  town  of  Chicago  was  laid  out  in  1830.  This  fort,  of 
course,  was  visited  by  the  indefatigable  Walker,  and  soon  became  a 
center  of  operations  for  the  itinerants  of  this  region.  "  Elder  John  Sin- 
clair relates  that  in  his  visits  to  hold  Quarterly  Meetings  with  the  set- 
tlers in  the  vicinity  of  Chicago  (the  word  '  vicinity '  signifying  a  radius 
of  about  a  hundred  miles,  except  on  the  lake  side)  he  always  found, 
whenever  he  came  upon  a  new  family,  that  Walker  had  visited  them 
and  preached  to  them.  Such  frequent  discoveries  led  him  to  become 
ambitious  to  anticipate  Walker,  if  possible ;  and  hearing  that  a  family 
had  recently  located  at  Root  River — now  Racine — he  resolved  to  be 
the  first  to  visit  them.     On  his  way  he  stopped  at  Chicago,  and  on 


The  North-west.  589 

j^oing  to  tlie  fort  whom  should  he  meet  but  Father  Walker.  On 
inquiring  after  his  health,  Walker  replied  that  he  was  quite  well,  but 
somewhat  tired,  as  he  had  juat  returned  froia  Root  River,  where  he 
had  been  to  preach  to  a  family  that  had  recently  settled  there.  Upon 
this,  Sinclair  says  he  felt  rebuked,  and  resolved  to  make  no  mere  effort 
to  deprive  the  old  pioneer  of  the  honors  he  so  greatly  coveted.'"  * 

Marsclen's  Tribute  to  American  Metiiodisin. — In 
1812  Joshua  Marsden,  a  distinguished  English  Methodist  preacher, 
visited  the  United  States,  and  from  the  record  of  his  impressions  of 
American  Methodism  the  following  extracts  are  of  interest :  "  I  was 
greatly  surprised,"  says  he,  "  to  meet  in  the  preachers  assembled  at 
New  York  such  examples  of  simplicity,  labor,  and  self-denial.  Some 
of  them  had  come  five  or  six  hundred  miles  to  attend  the  Conference. 
They  had  httle  appearance  of  clerical  costume ;  many  of  them  had  not 
a  single  article  of  black  cloth.  Their  good  Bishops  set  them  the  exaui- 
ple,  neither  of  whom  were  dressed  in  black.  But  the  want  of  this  was 
abundantly  compensated  by  their  truly  primitive  zeal  in  the  cause  of 
their  divine  Master.  Their  costume  was  that  of  former  times — the 
color  drab,  the  waistcoat  with  large  la])S,  and  both  coat  and  waistcoat 
without  any  collar.  Their  appearance  was  simphcity  itseK,  and  had 
something  truly  apostolic.  I  felt  impressed  ^vith  awe  in  their  pres- 
eiice,  and  soon  perceived  that  they  had  established  themselves  in  tlie 
esteem  and  veneration  of  their  brethren,  not  by  the  trappings  of  office 
or  the  pomp  nnd  splendor  of  episcopal  parade,  but  by  their  vast  labors, 
self-denying  simplicity,  and  disinterested  love.  Most  of  the  preachers 
appeared  to  be  young  men,  yet  ministerial  labor  had  impressed  its  seal 
upon  their  countenances. 

"  I  cannot  contemplate  without  astonishment  the  great  work  God 
has  performed  in  the  United  States.  In  England  Methodism  is  like 
the  river,  calmly  ghding  on ;  here  it  is  a  torrent,  rushing  along  and 
sweeping  all  away  in  its  course.  Methodism  in  England  is  the  Metli- 
odism  of  Wesley — methodical,  intelligent,  and  neat;  in  America  it 
resembles  Asbury — it  has  some  roughness  and  less  polish. 

"  The  good  they  have  done  to  the  blacks  is  beyond  calculation,  and 
the  new  settlements  in  different  parts  of  the  interior  without  such  a 
ministry  might  have  degenerated  into  heathenism." 

*  Letter  of  Hon.  Grant  Goodrich,  of  Cliicago,  to  tli'-  luthof- 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 


BISHOP  ASBURY  AND  HIS  EARLY  SUCCESSORS-METHODISM  IN  THE 

SOUTHWEST. 

AMONG  the  many  admirable  qualities 
which  distinguished  the  Pioneer 
Bishop  were  his  simplicity  and  his  kind- 
ness to  the  poor.  In  one  of  his  entries 
in  his  Journal  he  says  :  "  O,  what  happi- 
ness do  they  lose  who  never  visit  the 
poor  in  their  cottages !  "  On  another 
occasion,  having  arrived  at  one  of  the 
great  houses  at  which  he  was  accustomed 
to  be  entertained  on  his  endless  journey- 
ings,  he  speaks  of  holding  a  meeting  in 
the  kitchen  with  the  black  servants, 
while  at  the  same  time  a  young  minister, 
one  of  the  preachers  on  that  circuit,  was 
holding  a  sacramental  love-feast  with  the 
master  and  the  mistress  and  distinguished  visitors  in  the  parlor. 

In  1793  he  writes :  "  Thursday,  September  22.  I  have  been  sick 
upward  of  four  months,  during  which  time  I  have  attended  to  my 
business  and  ridden,  I  suppose,  not  less  than  three  thousand  miles." 
If  a  sick  man  of  his  stamp  were  able  to  work  at  that  rate,  what  might 
he  not  have  done  if  he  had  been  well  ?  This  very  thought  sometimes 
stirred  his  own  soul  to  enthusiasm,  and  on  one  occasion  he  broke  out 
with  these  words  :  "  I  groan  with  pain 'one  minute  and  shout  glory  the 
next.  If  I  only  had  health,  America  should  not  hold  me."  And  thus 
for  decade  after  decade  he  struggled  with  the  infirmities  of  his  body, 
upborne  by  the  grace  and  power  which  dwelt  in  his  soul. 

Gpiiscopal  Gravity  and  Humor. — Under  his  elegant  and 
saintly  exterior  (which  is  shown  more  perfectly  in  the  English  por- 
trait, by  Whitehouse,  than  in  the  more  famihar  one  at  New  Yoi-k, 
taken  later  in  life)  there  was  a  good  deal  of  native  wit,  which  he 


UNION  M.  E.  CHURCH,  ST.  LOUIS. 


Bishop  Asbuky  and  His  Early  Successors.        591 

often  found  it  difficult  to  restrain.  Scattered  through  his  Joiu*nals  are 
moans  and  lamentations  over  the  Hghtness  and  levity  into  which  he 
has  been  betrayed ;  but  his  wit  was  not  of  a  boisterous  sort ;  it  was 
rather  like  flecks  of  sunshine  falling  through  the  leaves  of  a  forest ; 
brightening  and  cheering,  but  not  stirring  coarse  laughter.  Here  is 
one  of  his  quaint  fashions  of  reproving  sin,  which  is  equally  creditable 
to  his  ingenuity  and  his  piety  :  "  Monday,  August  15,  1796.  We  rode 
to  New  York.  While  crossing  the  ferry  some  foohsh,  wicked  people 
uttered  so  many  damns  that  I  was  a  little  afraid  the  Lord  would  sink 
the  boat.  I  asked  a  man  if  he  had  any  chalk  to  lend  me,  so  that  I 
might  mark  down  the  curses  the  company  gave  us  on  our  passage  of 
tliirty  or  forty  minutes."  The  sight  of  this  quiet  stranger  keeping 
tally  of  the  oaths  uttered  in  his  hearing  must  have  produced  a  health- 
ful impression  upon  that  boatload  of  rough  people. 

The  Rev.  John  W.  Bond,  who  was  for  a  time  the  Bishop's  travel 
ing  companion,  says  :  "  There  was  never  a  person  on  earth  1  was  so 
afraid  of  as  of  Bishop  Asbury.  Tliere  was  an  air  of  sternness  about 
him  that  forbade  any  one  approaching  too  near.  You  must  wait  his 
time ;  but  when  he  was  in  the  humor  you  could  approach  him  with 
perfect  ease,  and  there  would  be  with  him  the  utmost  simplicity  and 
familiarity.  Ue  could  be  one  of  the  most  communicative  of  men, 
and  for  hours  entertain  you  with  pleasing  and  amusing  anecdotes. 
The  Bishop  would  appear  often  to  be  lost  in  thought  as  he  was  riding 
along :  he  was  either  studying  his  sermons  or  planning  the  work  in  his 
vast  field  of  labor :  at  such  times  there  was  nothing  to  be  said  to  him. 
All  at  once  his  countenance  and  manner  would  change,  and  he  would 
beckon  or  call  his  friend  to  come  up  and  ride  beside  him,  and  enter 
into  the  most  free  and  familiar  conversation."  Father  Boehm  ffives  a 
similar  account. 

He  had  an  eye  to  pity  and  a  hand  to  reheve  distress.  Boehm 
relates  that  once  when  they  were  passing  through  Ohio  he  came  upon 
a  little  assembly  of  people,  and  on  inquiring  the  cause  he  was  informed 
that  the  cow  of  a  poor  widow  was  about  to  be  sold  for  debt ;  whereupon 
he  inquired  carefully  into  the  circumstances,  and  declared  that  the  cow 
must  not  be  sold.  He  started  a  subscription,  headed  it  himself,  and 
solicited  from  the  company  who  had  gathered  for  the  sale  money 
enough  to  pay  the  debt,  and  the  cow  was  given  back  to  the  widow. 


592  Illustrated  History  of  Metiiodis:m. 

Asbiiry  a  Jndge  of  Men. — The  Bishop  was  gifted  with  rare 
discernment  of  character.  Preachers  wlio  for  the  lirst  time  were 
ushered  into  his  presence  said  tliey  felt  as  if  he  were  looking  through 
and  through  them  ;  and  in  these  inspections  he  very  rarely  made  a  mis- 
take. There  was  one  Kline,  a  member  of  the  New  York  Conference, 
a  good  man  but  by  no  means  a  great  man,  who  one  day  called  upon 
the  Bishop  at  liis  lodgings  in  the  city  of  New  York;  and  the  Bishop, 
stepping  out  of  the  room  for  a  few  minutes,  left  him  there  alone. 
Seeing  a  book  lying  upon  the  table  near  him  he  took  it  up,  and  on 
opening  it  discovered  it  to  be  a  manuscript  volume  in  which  the  Bishop 
recorded  his  opinions  of  the  ministers  under  his  command.  The  first 
thing  his  eye  rested  upon  was — "John  Kline,  a  man  of  small  preach- 
ing talents,  but  thought  to  be  very  pious  and  useful." 

When  the  infirmities  of  age  began  to  press  upon  him  some  of  his 
brethren  wished  him  to  retire,  as  God  had  raised  up  many  strong  men 
who  were  able  to  relieve  him  of  his  abundant  labors.  But  this  Asbury 
would  not  do.  "  No  man  can  do  my  work,"  said  he,  and  he  persisted 
in  traveling  through  the  length  and  breadth  of  the  Connection.  He 
had  been  an  excellent  preacher  as  well  as  administrator  in  his  time,  but 
now,  perceiving  that  he  was  not  able  to  preach  as  formerly  he  dele- 
gated the  most  of  this  work  to  younger  men,  but  in  order  that  he  stiU 
might  spread  the  Gospel  he  packed  a  quantity  of  Bibles  in  his  car- 
riage and  distributed  them  on  his  way,  saying,  "  Now  I  know  I  am 
sowing  good  seed." 

Mention  has  already  been  made  of  the  almost  military  rigor  with 
which  Asbury  commanded  his  itinerant  army.  Having  studied  his 
men  and  explored  their  fields  of  labor,  and  having  also  prayed  over 
every  appointment,  he  announced  the  same  as  a  finality.  The  reading 
of  the  appointments  was  the  last  thing  done  at  the  Conference ;  and  in 
order  to  prevent  the  possibility  of  any  complaints,  he  was  accustomed 
to  have  his  horse,  ready  saddled,  waiting  at  the  door  of  the  church,  and 
the  moment  he  had  finished  reading  the  appointments  and  pronounced 
the  benediction  he  mounted,  and  rode  away,  without  even  informing 
any  one  where  he  was  going.  Thus,  by  necessity,  the  appointments 
must  stand,  since  there  was  no  one  to  change  them,  and  no  court  of 
appeals  known  to  Methodist  Discipline. 

In  the  year  1807  the  Bishop  seems  to  have  received  a  special  dis- 


AsBURY  A  Judge  of  Meis^  593 

penfc.ation  o^.  health.  In  October  of  that  year  he  writes,  "  I  am  young 
again,"  [he  was  now  sixty-two  years  old,]  "  and  boast  of  being  able  to 
ride  six  thousand  miles  on  horse-back  in  ten  months.  My  round  will 
embrace  the  United  States,  the  Territory,  and  Canada."  This  entry  was 
made  at  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  in  which  state  Methodism  had  been  already 
widely  extended.  In  the  summer  of  1811  he  made  his  first  visit  to 
Upper  Canada,  where  he  met  some  of  the  descendants  of  the  old  Irish 
Palatine  stock. 

Asbury  on  Matrimony. — During  this  year  several  entries  in 
his  Jom'nal  refer  to  the  subject  of  marriage,  in  one  of  which  he  says : 
"  I  have  read  Adam  Clarke,  and  am  amused,  as  well  as  instructed. 
He  indirectly  unchristianizes  old  bachelors.  Woe  is  me  ! "  Having 
sworn  himself  to  a  hfe  of  celibacy  as  one  of  the  privations  and 
necessities  of  his  episcopal  career  he  was  somewhat  annoyed  at  the 
fi-equent  stragglers  from  the  i-anks,  who  located  on  account  of  their 
marriage.  In  the  early  days  there  were  few  married  men  among  the 
itinerants,  and  the  taking  of  a  wife  was  expected  to  be  followed  by  a 
location  ;  on  which  matter  the  Bishop  moralizes  thus  : — 

"  If  a  rich  serious  young  lady  wished  to  marry  a  rich  child  of  the 
devil,  she  would  lose  her  light,  and  though  she  might  not  be  wilhng 
to  allow  that  it  was  extinguished,  her  pious  friends  would  soon  see  in 
her  naught  but  darkness.  Why  not  marry  a  handsome  young  Meth- 
odist preacher  ?  She  would  then  have  something  for  her  money.  She 
would  have  goodness,  for  after  all,  who  are  good  if  not  those  who  prac- 
tice goodness  and  teach  others  so  to  do  ?  But  Mr.  Wesley  meant  not 
this,  for  he  knew,  and  so  do  I  know,  tliat  it  would  scarcely  be  good  for 
more  than  one  of  the  parties.  Few  preachers,  if  any,  have  been  as 
holy  and  useful  in  after  as  in  former  life  who  have  married  rich 
women,  and  some  have  ended  in  apostasy." 

The  Journal  of  Bishop  Asbury,  which  is  the  chief  foundation  of 
Methodist  history  in  America,  as  are  the  Journals  of  John  Wesley  in 
England,  closes  on  the  Tth  of  December,  1815.  Worn  out  with  labor 
and  travel,  he  lays  down  his  pen,  and  presently  he  is  to  lay  down  his 
life  ;  not  to  lose  it,  but,  after  the  manner  of  his  Lord,  to  take  it  again. 
He  has  made  a  tour  southward  from  Virginia  as  far  as  Columbia, 
South  Carolina,  from  which  point  he  hoped  to  reach  Baltimore  on  the 
ensuing  May,  that  he  might  be  present  at  one  more  General  Confer- 


594  Illustkated  Histoky  of  Methodism. 

ence.  In  this  expectation  he  was,  however,  disappointed.  The  disease 
with  which  he  was  afflicted  terminated  in  consumption,  which  made 
such  rapid  progress  as  to  prostrate  the  small  remaining  strength  of  a 
constitution  already  worn  out  by  fatigue  and  labor,  and  trembling 
under  the  repeated  strokes  of  disease.  His  mind,  however,  rose  su- 
perior to  his  bodily  weakness ;  and,  impelled  by  an  insatiable  desire  for 
usefulness,  he  made  a  hospital  of  his  carriage,  and  as  his  strength 
would  permit  he  journeyed  from  place  to  place ;  sitting  in  his  chair 
to  speak  if  he  were  too  weak  to  stand,  and  thus  by  painful  stages  he 
reached  Richmond,  Yirginia,  on  the  24th  of  March,  1816. 

Asbary's  Last  Sermon  was  preached  in  the  old  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  in  Richmond,  at  the  date  just  mentioned.  Perceiv- 
ing his  great  weakness  of  body,  some  of  his  friends  endeavored  to  dis- 
suade him  from  such  an  effort,  fearing  it  might  immediately  cost  him 
his  life.  But  he  stiU  persisted  that  he  had  one  more  message  to  deliver 
in  the  name  of  his  Master,  and  his  friends  tenderly  and  lovingly  carried 
him  into  the  church — he  was  unable  either  to  walk  or  stand — lifted 
him  into  the  pulpit,  and  seated  him  on  a  table  prepared  for  the 
purpose.  His  text  was  Romans  ix,  28 :  "  For  he  will  finish  the 
work,  and  cut  it  short  in  righteousness :  because  a  short  work  will 
the  Lord  make  upon  the  earth."  He  frequently  paused  during  his 
sermon  to  recover  breath  and  strength,  and  these  very  pauses  made 
the  sermon,  which  was  of  an  hour's  length,  more  weighty  and  impres- 
sive. 

He  is  an  old  man  now,  seventy-two  years  of  age.  He  has  fought 
disease  as  heroically  as  he  has  fought  the  devil,  but  in  this  contest  he 
is  almost  vanquished  now.  His  eyes  have  grown  so  dim  that  he  is 
not  able  to  write  or  read  the  records  of  appointments,  and  he  has  re- 
signed the  stations  to  his  new  coUeague,  Bishop  M'Kendree.  But  he 
is  the  Bishop  still — what  is  left  of  him — and  with  the  little  hfe  that 
is  in  him  he  is  bent  on  issuing  one  more  order  for  an  advance  in  God's 
name,  all  along  the  line.  He  must  give  his  companions  his  farewell 
message ;  he  must  rehearse  to,  them  from  what  small  beginnings  God 
had  raised  them  up  to  their  present  greatness ;  he  must  exhort  them 
once  more  to  be  holy  : — in  the  last  years  of  his  Hfe  he  had  something  to 
say  about  holiness  in  every  discourse.  He  must  warn  them  not  to  con- 
form to  the  fashion  of  this  world : — his  heart  has  been  troubled  of  late 


Asbury's  Death.  595 

by  seeing  even  the  daughters  of  Methodist  preachers  wearing  orna- 
ments of  gold — and  he  must  prophecy  to  them  of  the  swiftness  and 
the  fflory  of  the  final  ushering  in  of  Christ's  kingdom.  His  old 
friends  listen  tearfully  and  lovingly  while  he  gives  his  last  charge  to 
his  last  congregation,  and  then  they  take  him  upon  their  arms  and 
lovingly  carry  him  away. 

With  the  hand  of  death  upon  him  he  arises  from  his  bed  on  the 
Tuesday  following,  and  sets  his  face  toward  Baltimore.  He  also  makes 
brief  journeys  on  Thursday  and  Friday,  and  finally  reaches  the  house 
of  his  old  friend,  George  Arnold,  in  Spottsylvania.  Here  his  distress 
is  so  evident  tliat  his  friends  urge  him  to  send  for  a  physician,  but 
he  gives  them  to  understand  that  it  would  be  useless,  saying :  "  Before 
the  doctor  could  reach  me  I  should  be  gone,  and  all  he  could  do  would 
be  to  pronounce  me  dead."  On  the  morning  of  the  Sabbath,  March 
31,  he  desires  the  family  to  be  assembled,  and  Brother  Bond,  his  trav- 
eling companion,  sings,  prays,  and  expounds  the  21st  chapter  of  the 
Revelation,  as  well  as  he  is  able  under  the  pressure  of  the  great  sor- 
row that  is  impending.  The  Bishop,  observing  the  distress  of  his 
companion,  raises  his  dying  hand  with  a  joyful  expression  of  counte- 
nance, which  being  observed,  he  is  asked  if  he  feels  the  Lord  Jesus  to 
be  precious.  He  is  now  too  far  gone  to  speak,  but  exerting  all  his 
remaining  strength,  he  raises  both  his  hands  as  if  in  benediction,  or 
perhaps  in  wonder  at  the  heavenly  glory  which  is  already  opening  to 
his  dying  vision,  and  a  few  minutes  after  he  peacefully  breathes  his" 
last  in  the  arms  of  his  faithful  companion. 

His  funeral  was  celebrated  in  the  city  of  Baltimore  during  the 
session  of  the  General  Conference  which  he  had  so  persistently  but 
vainly  attempted  to  reach.  His  remains,  which  had  been  temporarily 
deposited  in  the  burying-ground  of  his  friend  Arnold,  were,  by  order 
of  the  Conference,  and  at  the  request  of  the  Baltimore  Society,  taken 
up  and  brought  to  that  city,  and  from  the  parsonage  of  the  old  Light- 
street  Church,  w-hich  for  years  had  been  the  nearest  approach  to  a 
home  that  this  itinerant  Bishop  had  ever  possessed,  he  was  borne  on 
the  shoulders  of  some  of  his  loving  sons  in  the  ministry  to  the  Eutaw- 
street  Church,  preceded  by  Bishop  M'Kendree  and  the  Rev.  William 
Black,  representative  from  the  Conference  of  British  America,  and 
followed  by  the  members  of  the  General  Conference  as  chief  mourn- 


THE    CHUKCH    LOT    IN    MT.    OLIVET    CEMETERY. 


Asbctry's  Death.  597 

ers.  and  a  vast  concourse  of  citizens.  The  funeral  oration  was  pro- 
nounced by  Bishop  M'Kendree. 

All  that  was  mortal  of  this  man,  who  was  now  immortal,  was 
placed  in  a  vault  prepared  for  it  under  the  pulpit  of  the  Eutaw-strect 
Church,  in  Baltimore,  from  which  it  was  afterward  removed  to  the 
Bishops'  lot  in  Mount  Olivet  Cemetery  ;  a  burial  place  belonging  to  the 
First  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  of  Baltimore,  the  present  repre- 
sentative of  the  old  Lovely  Lane  and  Light-street  Churches. 

On  this  sacred  spot  stands  the  Bishops'  monument,  bearing  memo- 
rials of  Francis  Asbury,  Enoch  George,  John  Emory,  and  Beverly 
Waugh  ;  and  here,  also,  the  New  England  Methodists  have  recently 
erected  an  elegant  shaft  of  Scotch  granite  to  the  memory  of  the  chief 
apostle  of  Methodism  in  New  England — Jesse  Lee — whose  death  oc- 
curred at  Hillsborough,  on  the  eastern  coast  of  Maryland,  September 
12th,  1816. 

The  record  of  the  ministry  of  this  apostolic  man  covers  about  fifty- 
five  years,  forty-five  of  which  were  spent  in  America;  thirty  of  them 
in  the  office  of  Bishop  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  Through 
all  those  years  he  preached  on  an  average  seven  or  eight  times  a  week, 
lie  presided  in  no  less  than  two  hundred  and  twenty-four  Conferences, 
and  ordained  to  the  ministry  about  four  thousand  men. 

Bi§lioi)  Oeorg^e.— Enoch  George,  the  fifth  Bishop  of  the 
ALcthodist  Episcopal  Church,  was  trained  on  one  of  the  great  frontier 
circuits  at  the  head  of  the  Catawba  and  Broad  Bivers,  in  North  Car- 
olina, He  was  born  in  Lancaster  County,  Virginia,  in  1Y67  or  1768. 
Though  brought  up  in  the  English  Church  he  was  addicted  to  the 
dissipation  which  prevailed  in  his  neighborhood.  He  was  at  length 
brought  under  the  care  of  that  pious  and  active  Church  minister, 
Jarratt,  under  whom  he  received  his  first  religious  impressions,  and 
was  afterward  converted  under  the  ministry  of  John  Easter,  a  preacher 
on  the  old  Brunswick  Circuit.  The  revival  in  the  neighborhood  of  a 
village  called  Hicksford,  in  which  George  was  converted,  was  marked 
by  some  of  those  extraordinary  physical  exercises  which  have  so  aston- 
ished the  opponents  of  supernatural  religion.  Easter  was  one  of  the 
mighty  men  :  when  he  preached  the  multitude  trembled  with  astonish- 
ment, and  large  numbers  sometimes  cried  aloud  and  fell  to  the 
ground. 


598 


Illustrated  Hlstory  of  Methodism. 


It  was  on  such  an  occasion  that  Enoch  George  was  brought  under 
conviction.  In  his  account  of  it  he  says,  "  Some  fell  near  me,  and 
one  almost  on  me,  and  when  I  attempted  to  fly  I  found  myself  unable. 
When  my  consternation  subsided  I  collected  all  my  strength  and  resolu- 
tion and  left  my  friends  and  the  family,  determining  never  to  be  seeE  at 


Bisnoi 


I     1 


a  Methodist  meeting  again.  In  this  I  was  defeated.  On  the  next  day 
there  was  to  be  another  meeting  in  our  vicinity,  and  my  father  com- 
manded my  attendance.  I  went,  intending  to  steel  my  heart  against 
conviction.     However,  it  pleased  God  on  this  day  to  open  my  eyes 


Bishop  Geokge.  599 

and  turn  me  from  darkness  to  light  by  the  ministry  of  the  word,  and 
I  was  willing  to  become  a  Christian  in  the  way  of  the  Lord." 

It  was  not  long  before  George  was  happy  in  the  possession  of  a 
new  heart,  and  shortly  afterward  he  joined  a  Methodist  Society.  His 
brethren,  discovering  in  him  a  talent  for  exhortation,  insisted  on  his 
performing  this  service,  and  after  repeated  refusals  he  reluctantly  con- 
sented. With  such  favor  was  his  word  received  that  he  was  presently 
"  called  out  "  by  Philip  Cox  and  sent  to  a  circuit  in  North  Carolina, 
three  hundred  miles  distant.  This  was  in  1789.  In  1T90  he  was  ad- 
mitted to  the  North  Carolina  Conference  on  trial,  and  thenceforth 
made  such  good  proof  of  his  ministry  that  in  1796  he  reached  the  dig- 
nity of  a  Presiding  Elder,  and  in  1816,  after  the  death  of  Bishop 
Asbury,  he  was  elected  and  ordained  Bishop.  His  death  occurred  at 
Staunton,  Virginia,  August  23d,  1828. 

Bishop  Roberts. — Kobert  K.  Koberts,  the  sixth  Bishop  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  was  one  of  the  most  perfect  specimens 
of  frontier  ministers  ever  produced  in  America.  He  was  born  in 
Frederick  County,  Maryland,  in  1778.  His  father  was  a  backwoods 
farmer,  who,  when  the  boy  was  seven  years  of  age,  emigrated  over  the 
mountains  to  the  Ligonia  Valley,  in  Westmoreland  County,  Pennsyl- 
vania, where  the  family  lived  for  years  in  the  woods,  far  from  schools 
and  churches,  and  with  no  other  means  of  grace  at  hand  than  the 
family  Bible ;  but  when  young  Roberts  was  about  ten  years  old  some 
of  the  ubiquitous  itinerants  found  out  the  cabin,  preached  the  Gospel 
to  its  inmates,  and  not  long  afterward  had  the  satisfaction  of  receiving 
the  entire  family  into  the  fellowship  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church.  In  the  year  1800,  Roberts,  who  was  now  a  stalwart  young 
fellovN'',  well  up  in  felling  trees,  building  fences,  tracking  game,  and  all 
the  other  arts  of  forestry  and  farming,  received  a  license  as  an  ex- 
horter.  He  made  an  imposing  figure  standing  on  a  stump  or  in  a 
wagon,  his  fine  form  arrayed  in  the  approved  backwoods  costume  of 
hunting  shirt,  buckskin  breeches,  and  moccasins ;  and  as,  in  addition 
to  the  Bible,  he  had  been  a  faithful  student  of  "  Wesley's  Sermons  " 
and  "  Fletcher's  Checks  to  Antinomianism,"  he  was  rather  more  than 
usually  well  qualified  in  point  of  learning  to  enter  upon  the  sacred 
office. 

When  he  first  presented  himself  at  the  Baltimore  Conference,  in 


600 


Illustrated  Histoky  of  Methodism. 


1802,  lie  made  quite  a  sensation  by  liis  youthful  freshness  and  vigor. 
The  life  of  the  forest  had  made  its  indelible  impression  upon  him,  and 
Asbury,  who  was  quick  to  discern  the  powers  as  well  as  the  charac- 
ters of  men,  at  once  laid  claim  to  him  for  service  in  tlie  wilds  of  the 
West.     He  was  a  child  of  the  wilderness ;  he  had  a  body  and  a  consti- 


BISHOP    liOBERTS. 


tution  made  for  danger  and  toil ;  he  was  a  splendid  shot  with  his  rifle ; 
he  had  built  himself  a  log-cabin  and  dwelt  for  years  out  of  sight  of 
civilized  man,  tilling  the  earth  in  summer  and  hunting  the  bear,  the 
deer,  and  the  raccoon  in  the  M'inter ;  and  thus  the  refinements  of  sea- 


Bishop  Roberts.  601 

board  cities,  which  were  so  attractive  to  many  exiles  sent  to  the  West- 
ern Conference,  could  have  no  attraction  for  him.  His  first  appoint- 
ments were  in  Western  Pennsylvania,  Maryland,  and  Ohio,  where  he 
displayed  such  rare  abihties  that  the  older  portions  of  the  Church  ap- 
pear to  have  envied  the  West  their  possession  of  him,  and  after  a 
dozen  years  or  so  in  the  wilderness  Bishop  Asbury  appointed  him  to 
the  very  head-quarters  of  Methodism,  in  Baltimore ;  to  which  place  he 
reluctantly  went,  doubting  his  adaptation  to  poUte  society  and  city 
congregations.  In  the  spring  of  1816,  Asbury  being  now  dead,  Rob- 
erts was  elected  to  preside  over  the  Philadelphia  Conference,  though 
he  was  the  youngest  preacher  present ;  and  with  such  native  dignity 
and  manifest  common  sense  did  he  fill  this  difficult  place,  that  he  at 
once  became  a  prominent  candidate  for  the  Episcopacy,  to  which  office 
he  was  elected  at  the  ensuing  General  Conference  that  same  year. 

Being  a  Bishop,  Robei^ts  was  now  free.  He  had  no  ecclesiastical 
superior  to  drag  him  from  his  beloved  woods  and  mountains,  and  coop 
him  up  in  the  streets  of  Baltimore  and  Philadelphia  ;  and  no  sooner 
had  he  passed  to  the  highest  honor  of  the  Church  than  he  fixed  his 
residence  in  the  old  cabin  in  the  Chenango  County  woods,  where  he 
dwelt  in  peace  during  such  intervals  as  his  labors  aiiorded  him ;  brush- 
ing the  dust  of  civilization  out  of  his  eyes,  and  its  cobweb  foUies  out 
of  his  brain :  subsisting  in  primitive  fashion  and  holding  communion 
with  nature  and  with  God.  From  this  cabin  he  afterward  removed 
to  an  episcopal  palace  in  Indiana,  which  was  then  counted  the  "  Far 
West."  This  residence,  hke  the  former,  was  built  of  logs,  and  both 
the  edifice  and  its  furniture  were  constructed  by  his  own  hands.  His 
annual  income  during  the  most  of  his  career  was  from  four  hundred 
to  four  hundred  and  fifty  dollars,  which  was  enough  for  his  simple 
wants,  and  comported  well  with  the  style  of  living  in  the  western 
half  of  his  great  field,  which  now  comprised  aU  that  was  known  of 
the  vast  vaUey  of  the  Mississippi. 

In  early  years  he  suffered  from  extreme  diffidence,  which  afterward 
became  a  subdued  modesty,  and  which,  with  the  plainness  and  simplic- 
ity of  his  manners  and  apparel,  often  led  to  ludicrous  mistakes.  On 
ordinary  occasions  he  assumed  no  other  dignity  than  that  of  a  private 
Christian ;  and  frequently  in  his  journeyings  among  the  people  it  was 
not  until  the  family  worship  revealed  his  spirit  and  power  that  his 
38 


602  Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 

ministerial  character  was  suspected.  Many  an  exhortation  did  he  re- 
ceive from  zealous  class-leaders  whose  little  meetings  he  attended  with- 
out making  himself  known,  and  not  unfrequently  he  found  a  quiet 
pleasure  in  the  sudden  transition  from  rudeness  to  deference  which 
took  place  in  the  manners  of  persons  who  had  at  first  entertained  this 
angel  unawares. 

During  his  superintendency  he  traversed  the  entire  country  from 
Michigan  to  Florida,  and  from  Maine  to  Louisiana,  and  penetrated  into 
the  Indian  countries  west  of  Missouri  and  Arkansas.  For  the  last 
twenty-four  years  of  his  life,  that  is  to  say  from  1819  to  1843,  his 
nominal  residence  was  the  log-cabin  in  southern  Indiana  above  men- 
tioned, from  which  point  he  diverged  in  all  directions,  taking  no  ac- 
count of  toil  or  fatigue,  poverty  or  hunger,  suffering  or  peril.  In  the 
full  vigor  of  his  life  he  was  a  man  of  magnificent  proportions,  weigh- 
not  far  from  two  hundred  and  fifty  pounds,  with  large  manly  features 
and  open  and  pleasant  countenance.  There  was  about  him  a  quiet 
suggestion  of  reserved  power,  on  which,  under  special  stress  of  circum- 
stances, he  was  able  to  draw  with  tremendous  effect.  It  is  said  of  him, 
that,  in  several  instances,  while  presiding  over  Annual  Conferences 
where  great  excitement  was  about  to  produce  general  disorder,  he  has 
been  known  suddenly  to  assume  as  much  authority  as  would  suffice  to 
command  an  army,  and  by  the  overwhebning  weight  of  his  personal  will 
to  crush  out  dissension  and  bring  order  out  of  confusion.  On  the  other 
hand,  as  a  proof  of  his  meekness  and  humility,  in  1836,  being  in  the 
twentieth  year  of  his  Episcopate,  when  he  was  the  senior  Bishop,  he 
tendered  his  resignation  to  the  General  Conference,  simply  because  in 
his  own  estimate  of  himself,  his  qualifications  for  the  office,  small  at 
best,  would  soon  be  so  diminished  by  the  infirmities  of  age  that  he 
could  not  be  safely  intrusted  with  the  exercise  of  the  great  powers 
which  it  implied ;  but  to  his  great  surpnse  no  one  moved  to  accept 
his  resignation,  and  thus  he  was  compelled  to  bear  his  official  honors 
to  the  end.     His  death  occurred  March  26th,  1843. 

The  seventh  Bishop  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  was  Joshua 
Soule.  His  election  to  the  Episcopacy  occurred  at  the  General  Con- 
ference of  1824,  and  he  seceded  in  1844  with  the  body  which  formed 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South.  Further  notice  of  him  will, 
therefore,  be  given  in  connection  with  the  sketch  of  that  Church. 


Bishop  Heddixg.  (>q3 

Bi*ho„  Heddl„s-Xhe  Radical  Movement.-KIijah 
Heddmg,  the  eighth  Bishop  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Chureh,  and 
one  of  tJ,e  prmees  in  Isi-ael,  was  an  eastern  contribution  to  the  Episco- 
pacy He  was  born  near  what  is  now  the  town  of  Pine  Plains,  in 
Dntchess  County,  New  York,  on  the    7th    of  June,  ITSO      He  ^as 


/ 


BISHOP    nEDDTXG. 

n     7.     r7'] ,        ""•  "'"•  ■■"  ''''■  '^»™'«"  "-  Dutchess  Circuit. 

o^ZiT  fv     "■*  '""'■'■'  ""'■'^™*«'  *°  Starksborough,  a  portion 
of  the  State  of  Vermont  then  recently  opened  for  settlement;  and  in 


604  Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 

this  wild  region  the  young  man  grew  up  to  be  a  spirited,  venturesomo 
youth,  a  leader  among  his  companions  not  only  in  the  wild  exploits  of 
the  woods,  but  also  in  such  intellectual  contests  as  prevailed  in  that 
rural  region.  On  account  of  his  forwardness  in  learning  he  was 
chosen  on  several  occasions  to  read  one  of  Wesley's  sermons  to  a  little 
congregation  of  Methodists  which  had  assembled  for  worship,  and  his 
attention  being  thus  called  to  the  chief  Methodist  classic  he  read 
through  the  whole  series  of  discourses,  and  retained  a  good  portion  of 
them  in  his  memory. 

In  the  year  1798  he  experienced  a  clear  and  sound  conversion 
under  the  labors  of  Joseph  Mitchell,  who,  with  Abner  "Wood,  traveled 
Vcrgcnnes  Circuit  that  year ;  and  from  the  day  of  his  conversion  it 
appeared  that  the  seal  of  God  was  upon  him  for  the  work  of  the  holy 
ministry.  He  had  hardly  been  admitted  into  full  membership  before 
he  Was  urged  to  take  an  exhorter's  license,  and  under  these  persuasions 
ho  began  to  hold  meetings  in  the  neighborhood,  sometimes  delivering 
a  well-arranged  discourse,  but  modestly  refraining  from  taking  a  text, 
or  calling  it  a  sermon.  He  was  admitted  to  the  New  England  Confer- 
ence in  1801,  and  sent  to  the  Essex  Circuit,  about  three  hundred  miles 
in  extent,  embracing  the  whole  tract  of  territory  between  Lake  Cham- 
plain  and  the  Green  Mountains,  and  extending  some  twenty  or  thirty 
miles  into  Canada,  having  for  his  senior  colleague  that  warm-hearted 
Irishman,  Henry  Ryan,  of  whom  further  mention  will  be  made  in  con- 
nection with  Canadian  Methodism. 

The  masses  of  the  people  in  that  section  of  the  country  were  sunk 
in  ignorance,  and  not  at  all  addicted  to  rehgion.  The  sound  of  the 
gospel  trumpet  in  their  midst  at  first  aroused  their  curiosity,  and  then 
their  anger,  and  they  often  assembled  in  great  crowds  at  the  preaching- 
places  for  the  purpose  of  making  disturbance.  The  infidel  principles 
of  Thomas  Paine  largely  prevailed,  and  the  opposition  to  Christianity 
thereby  inspired  sometimes  took  the  form  of  personal  violence,  at 
others  the  form  of  ridicule,  and  young  men,  and  even  women,  had 
been  whipped  by  their  fathers  for  the  crime  of  attending  the  Meth- 
odist meetings.  It  was  a  circuit  well  calculated  to  put  the  powers  of 
young  Hedding  to  the  test ;  but  so  well  informed  was  his  mind,  so 
well  balanced  his  character,  and  so  abundantly  was  he  endowed  with 
ticrve  and  muscle,  that  when  he  arose  to  face  down  a  crowd  of  ruflSans, 


Bishop  Hedding,  605 

as  he  was  sometimes  obliged  to  do,  no  man  among  them  dared  to  look 
him  in  the  eye. 

In  1803  he  was  appointed  to  Bridgewater  Circnit,  a  field  embrac- 
ing the  central  part  of  the  State  of  New  Hampshire,  in  which  he  was 
prostrated  by  an  attack  of  inflammatory  rheumatism  that  crippled  his 
limbs,  and  he  was  coolly  informed  by  his  physician  that  he  wonld 
aever  recover  their  use.  But  being  determined  to  keep  tlie  field  to 
which  the  Lord  and  the  Church  had  appointed  him  he  managed  to  climb 
into  his  saddle  again,  and  being  unable  to  use  liis  hands  and  arms  he 
held  the  reins  in  his  teeth,  and  thus  started  to  make  the  rounds  of  his 
circuit  at  tlie  imminent  peril  of  his  life.  Again  and  again  he  was 
thrown  from  his  horse,  and  picked  up  and  remounted  by  some  passing 
traveler;  on  several  occasions  suffering  severe  injury;  but  it  appears 
that  he  was  more  than  a  match  even  for  inflammatory  rheumatism, 
which  disease  being  unable  to  hold  its  ground  against  such  treatment 
as  this  finally  left  him  in  peace,  and  he  proceeded  on  his  mission  witli 
more  vigor  than  ever. 

It  was  not  long  before  he  reached  the  dignity  of  Presiding  Elder 
on  the  New  Hampshire  District,  where  for  his  first  year  of  service  he 
received  the  sum  of  four  dollars  and  twenty-five  cents  in  cash.  Then 
two  years  more  on  the  New  London  District,  in  connection  with  which 
he  accepted  the  post  of  parisli  minister  in  the  town  of  Ludlow,  Massa- 
chusetts, liaving  a  salary  paid  by  tlic  town  in  consideration  of  a  sd]3U- 
lated  amount  of  service  which  he  was  able  to  spare  from  his  duties  as 
Presiding  Elder.  In  1811  he  removed  to  Boston,  where,  among  many 
other  seals  of  his  ministry,  the  world-i'eno\vaied  sailor-preacher,  Edward 
T.  Taylor,  was  converted  under  one  of  liis  powerful  sermons,  which 
Taylor  describes  as  "the  broadside  that  brought  me  down.'' 

While  traveling  one  of  his  early  cii'cuits,  during  a  particularly 
unpleasant  northern  winter  the  ground  was  thawed  by  ])owerful  rains, 
and  a  thin  crust  quickly  formed  on  the  surface.  Hedding's  horse  had 
broken  through  this  crust  till  his  legs  had  become  so  sore  and  lame 
as  tu  render  him  useless,  and  to  obtain  another  horse  was  impossible, 
as  no  one  would  risk  an  animal  in  such  traveling.  What  was  to  be 
done?  The  appointments  were  out  and  the  people  would  expect  him 
to  till  them.  A  less  resolute  man  might  have  regarded  this  as  a  prov- 
idential hedging  up  of  his  way,  but  to  Iledding  it  was  simply  an  obsta- 


606  Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 

cle  to  be  overcome ;  and,  taking  his  saddle-bags  on  his  shoulders,  he 
started  out  and  actually  made  the  round  of  his  circuit  on  foot,  having 
traveled  in  two  weeks  a  distance  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles.  Of 
this  pedestrian  torn*  he  long  afterward  says :  "  Frequently  I  would 
break  through  the  ice  and  frozen  mud  in  the  swamps  and  woods,  tear- 
ing my  boots  and  keeping  my  feet  wet  most  of  the  time ;  biit  I  perse- 
vered and  got  around  to  my  appointments  at  the  usual  time,  preaching 
once  or  twice  a  day,  besides  my  other  accustomed  services.  I  lived 
through  it,  but  from  the  effects  of  the  exposures  and  hardships  of  that 
tour  I  have  never  recovered  to  this  day." 

As  early  as  1820  Iledding's  friends  proposed  to  put  him  in  nomi- 
nation for  the  Bishopric,  but  he  refused  to  allow  it,  because  of  his 
humble  estimate  of  his  own  abilities.  Four  years  later,  when  the 
proposition  was  renewed,  he  wept,  remonstrated,  and  urged  a  number 
of  olijections  against  the  movement,  but  at  length  reluctantly  yielded, 
and  tnereupon  entered  a  period  of  episcopal  serWce  extending  over 
thirty  years,  in  which  he  proved  himself  to  be  a  worthy  successor  of 
the  apostles.  The  United  States  at  that  time  embraced  thirty  States 
and  Territories,  and  contained  tM-enty-five  million  inhabitants,  one  fifth 
pai't  of  whom  were  under  the  watch-care  of  the  Methodist  minis- 
try, and  over  all  this  field  it  was  his  duty  to  travel.  At  the  time  of 
his  election  there  were  neither  railroads  nor  steamboats ;  but  there 
were  roads  throughout  the  most  of  the  country,  on  which  he  might  be 
shaken  up  in  stage-coaches,  and  the  geography  of  the  country  was  so 
well  known  that  he  was  able  to  station  his  rapidly-increasing  army  of 
j)reachers  witli  some  degree  of  definiteness,  and  also  to  sprinkle  them 
more  thickly  over  the  land. 

Iledding  has  been  called  a  man  of  the  Daniel  Webster  stamp,  but 
the  compliment  is  a  doubtful  one.  To  call  Daniel  "Webster  a  man  of 
the  Iledding  stamp  would  be  very  much  higher  praise.  His  mind  was 
strong  and  steady,  possessing  great  power  of  analysis  and  logic.  Fi-ee 
from  passion  and  evenly  poised,  he  cast  aside  all  trifling  and  miworthy 
thoughts  and  things,  and  with  his  eye  upon  some  great  conclusion 
or  achievement  he  advanced  with  steadily-increasing  momentum  to 
ultimate  and  real  success.  As  a  preacher  he  was  mighty ;  given 
to  the  development  of  deep  doctrines,  attempting  no  lofty  flights 
of  rhetoric,  but  laying  down  the  principles   of   orthodox   theology, 


Bishop  Hedding.  607 

and  enforcing  the  claims  of  practical  righteousness  in  a  manner  next 
to  irresistible. 

The  leaders  of  the  temperance  reform  should  not  fail  to  claim 
Bishop  Hcdding  as  one  of  the  pioneers  of  that  movement. 

He  was  also  one  of  the  prominent  characters  in  the  great  slavery 
debates,  of  which  a  larger  account  will  be  given  in  connection  with  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South.  He  was  such  a  finn  behever  in 
peace  and  order,  and  so  thoroughly  devoted  to  the  Church,  that  the 
agitation  kept  up  by  the  more  zealous  abohtionists,  gave  him  great  dis- 
tress. He  was  by  no  means  an  apologist  for  negro  slavery ;  but  it  was 
his  fond  hope  that  the  Church  at  the  South  would,  of  its  own  accord, 
provide  for  its  extinction;  hence  he  counseled  moderation  and  pa- 
tience, which,  in  the  stormy  quadrennium  of  1844-48,  were  admired 
on  the  one  hand  and  blamed  on  the  other.  But  he  was  now  an  old 
man,  and  his  love  for  the  Church  which  he  had  served  so  devotedly 
occupied  so  great  a  place  in  his  soul,  that  even  his  capacious  nature 
had  no  room  for  sympathy  with  any  movements,  however  exellent  in 
themselves,  which  were  of  a  political  rather  than  of  a  religions  char- 
acter. The  death  of  Bishop  Hedding  occuiTcd  at  Poughkeepsie, 
N.  Y.,  on  the  9th  of  April,  1852,  after  a  ministry  of  fifty-one  years, 
and  a  period  of  episcopal  service  of  nearly  twentj^-eight  years.  His 
last  illness  was  protracted  and  severe,  but  his  mental  powers  were  pre- 
served clear  and  vigorous  to  the  last,  and  in  his  dying  moments  he 
broke  forth  with  praises  to  God,  and  died  shouting,  "  Glory,  glory, 
glory ! " 

The  Hcthoclist  Protestant  Church.— It  was  Bishop 
Hedding  who,  at  the  General  Conference  held  at  Pittsburgh  in  1828, 
took  that  vigorous  action  against  the  radical  movement — the  O'Kellv 
movement  over  again— which  led  to  the  formation  of  the  Methodist 
Protestant  Church.  It  is  of  little  avail  to  recall  the  sharp  debates  of 
those  days  over  lay  delegation  and  kindred  measures  proposed  by  the 
reformers.  A  little  more  patience  on  one  side  and  a  little  more 
wisdom  on  the  other  would  have  saved  this  second  division  in  the 
Methodist  ranks ;  and  it  is  among  the  events  to  be  hoped  for,  that  the 
two  bodies  may  yet  find  a  common  form  of  agreement  in  which, 
having  identical  doctrines,  they  may  once  more  become  united. 

On   the  12th  of  November,   1828,  a  general  convention  of  the 


608 


Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 


Reformers  assembled  at  St.  Jolm's  Churcli,  Baltimore,  at  which  eleven 
States  and  the  District  of  Columbia  were  represented. 

Nieliola^^  Siietlieii,  one  of  the  veterans  of  the  Conference^ 
who,  on  account  of  his  admirable  style  as  a  preacher  was  familiarly 
known  as  "  Asbury's  silver  trumpet,"  was  elected  president  of  the 
Convention,  and  AVilliam  Stockton  was  chosen  secretary.  As  the 
result  of  its  deliberations  articles  of  association  were  agreed  upon,  a 
committee  was  appointed  to  draft  Discipline  and  Constitution,  and  to 


NICHOLAS    SNETHEN. 


compile  a  Hymn  Book,  and  after  a  session  of  ten  days  the  Conven- 
tion adjourned  for  two  years. 

Tlie  second  Convention  of  the  Reformers,  in  1830,  was  composed  of 
one  hundred  and  fourteen  delegates,  ministers  and  laymen  being  in  equal 
proportion,  representing  a  constituency  of  about  eighty  ministers  and 
hve  thousand  members.  Their  first  name,  "Associated  Methodist 
Church,"  was  here  changed  to  the  "  Methodist  Protestant  Church ; " 
the  Episcopacy  and  presiding  eldership  were  rejected  ;  the  Annual 
Conference  was  authorized  to  elect  its  ju-esident  annually  ;  the  General 
Conference  was  provided  for,  which,  like  the  Annual  Conference,  wa& 


Nicholas  Snetiien. 


609 


to  consist  of  an  equal  nnmber  of  ministers  and  laymen,  the  ratio  of 
representation  being  fixed  at  one  minister  and  one  layman  for  a  thou- 
sand persons  in  full  membership,  and  this  General  Conference  was 
appointed  to  hold  its  session  once  in  seven  years. 

Class-leaders,  also,  instead  of  being  appointed  by  the  pastors,  as  in 
the  old  Church,  were  to  be  annually  elected  by  their  classes,  and  the 
right  of  suffrage  and  eligibility  to  office  were  limited  to  white  males 
in  full  connection  and  twenty-one  years  of  age.  The  General  Eules  of 
Mr.  Wesley,  and  -the  Articles  of  Eeligion  contained  in  the  Discipline 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH,   PITTSBURGH. 


of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  were  adopted  in  full.  The  itiner- 
ant ministry  was  preserved,  a  Ritual  and  Hymn  Book  was  adopted, 
and  a  committee  was  appointed  to  secure  the  Charter  for  a  Book  Con- 
cern. The  progress  of  the  body  was  rapid.  At  its  first  General  Con- 
ference, held  in  Georgetown,  D.  C,  May  6,  1834,  at  which  the  Eev. 
Nicholas  Snethen  again  presided,  fourteen  Annual  Conferences  were 
represented,  comprising  about  five  hundred  preachers.  The  member- 
ship of  the  body  had  increased  to  about  twenty-seven  thousand. 


610  Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 

In  1877  a  secession  from  the  "Methodist  Protestant  Church," 
calling  itself  "  The  Methodist  Church,"  was  again  reunited  with 
the  parent  body,  which  now  includes  over  thirteen  hundred  preachers, 
about  one  hundred  and  twenty  thousand  members,  and  Church  prop- 
erty to  the  value  of  over  two  and  a  half  millions  of  dollars. 

Much  as  this  secession  is  to  be  regretted,  Bishop  Hedding  cannot 
be  blamed  for  his  action  in  the  matter.  He  had  the  sagacity  to  see 
that  peace  lay  in  the  direction  of  separation,  and  he  possessed  the 
courage  to  take  the  responsibility  of  bringing  that  'separation  about. 
Having  settled  the  matter,  however,  he  did  not  cherish  hostility  to  his 
departing  brethren,  who,  in  spite  of  having  felt  the  weight  of  his 
hand,  were  ultimately  glad  to  acknowledge  the  kindness  as  well  as  the 
soundness  of  his  heart. 

Bishop  Emory. — The  General  Conference  of  1832  elected 
James  O.  Andrew  and  John  Emory  to  the  Episcopacy.  The  former 
having  departed  with  those  who  formed  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  South,  will  be  mentioned  in  connection  therewith. 

The  pai-ents  of  John  Emory  were  distinguished  Maryland  Meth- 
odists, and  gave  their  son  a  superior  education.  He  early  devoted 
liimself  to  tlie  legal  profession,  but  in  his  seventeenth  year  he  was  con- 
verted from  the  world  to  the  Church,  and  was  admitted  to  the  Phil- 
adelphia Conference  in  1812,  being  then  twenty-two  years  of  age. 
This  decision  was  not  reached  without  great  mental  struggles,  but  in 
1809  he  wrote  out  and  signed  a  solemn  "covenant"  to  give  up  law 
and  preach  the  Gospel,  and  instantly  his  mind,  which  had  been 
clouded  and  dark,  was  brightened  and  cheered.  Peace  returned,  love 
flowed  through  his  soul. 

Down  to  this  day  the  Church  has  not  possessed  a  more  scholarly 
man.  He  was  pre-eminent  as  a  Conference  debater,  especially  in  the 
General  Conference,  and  his  legal  skill  solved  for  it  some  of  its  most 
difficult  legislative  problems. 

In  1820  Emory  represented  his  Church  in  the  British  Wesleyan 
Conference.  Four  years  later  he  was  appointed  Book  Agent  with 
Nathan  Bangs,  and  in  1832  he  was  elected  Bishop.  In  this  posi- 
tion, however,  he  was  destined  only  to  a  brief  career.  In  1835, 
on  his  way  from  his  residence  to  the  city  of  Baltimore,  he  was 
thrown   from    his    carriage,   and    was    found    lying   insensible,    from 


Bishop  Emory, 


611 


which    state    lie    did    not    recover,    and    died    before    the    close    of 
the  day. 

His  writings  in  defense  of  his  denomination,  both  of  its  tiieology 
and  its  polity,  are  authoritative  and  conclusive.  In  1827  his  -  Defense 
of  our  Fathers  "  was  published,  in  reply  to  a  book  by  a  Protestant  Local 


BISHOP    EMORY. 


Preacher  named  M'Caine.  This  work  of  Bishop  Emory  ranks  among 
the  Methodist  classics,  and  is  still  honored  with  a  place  in  the  course 
of  study  for  candidates  seeking  admission  to  the  itinerant  ministry. 


612 


Illustkated  History  of  Methodism. 


Bishop  Wailgli. — Beverly  Waugli  and  Thomas  A.  Morris 
were  the  Bishops  elected  at  the  General  Conference  of  1S^6,  the 
former  a  member  of  the  Baltimore,  and  the  latter  of  the  Ohio  Confer- 
ence. Bishop  Waugh  was  a  native  of  Virginia.  He  was  born  in  Fair- 
fax County,  in  the  year  1789,  was  converted  in  his  lifteenth  year,  and 


BISHOP    WAUGH, 


joined  the  Baltimore  Conference  in  1809,  when  scarcely  twenty  years 
old.  He  soon  displayed  high  character  and  solid  abilities,  which 
secured  for  him  the  best  positions  in  the  gift  of  his  Conference.  He 
was  repeatedly  appointed  to  Baltimore,  Wasliington,  and  Georgetown, 


Bishop  Morris.  613 

and  ill  1828  the  General  Conference  elected  him  Book  Agent  at  New 
Yorlc.  Eight  yeai^  after,  at  the  General  Conference  held  at  Cincin- 
nati, in  1836,  he  was  elected  Bishop,  rather  on  account  of  his  consum- 
mate pruderce  and  high  personal  and  ministerial  character,  than  on 
account  of  brilliant  or  popular  quahties.  For  twenty-two  years  he 
performed  the  duties  of  the  episcopal  office  in  a  careful,  laborious 
manner. 

His  Episcopate  closed  in  1858.  His  health  had  been  impaired  by 
his  great  labors  at  the  Book  Concern  in  New  York,  yet  during  the  last 
years  of  his  life,  though  worn  with  fatigue  and  tortured  with  pain, 
he  steadily  continued  at  his  post  till  stricken  down  by  a  disease  of  the 
heart,  thus  ceasing  at  once  to  work  ;.nd  to  live. 

Bishop  Morris.— Thomas  A.  Morris,  the  twelfth  Bishop  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  was  another  of  that  race  of  western 
heroes  whose  lives  and  labors  have  so  blessed  the  rising  Republic,  and 
so  enriclied  the  history  of  its  largest  religious  communion.  He  was 
bom  of  Baptist  parentage,  near  Charlestown,  in  what  is  now  the  State 
of  West  Virginia,  April  29,  1794.  When  about  nineteen  years  of  age 
he  experienced  the  grace  of  God  througli  the  ministrations  of  the 
Methodist  ministry,  to  which  work  he  gave  himself  in  1814,  and  two 
years  later  was  admitted  into  the  Ohio  Conference.  In  1833  he  was 
appointed  Presiding  Elder  of  the  Cincinnati  District,  and  in  1834  he 
was  chosen  editor  of  "  The  Western  Christian  Advocate,"  the  publi- 
cation of  which  had  been  ordered  by  the  previous  General  Conference. 
In  his  delightful  "  Miscellanies,"  published  at  the  Western  Methodist 
Book  Concern  in  Cincinnati  in  1854,  he  gives  some  lively  incidents  of 
itinerant  life  at  the  West. 

Morris  may  be  counted  as  the  last  of  the  race  of  pioneer  Bishops, 
for  before  the  election  of  his  next  successors  the  era  of  steam  had 
dawned,  and  the  country  had  grown  so  rich  and  prosperous  that  the 
physical  hardships  of  the  former  era  formed  but  a  very  small  propor- 
tion of  episcopal  experience.  The  saddle,  as  a  seat  of  episcopal  power, 
disappeared  with  Bishop  Morris,  though  it  is  by  no  means  certain  that 
the  increased  rapidity  and  ease  of  transportation  lightened  the  labors 
of  the  chief  pastors  of  the  Church ;  their  appointments  increas- 
ing in  number  quite  as  rapidly  as  the  facihties  for  reaching  them 
increased. 


614 


Illusteated  History  of  Methodism. 


8outh-iresterii  Hethodism. — In  1802  the  name  "  Natchez  " 
appears  on  the  roll  of  the  Western  Conference,  with  the  solitary  name 
of  Tobias  Gibson  attached  as  preacher.  In  1811  Mississippi  appears 
as  a  District,  within  the  limits  of  the  Western  Conference,  with  one 
hundred  and  forty  members,  whereby  it  appears  that  Gibson  had 


BISHOP  MOKRIS. 


made  a  permanent  impression  upon  that  portion  of  the  Louisiana 
purchase. 

The  indistinctness  of  early  Methodist  geography  appears  in  the 
fact  that  Natchez  was  at  first  set  down  as  a  part  of  the  Georgia  Dis- 


South- WESTERN  Methodism.  615 

trict,  though  between  it  and  the  Georgia  line  there  was  a  territory 
large  enough  for  two  great  States  of  the  Union,  absolutely  unknown, 
except  as  the  probable  abode  of  wild  beasts,  Indians,  and  immigrants, 
and,  therefore,  a  proper  field  for  a  Methodist  itinerant  to  explore. 
Gibson  was  bom  in  Liberty  County,  Georgia,  in  1771,  where  he  owned 
a  handsome  property,  but  in  his  twenty-second  year  he  forsook  it  all 
for  the  privilege  of  preaching  the  Gospel.  In  1793  he  joined  the 
itinerancy.  Two  years  afterward  he  was  penetrating  the  Holston 
Mountains,  and  in  1799  he  volunteered  to  go  to  that  unknown  region 
on  the  banks  of  the  southern  Mississippi,  though  he  was  already 
broken  in  health  by  excessive  labors  and  privations. 

He  started  for  Natchez  alone,  made  his  way  on  horseback  to  the 
Cumberland  River,  in  Kentucky,  travehng  hundreds  of  miles  through 
the  wilderness,  mostly  along  Indian  trails,  and  having  reached  the 
river  he  sold  his  horse,  bought  a  canoe,  and  putting  his  saddle-bags 
and  a  few  other  effects  into  it,  paddled  down  the  Cumberland  into  the 
Ohio,  and  thence  six  or  eight  hundi'ed  miles  down  the  Mississippi  to 
his  destination,  where  he  began  to  spread  the  Gospel;  eighteen  years 
before  the  Mississippi  territory  became  a  State  of  the  Union.  Four 
times  he  traversed  the  six  hundred  miles  of  wilderness  which  lay  be- 
tween him  and  the  western-most  line  of  the  Western  Conference,  and 
in  1803  he  ])resented  himself  before  that  body  quite  broken  down  in 
health,  reporting  eighty-seven  members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Cluirch  at  Natchez,  and  the  whole  country  ready  for  the  Gospel. 
They  were  able,  however,  to  spare  him  only  one  assistant,  the  demand 
for  Methodist  preachers  greatly  exceeding  the  supply  ;  and  with  Moses 
Floyd  he  returaed  to  his  outpost,  where  the  two  apostles  were  cheered 
by  a  considerable  revival  of  religion.  At  the  next  Conference  two 
other  preachers,  Hezekiah  Harriman  and  Abraham  Amos,  were  sent  to 
the  aid  of  the  heroic  evangehsts,  and  one  of  the  first  items  of  intelligence 
received  was,  that  Gibson  had  gone  to  his  long  home.  He  died  in 
Clairborne  County,  on  the  5th  of  April,  1804,  a  martyr  to  a  cause  for 
which  many  a  brave  man  wore  out  his  life.  For  many  years  Gibson 
preached,  professed,  and  practiced  Christian  perfection,  and  those  who 
were  best  acquainted  with  him  were  most  impressed  with  the  com- 
pleteness of  his  consecration  to  God,  and  his  absolute  devotion  to  his 
work. 


616  Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 

Alabama. — With  the  southern  section  of  the  Western  Confer- 
ence on  the  east,  and  Gibson  and  his  band  of  preachers  on  the  west, 
the  territory  which  is  now  the  States  of  Alabama  and  Mississippi  was 
sure  to  be  included  in  some  Methodist  circuit.  In  1803  the  eccentric 
Lorenzo  Dow,  whose  vagaries  prevented  his  reception  as  a  regular 
member  of  Conference,  but  who  persisted  in  preaching  the  Gospel 
on  his  own  account,  wandered  through  this  region  and  preached 
the  first  Protestant  sermon  ever  heard  on  its  soil.  The  Territory  of 
Louisiana,  which  was  first  ceded  to  the  United  States  under  the  admin- 
istration of  Thomas  Jefferson,  extended  as  far  eastward  as  the  Perdido 
River,  and  the  Indian  title  to  some  of  these  lands  having  been  extin- 
guished, white  settlements  were  formed  on  the  Tensas,  Tombigbee, 
Buckatano,  and  Chicksaw  Rivers.  It  was  to  the  frontiersmen  of  this 
semi-barbarous  country  that  Dow  carried  the  Gospel  in  1803  and 
1804. 

At  the  session  of  the  South  Carolina  Conference  which  was  held 
in  Charleston  in  1807,  Bishop  Asbury  called  for  missionaries  to  this 
south-western  field — which  first  appears  as  the  Okonee  District,  from 
the  river  of  that  name — in  which  the  Tombigbee  country  was  set 
down  as  a  circuit,  and  Josiah  Randall  and  Matthew  P.  Sturdevant  were 
appointed  to  it  as  preachers.  The  next  year  the  Tombigbee  Circuit, 
wliich  was  separated  from  the  civilized  world  by  four  hundred  miles 
of  Indian  country,  appears  in  the  Minutes,  with  Michael  Burdge  and 
M.  P.  Sturdevant  as  preachers,  but  the  name  of  the  latter  is  followed 
by  the  word  "  missionary,"  wliich  would  imply  that  Burdge  was  to 
hold  the  territory  already  explored  and  Sturdevant  was  to  push  out 
into  regions  beyond. 

In  1810  John  S.  Ford  and  John  W.  Kennon  were  appointed  to 
the  Tombigbee  Circuit,  and  Ford  relates  that  from  the  time  they  set 
out  from  the  settlements  in  Georgia  till  they  reached  Fort  Clairbome, 
where  they  commenced  to  stake  out  their  circuit  on  the  Alabama 
River,  they  slept  thirteen  nights  under  the  trees.  In  1811  the  Tom- 
bigbee Circuit  appears  in  the  Mississippi  District  of  the  Western  Con- 
ference with  one  hundred  and  forty  members ;  and  the  Mississippi 
District,  under  Elder  Dunwody,  six  years  afterward  took  its  place  in 
the  Minutes  as  the  Mississippi  Conference.  This  was  the  section  of 
country  traveled  by  Richmond  Nolly,  Lewis  Hobbs,  Drury  Powell, 


South-western  Methodism.  617 

and  Thomas  Griffin  in  1812,  and  from  which  Nolly,  as  has  already  been 
mentioned,  passed  to  his  martyr's  crown. 

IHissoiiri. — In  1812  that  sturdy  pioneer,  Jesse  "Walker,  was  sent 
over  from  Illinois  to  lay  out  a  circuit  in  Missouri,  wliich  then  apper- 
tained to  the  Tennessee  Conference,  and  over  which,  for  a  considerable 
number  of  years,  he  ranged  as  "  Conference  Missionary,"  breaking  up 
new  ground  and  looking  up  new  people.  Already  Missouri  was  pre- 
empted for  Methodism.  Joseph  Oglesby  had  found  time  during  liis 
appointment  to  Illinois,  in  1804  and  1805,  to  reconnoitre  a  portion  of 
it,  and  in  1806 — the  same  year  that  "Walker  entered  Illinois — John 
Travis  was  dispatched  to  Missouri,  at  which  time  there  were  only  about 
sixteen  thousand  inhabitants  west  of  the  Mississippi  River.  This 
young  man  certainly  could  not  complain  of  being  crowded,  for  his 
circuit,  which  appertained  to  the  Cumberland  District,  had  no  bounda- 
ries whatever  except  the  Mississippi  River  on  its  eastward  side.  At 
the  next  Conference  Travis  reported  one  hundred  white  and  six  col- 
ored members,  and  in  1816  a  Conference  was  constituted,  taking  in  all 
Missouri  and  Illinois,  along  with  the  south-western  part  of  Indiana — a 
Conference  without  a  boundary  on  the  west,  but  officially  set  down  as 
"  including  the  last  Methodist  cabin  toward  the  setting  sun."  The 
first  session  of  this  Conference  was  held  in  the  Shiloh  meeting-house, 
St.  Clair  County,  Illinois,  about  ten  miles  from  St.  Louis,  on  the  23d 
of  September,  1816,  at  which  Bishop  M'Kendree  presided.  It  opened 
with  only  seven  members  ;  but  before  its  adjournment  the  Httle  com- 
pany was  enlarged  to  twenty-two,  four  of  whom  were  appointed  to 
Illinois,  four  to  Indiana,  seven  to  Missouri,  and  one  to  Flat  Springs,  in 
Arkansas — a  wild  region  sixty-four  miles  south-west  of  Little  Rock. 
On  the  territory  included  within  this  Conference  there  were  known  to 
be  three  thousand  and  forty-one  members,  eight  hundred  and  forty- 
one  of  whom  were  in  Missouri,  one  hundred  and  eight  in  Arkansas, 
nine  hundred  and  sixty-eight  in  Illinois,  and  one  thousand  one  hundred 
and  twenty-four  in  Indiana. 

Jesse  Walker  in  St.  liOuis. — Though  "Walker  was  not  the 
first  Methodist  itinerant  in  Missouri,  he  ranks  as  the  principal  founder 
of  the  denomination  there.  Under  his  energetic  leadership  Method- 
ism made  its  way  against  the  original  Roman  Catholic  predominance 
in  that  country,  and  in  182C  he  jflanted  his  standard  in  the  Romish 
39 


618  Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 

metropolis  of  St.  Louis,  where  previously  no  itinerant  had  found  rest 
for  the  sole  of  his  foot. 

Of  this  new  movement  Bishop  Morris  gives  the  following  account : — 
"  He  commenced  laying  the  train  at  Conference,  appointed  a  time 
to  open  the  campaign  and  begin  the  siege,  and  engaged  two  young 
preachers  of  undoubted  courage,  such  as  he  beheved  would  stand  by 
him  '  to  the  bitter  end,'  to  meet  him  at  a  given  time  and  place,  and  to 
aid  him  in  the  difficult  enterprise.  Punctual  to  their  engagements, 
they  all  me+  a^ad  proceeded  to  the  city  together.  When  they  reached 
it  the  Territorial  Legislature  was  in  session  there,  and  every  public 
])lace  appeared  to  be  full.  The  missionaries  preferred  private  lodgings, 
but  could  obtain  none.  Some  people  laughed  at  them,  and  others 
cursed  them  to  their  face.  Thus  embarrassed  at  every  point,  they 
rode  into  the  public  square,  and  held  a  consultation  on  their  horses. 
The  prospect  was  gloomy  enough,  and  every  avenue  seemed  closed 
against  them.  The  young  preachers  expressed  strong  doubts  as  to 
their  being  in  the  path  of  duty.  Their  leader  tried  to  encourage  them 
but  in  vain.  They  thought  that  if  the  Lord  had  any  work  for  them, 
there  to  do,  there  would  surely  be  some  way  to  get  to  it.  They  thought 
it  best  immediately  to  return  to  the  place  from  which  they  had  come ; 
and  though  their  elder  brother  entreated  them  not  to  leave  him,  they 
dehberately  shook  off  the  dust  of  their  feet  for  a  testimony  against  the 
wicked  city,  and  taking  leave  of  Walker,  rode  off,  and  left  him  sitting 
on  his  horse. 

"  Perhaps  that  hour  brought  with  it  more  of  the  f  eehng  of  despond- 
ency to  Jesse  Walker  than  he  ever  experienced  in  any  other  hour  of 
his  eventful  Hfe  ;  and,  stung  with  disappointment,  he  said  in  his  haste, 
'  I  will  go  to  the  State  of  Mississippi,  and  hunt  up  the  lost  sheep  of 
the  house  of  Israel ; '  and  immediately  turned  his  horse  in  that  direc- 
tion, and  with  a  sorrowful  heart  rode  off  alone.  Having  proceeded 
about  eigV*.>?n  miles  he  came  to  a  halt,  and  entered  into  a  soliloquy 
on  this  mse  :  '  Was  I  ever  defeated  before  in  this  blessed  work  'i 
Never.  Did  any  one  ever  trust  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  get  con- 
founded ?  No ;  and,  by  the  grace  of  God,  I  will  go  back  and  take 
St.  Louis.'  Then  reversing  his  course,  without  seeking  either  rest  or 
refreshment  for  man  or  beast,  he  immediately  retraced  his  steps  to  the 
city,  and  with  some  difficulty  obtained  lodgings  in  an  indifferent  inn, 


Jesse  Walker  m  St.  Louis.  619 

where  he  paid  at  the  highest  rate  for  every  thing.  Next  morning  he 
commenced  a  survey  of  the  city  and  its  inhabitants.  He  met  with 
some  members  of  the  Territorial  Legislature  who  knew  him,  and  said, 
'  Why,  Father  Walker,  what  has  brought  you  here  ? ' 
"  His  answer  was,  '  I  have  come  to  take  St.  Louis.' 
"  They  thought  it  a  hopeless  undertaking,  and,  to  convince  him  that 
it  was  so,  remarked  that  the  inhabitants  were  mostly  Catholics  and 
infidels,  very  dissipated  and  wicked,  and  that  there  was  no  probability 
that  a  Methodist  preacher  could  obtain  access  to  them,  and  seriously 
advised  him  to  abandon  the  enterprise  and  return  to  his  family,  then 
residing  in  Illinois.  But  to  all  such  expressions  Walker  returned 
one  answer :  '  I  have  come,  in  the  name  of  Christ,  to  take  St.  Louis, 
and,  by  the  grace  of  God,  I  will  do  it.'  He  presently  found  a  large 
but  unfinished  dwelling-house,  and  succeeded  in  renting  it  as  it  was  for 
ten  dollars  a  month.  Passing  by  the  public  square  he  saw  some  old 
benches  stacked  a"way  at  the  end  of  the  Court-house,  which  liad  been 
recently  refitted  with  new  ones.  These  he  obtained  from  the  commis- 
sioner, had  them  put  on  a  dray,  and  removed  to  his  hired  house,  bor- 
rowed tools,  and  repaired  with  his  own  hands  such  as  were  broken, 
and  fitted  up  his  largest  room  for  a  place  of  worship.  After  complet- 
ing his  arrangements  he  commenced  preaching  regularly  twice  on  the 
Sabbath,  and  occasionally  in  the  evenings  between  the  Sabbaths.  At 
the  same  time  he  gave  notice  that  if  there  were  any  poor  parents  who 
wished  their  children  taught  to  spell  and  read  he  would  teach  them 
five  days  in  a  week  without  fee  or  reward,  and  if  there  were  any  who 
wished  their  servants  to  learn  he  would  teach  them  on  the  same  terms 
in  the  evenings.  In  order  to  be  always  on  the  spot,  and  to  render  his 
expenses  as  light  as  possible,  he  took  up  his  abode  in  his  own  hired 
house. 

"  The  chapel  room  was  soon  fiUed  with  hearers,  and  the  school  with 
children.  In  the  meantime  he  went  to  visit  his  family,  and  returned 
with  a  horseload  of  provisions  and  bedding,  determined  to  remain 
there  and  push  the  work  till  something  was  accomplished.  Yery 
soon  a  work  of  grace  commenced.  And  it  was  not  long  before  a 
chapel  was  built,  a  Society  of  seventy  members  organized,  a  flourishing 
school  established,  and  thus  Father  Walker  had  succeeded  in  taking 
St.  Louis. 


620 


Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 


"  Having  efiectuallj  broken  the  way  open  for  Methodism  in  Mis- 
souri during  sixteen  years,  Walker,  eager  for  pioneer  adventures, 
went,  in  1823,  to  the  Indian  tribes  up  the  Mississippi,  where  he  labored 
until  1830,  when  the  hero  of  so  many  fields  was  esteemed  the  man  for 
other  new  work,  and  was  appointed  to  the  extreme  North,  to  Chicago 
Mission,  where  he  succeeded  in  planting  Methodism  in  that  infant  city. 
In  1831  he  was  sent  to  the  Chicago  Mission,  and  organized  many 
small  Societies  in  that  young  and  rising  country.  In  1832  there  waa 
a  Chicago  District  formed,  mostly  of  missionary  ground.  Walker  waa 
superintendent  of  this  district,  and  missionary  to  Chicago  town ;  and 
ahhough  he  was  stricken  in  years,  and  well  nigh  worn-out,  having 
spent  a  comparatively  long  life  on  the  frontiers,  yet  the  veteran  liad 
tlie  respect  and  admiration  of  the  whole  community,  and  in  1833  was 
continued  in  the  City  Missionary  Station.  The  year  1835  closed  his  act- 
ive itinerant  life.  '  He  had,'  says  Cartwright,  '  done  effective  service  as 
a  traveHng  preacher  for  more  than  thirty  years,  and  had  Lived  poor,  a,  d 
suffered  much ;  had  won  thousands  of  souls  over  to  Christ,  and  tinnly 
planted  Methodism  for  thousands  of  miles  on  our  frontier  border.  In 
1834  he  asked  for  and  obtained  a  superannuated  relation,  in  which  he 
lived  till  the  5th  of  October,  1835,  and  then  left  the  world  in  hol.y 
triumph.'  " 


OraveB  of  Bishop's  Asbury,  George,  Emory,  and  "Waugh. 


JOSHUA    SOULE,   D.D. 

[Joshua  Sotjle,  the  first  Bishop  of  the  Methodist  EpiscoiDal  Church,  South. 
Born  AujTust  1,  1781,  at  Bristol,  Me. ;  entered  the  New  York  Conference  in  1799; 
was  ordained  Bisliop  of  the  Metliodist  Episcopal  Church  in  1824;  seceded,  and  be- 
came Bishop  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  Soutli,  in  1844;  died  in  1867.] 

CHAPTER  XXIV. 


THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH,  SOUTH. 

WITH  the  long-souglit  and  carefully-fostered  idea  of  "  frJiternity " 
an  accomplished  fact,  it  would  be  neither  Avise  nor  safe  to  recall 
too  vividly  the  history  of  that  great  upheaval  which,  in  1844,  resulted 


622  Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 

in  the  disruption  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  and,  in  the  next 
year,  in  the  organization  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South. 
Only  such  record  as  is  essential  to  a  right  understanding  of  the  great 
principles  underlying  this  struggle  will,  therefore,  be  given  in  these 
pages.  It  is  a  more  pleasing  and  profitable  task  to  record  the  efforts 
of  Christian  men  to  join  once  more  the  hearts  and  hands  through 
which  flows  the  same  spiritual  life-blood  ;  to  this  theme,  therefore,  after 
brief  mention  of  leading  facts,  the  reader's  attention  will  be  invited. 

As  has  already  been  seen,  the  first  violent  opposition  encountered 
by  Bishops  Coke  and  Asbury  when  they  commenced  their  episcopal 
labors  in  America,  was  in  the  southern  States,  on  account  of  their 
preaching  against  slavery.  These  two  Englishmen  held  "  the  peculiar 
institution "  in  unspeakable  abhorrence,  though  on  tlie  other  hand  it 
will  be  remembered  that  George  Whitefield  so  greatly  admired  it  that 
he  offered  devout  thanksgivings  to  God  by  whose  providence,  as  he 
presumed,  the  government  of  the  colony  of  Georgia  was  so  modified 
as  to  permit  him  and  others,  like-minded  with  himself,  to  work  his 
orphan-house  plantation  with  labor  which  he  should  own  rather  than 
liire.  Perhaps  it  was  in  view  of  such  facts  and  opinions  as  these  on 
the  part  of  otherwise  unquestionably  great  and  good  men,  that  Asbury 
yielded  to  the  pressure  which  he  was  unable  to  resist  without  the 
probable  exclusion  of  himself  and  his  itinerants  from  the  whole  south- 
ern country,  and  suffered  slave-holders  to  retain  their  membership  in 
the  Methodist  Societies  which  were  formed  of  the  converts  of  south- 
ern revivals. 

The  conscience  of  the  nation  was  not  very  tender  on  the  subject  of 
slavery  during  the  first  half  century  of  our  existence,  as  appears  from 
the  fact  that  even  the  slave-trade,  which  civilized  nations  have  long 
denounced  as  piracy,  was  not  prohibited  by  the  Government  of  the 
United  States  until  the  year  1808 ;  that  being  the  year  fixed  upon  in 
the  Constitution  itself  for  the  abolition  of  that  infamous  traffic,  which, 
however,  it  was  fondly  hoped  would,  before  that  date,  die  a  natural 
death.  But  at  the  end  of  the  twenty  years  during  which  the  friends 
of  freedom  had  expected  to  celebrate  the  funeral  of  slavery  it  had 
grown  to  huge  proportions.  The  purchase  of  Louisiana  from  France, ' 
and  the  efforts  to  supply  the  demand  for  slaves  over  this  newly- 
acquired  territory  stimulated  an  inter-State  slave-trade,  and  the  raising 


The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South.  623 

of  negroes  in  the  Northern  slave  States  to  supply  the  Gulf  States'  mar- 
kets had  become  a  well-established  and  exceedingly  profitable  line  of 
business.  The  invention  of  the  cotton-gin,  also,  opened  up  a  gi-eat 
southern  industry  for  slave  labor,  and  it  was  found  necessary,  in  order 
to  keep  peace  between  the  States,  to  leave  the  whole  question  of  hu- 
man servitude  to  be  managed  by  those  who  were  most  immediately 
interested  in  it. 

That  which  was  true  of  the  nations  was  true  of  the  Churches,  not 
only  in  the  Methodist,  but  in  the  other  great  communions  of  America, 
at  whose  altars  the  owners  of,  and  dealers  in,  human  flesh,  celebrated 
unchallenged  the  Holy  Supper  which  commemorates  the  death  and  pas- 
sion of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  It  is  also  an  undisputed  fact,  that  both 
among  tlie  slaves  and  their  owners  great  numbers  of  apparently  sound 
conversions  occurred,  and  the  kingdom  of  God  moved  on  in  spite  of 
the  sin  of  one  race  and  the  sorrow  of  another.  Meanwhile,  the  line 
had  been  sharply  drawn  between  free  territory  and  slave  territory,  and 
the  "  irre])i-cssible  conflict  "  between  these  two  sections  of  the  country 
had  commenced. 

Through  all  these  years  there  were  many  at  the  South  who  regarded 
slavery  as  a  calamity,  if  not  as  a  crime ;  and  many  at  the  North  who 
publicly  apologized  for  it.  Thus  when  Edward  Everett,  thinking 
to  gain  popularity  with  the  South,  said  in  Congress  concerning  slavery, 
that  "  while  it  subsists,  wliere  it  subsists  its  duties  are  presupposed  and 
sanctioned  by  i-cligion,"  John  Randolph,  of  Roanoke,  a  life-long  slave- 
holder, replied,  "  I  envy  neither  the  head  nor  the  heart  of  that  man 
from  the  North  who  rises  here  to  defend  slavery  upon  principle."* 

Besides  a  prohibition  of  trading  in  slaves,  the  Discipline  con- 
tained a  section  on  Slavery,  "  of  which,"  says  Dr.  Myers — the  best 
authority  in  the  Church  South  on  this  subject — "  neither  party  denied 
the  validity,  and  it  was  only  the  northern  agitators  that  asked  any 
change  in  it."     This  section  was  as  follows : — 

1.  We  declare  tliat  we  are  as  much  as  ever  convinced  of  the  great  evil  of  slav- 
ery; therefore,  no  slave-holder  shall  be  eligible  to  any  official  station  in  our 
Church  hereafter  where  the  laws  of  the  State  in  which  he  lives  will  admit  of 
emancijiation,  and  permit  the  liberated  slave  to  enjoy  freedom. 

When  any  traveling  preacher  becomes  an  owner  of  a  slave  or  slaves  by  any 
♦Sermon  by  Rev.  J.  C.  Hartzell,  D.D.,  Chicago,  Sept.  20,  1874. 


624  Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 

means,  he  shall  forfeit  his  ministerial  character  in  our  Church  unless  he  execute, 
if  it  be  practicable,  a  legal  emancipation  of  such  slaves,  conformably  to  the  laws 
of  the  State  in  which  he  lives. 

Power  is  a  dangerous  possession,  not  only  because  it  is  likely  to 
degenerate  into  tyi-anny,  but  also  because  it  blunts  the  moral  sense  of 
him  who  wields  it.  The  money  power  may  become  a  monster ;  relig- 
ious dogmatism  has  in  it  endless  inquisitions,  racks,  and  fagots ;  but 
tlie  power  imphed  in  the  ownership  of  men  and  women  is  the  most 
subtle  of  all  the  serpents  of  this  breed  which  has  ever  crept  into 
human  society.  With  their  social,  domestic,  financial,  and  political 
systems  either  based  on  or  carefully  adapted  to  negro  slavery,  no 
wonder  the  South  resented  interference  with  its  property,  its  passions, 
and  its  pride  ;  and  no  wonder  that  the  worldly-minded  portion  of  the 
Church,  throughout  all  its  denominational  branches,  both  North  and 
South,  so  far  as  tliey  were  sharers  in  the  profits  of  slave  labor,  were 
very  much  inclined  to  let  the  institution  alone. 

But  the  conscience  of  a  certain  class  of  persons  in  the  Northern 
States,  especially  in  New  England,  had  become  awakened  to  the  enor- 
mity of  slavery.  New  England  is  a  country  of  ideas,  of  agitations,  of 
reforms ;  that  way  Hes  its  pleasure  and  prosperity.  The  higher  circles 
of  society  in  the  South,  on  the  other  hand,  are  by  nature  and  habit 
conservative,  seK-satisfied,  courteous  and  courtly ;  but  in  the  blood  of 
its  plebian  masses  there  is  all  the  fire  and  fury  produced  by  a  trojjical 
chmate,  the  lust  and  passion  of  despotism,  and  the  stohd  prejudice 
which  the  church  and  the  school-house  have  not  yet  eradicated  or 
transformed. 

There  were,  as  has  been  pointed  out  by  Dr.  Whedon  in  his  review 
of  Garrisonian  abohtionism,*  two  sorts  of  abolitionists  in  the  Method- 
ist Church :  one  bent  on  immediate  emancipation  at  all  costs ;  the 
other,  no  less  true  to  hberty,  counsehng  calmness  and  patience,  with 
the  hope  that  their  Southern  brethren  would  see  their  error  and  open 
the  door  to  the  caged  souls  and  bodies  in  their  possession.  In  the 
Address  of  the  Bishops  at  the  General  Conference  of  1840,  the 
Church  was  exhorted  to  moderation,  in  view  of  the  apparent  danger 
of  disruption    on  account  of  the  bitterness  of    the   controversy,  and 

*  See  "New  York  Tribune,"  September  25th,  1879. 


The  Methodist  Episcopal  Chukch,  South.  625 

while  favoring  the  idea  of  universal  liberty,  these  chief  pastors 
pointed  out  that  the  unity  and  peace  of  the  Church  could  only  be  pre- 
served by  the  cessation  of  the  torrents  of  hard  words  which  were  con- 
tinually pouring  forth  through  newspaper  organs  and  on  conference 
floors.  "  Our  General  Rule  on  Slavery,"  says  the  Address,  "  which  forms 
a  part  of  the  Constitution  of  the  Church,  has  stood  from  the  begin- 
ning unclianged,  as  testamentary  of  our  sentiments  on  tlie  principle 
of  slavery  and  the  slave-trade.  And  in  this  we  differ  in  no  respect  from 
the  sentiments  of  our  venerable  founder,  or  from  those  of  the  wisest  and 
most  distinguished  statesmen  and  civilians  of  our  own  and  otlier  enlight- 
ened and  Christian  countries.  The  simply  holding  or  owning  slaves, 
without  regard  to  circumstances,  has  at  no  period  of  the  existence  of 
the  Church  subjected  the  master  to  excommunication.  .  .  .  We  cannot 
M'itliliold  from  you,  at  this  eventful  period,  the  solemn  conviction  of  our 
minds  that  no  new  ecclesiastical  legislation  on  the  subject  of  slavery, 
at  this  time,  will  have  a  tendency  to  accomplish  these  most  desirable 
objects,"  namely,  "  to  preserve  the  peace  and  unity  of  the  whole  body, 
promote  the  greatest  happiness  of  the  slave  population,  and  advance 
generally,  in  the  slave-holding  community  of  our  country,  the  humane 
and  hallowing  influence  of  our  holy  religion." 

At  tliis  Conference  the  Rev.  Robert  ]S'ev?i;on,  D.D.,  appeared  as 
the  representative  of  the  English  Wesleyan  Conference,  by  whom  that 
Church  sent  its  fraternal  greetings,  and  a  special  message  concerning 
slaveiy,  to  which  an  official  response  was  made  containing  the  follow- 
ing, among  other  statements,  which  after  this  lapse  of  time  are  more 
conspicuous  for  their  moderation  than  their  righteousness :  "  But  our 
Church  is  extended  through  all  the  States;  and  it  would  be  wrong 
and  unscriptural  to  enact  a  rule  of  disciphne  in  opposition  to  the  Con- 
stitution and  laws  of  the  State  on  this  subject."  And  again  :  "  Under 
the  administration  of  the  venerated  Dr.  Coke,  it  was  attempted  to 
urge  emancipation  in  all  the  States,  but  the  attempt  proved  almost 
ruinous,  and  was  soon  abandoned  by  the  doctor  himself.  While,  there- 
fore, the  Church  has  encouraged  emancipation  in  those  States  vdiere 
the  laws  permit  it,  and  allowed  the  freed  man  to  enjoy  freedom,  we 
have  refrained,  for  conscience'  sake,  from  all  intermeddling  with  the 
subject  in  those  other  States  where  the  laws  make  it  criminal."  The 
reply  quotes  the  instructions  of  Secretary  Watson  to  the  British  Wes- 


626  Illusteated  History  of  Methodism. 

ley  an  missionaries  in  the  West  Indies  in  1833,  as  follows :  "  As  in  the 
colonies  in  which  you  are  called  to  labor  a  great  proportion  of  the  in- 
habitants are  in  a  state  of  slavery,  the  Committee  most  strongly  call  to 
your  remembrance  what  was  so  fully  stated  to  you  when  you  were 
accepted  as  a  missionary  to  the  West  Indies,  that  your  only  business 
is  to  promote  the  moral  and  rehgious  improvement  of  the  slaves  to 
whom  you  may  have  access,  without,  in  the  least  degree,  in  public  or 
private,  interfering  with  their  civil  condition."  Such  was  the  official 
position  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  1840 :  a  position  which 
the  mere  ardent  abohtionists  regarded  with  horror,  and  which,  at  all 
hazards,  they  determined  to  change. 

Even  in  New  England  the  Annual  Conferences  were  divided  among 
themselves ;  and  in  some  of  these  Conferences  charges  of  evil  speaking, 
contumacy,  and  the  Hke,  were  brought  against  certain  of  the  more  vehe- 
ment brethren  who  were  thought  to  transgress  the  bounds  of  Christian 
courtesy  and  charity  in  their  anti-slavery  speeches  and  sermons.  This 
of  course  only  increased  the  excitement.  Anti-slavery  societies  were 
formed  in  Churches  and  in  Conferences ;  and  so  thorouglily  was  tlie 
Church  permeated  by  this  leaven  of  reform  that  classes,  Sunday-schools, 
missionary  meetings,  and  love-feasts,  were  in  constant  danger  of  being 
turned  into  schools  of  anti-slavery  debate.  The  Southern  Methodists, 
as  might  have  been  expected  in  view  of  Northern  agitation,  settled 
back  more  determinedly  than  ever  upon  their  pro-slavery  education, 
traditions,  and  habits ;  defied  the  reformers,  denounced  them  as  schis- 
matics who  were  attempting  to  destroy  the  Constitution  of  the  Church 
itself,  and  by  way  of  reprisal  for  the  damage  which  their  side  of  the' 
question  was  receiving,  began  to  insist  that  slave-holding  should  not  be 
considered  a  bar  to  any  office  in  the  gift  of  the  Church. 

Bishop  Andrew  was  elected  to  the  Episcopacy  by  the  General 
Conference  of  1832.  Early  in  1844  he  married  a  lady  of  Georgia, 
who  was  the  owner  of  slaves,  and  thus  became  constructively  a  slave 
owner.  It  is  said  that  before  this  time  he  had  inherited  two  or 
three  negroes,  whom  he  was  prevented  by  the  laws  of  Georgia 
from  manumitting,  and  whom  he,  therefore,  held  by  necessity;  and 
he  himself  declares,  that,  in  order  not  to  be  compromised  by  this 
property  possessed  by  his  wife,  he  made  over  to  her  all  his  right, 
title,  and  interest  therein.     Nevertheless,  as  husband  and  wife  are  one, 


Bishop  Andrew. 


627 


JAMES    OSGOOD    ANDREW. 
Second  Bishop  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South. 

[Bom  in  Georgia,  May  3,  1794;  entered  the  South  Carolina  Conference  in 
1812;  was  ordained  Bishop  in  tlie  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  1832  ;  seceded  in 
1844 ;  and  became  Bishop  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South.  Died  in 
New  Orleans,  March  2,  1871.] 

Bishop  Andrew  was  denounced  as  a  slave-holding  Bishop,  and  straight- 
way became  the  target  for  abolition  arrows  from  all  over  the  North. 

Petitions,  memorials,  and  addresses  were  poured  in  upon  the  Gen- 
eral Conference  from  all  quarters,  liaving  reference  to  this  great  ques- 
tion, and  the  tide  of  excitement  was  so  strong  as  almost  to  carry  the 


028  Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 

bod  J  off  its  feet.  Dr.  Capers  of  Soiitli  Carolina — afterward  Bishop — 
and  Dr.  Olin,  of  the  New  York  Conference,  offered  a  resolution  pro- 
viding for  a  "  Comraittee  of  Six  to  be  appointed  to  confer  with  the 
Ijlsliops,  and  report  within  two  days,  as  to  the  possibility  of  adopting 
some  plan,  and  what,  for  the  permanent  pacification  of  the  Church," 
which  committee  was  appointed,  consisting  of  Drs.  Capers,  Olin, 
Winans,  Early,  Ilaniline,  and  Crandall ;  and  during  their  consideration 
of  the  momentous  subject  intrusted  to  them,  the  whole  Conference 
observed  a  day  of  fasting,  humiliation,  and  prayer. 

But  peace  was  not  as  yet  in  sight.  On  the  18th  of  May,  Bishop 
Soule,  a  native  of  the  State  of  Maine,  who  had  been  promoted  to  the 
Ej)iscopacy  from  the  New  York  Conference,  and  who  was  recognized 
as  one  of  tlic  great  minds  of  the  Cliurcl)  on  the  conservative  side  of 
the  argUTuent,  reported  "that  after  a  cahn  and  deliberate  investigation, 
the  committee  was  unable  to  agree  upon  any  plan  of  compromise." 
Five  days  afterward,  a  resolution  was  offered  by  the  Rev.  J.  B.  Fin- 
ley,  and  tlie  Rev.  J.  M.  Trimble,  D.D,,  of  the  Ohio  Conference,  as 
follows  : — 

Whereas,  The  Discipline  of  our  Church  forbids  the  doing  any  thing  calcuhited 
to  destroy  our  itinerant  General  Superintendency,  and  whereas  Bishop  Andrew 
has  become  connected  with  slavery  by  marriage  and  otherwise,  and  this  act  hav- 
ing drawn  after  it  circumstances  which,  in  the  estimation  of  the  General  Confer- 
ence, will  greatly  embarrass  the  exercise  of  his  office  as  an  itinerant  General  Super- 
intendent, if  not  in  some  places  entirely  prevent  it;  therefore, 

Resolved,  That  it  is  the  sense  of  this  General  Conference  that  he  desist  from 
the  exercise  of  this  office  so  long  as  this  impediment  remains." 

Over  this  resolution  the  battle  was  finally  joined,  and  the  echoes  of 
that  great  debate  have  even  now  scarcely  died  away.  The  like  of  it 
was  probably  never  heard  in  any  ecclesiastical  assembly  in  America. 
AH  th  e  powers  of  logic,  all  the  arts  of  rhetoric,  all  the  fires  of  enthu- 
siasm, ah  the  fury  of  passion,  all  the  intensity  of  outraged  conscience, 
ail  the  resistance  of  a  sense  of  wrong,  and  all  the  determination  of 
both  sanctified  and  unsanctified  will,  were  exhausted,  not  on  the  mere 
verbal  sense  of  the  resolution,  but  on  the  great  system  of  sin  and 
misery  which  lay  behind  and  under  it.  Nevertheless  there  was  much 
outward  courtesy  and  little  undue  vehemence  of  manner  in  the 
debate. 


Bishop  Andrew.  629 

At  length,  on  the  30th  of  May,  Bishop  Hedding,  that  majestic  man, 
wlio  was  claimed  by  the  abolitionists  as  their  prince  and  leader,  yet  who 
possessed  sufficient  weight  of  character  and  reputation  for  probity  to 
command  the  respect  of  the  slave-holding  party,  suggested  that  the 
Conference  hold  no  session  on  the  afternoon  of  that  day,  and  thus  al- 
low the  Bishops  time  to  consult  together,  with  the  hope  that  they 
might  be  able  to  offer  a  plan  of  adjusting  present  difficulties;  but  this 
calm  council  was  not  at  all  suited  to  tlie  heated  temper  of  the  assem- 
bly. Under  lighter  pressure  both  parties  might  have  accepted  it  as  a 
possible  road  out  of  their  confusion ;  but  as  it  was,  both  parties  seemed 
to  suspect  a  snare.  It  is  said  that  the  delegates  of  the  New  England 
Conferences  were  immediately  called  together  to  consult  upon  the 
alarming  prospect  of  a  slight  healing  of  this  great  wound  ;  which  meet- 
ing resulted  in  tlie  unanimous  determination,  "  that  if  Bishop  Andrew 
should  be  left  by  the  General  Conference  in  the  exercise  of  Episcopal 
functions  it  would  break  up  most  of  tlie  Kew  England  Conferences, 
and  that  the  only  way  to  be  holden  together  would  be,  to  secede  in  a 
body  and  invite  Bishop  Iledding  to  preside  over  them."  * 

On  the  first  of  June  this  great  battle  was  lost  and  won.  Finley's 
resolution  was  adopted  by  a  vote  of  one  hundred  and  eleven  yeas  to 
sixty-nine  nays.  Of  the  minority,  fifty-seven  were  delegates  crom 
slave-holding  Conferences,  and  twelve  from  non-slave-holding  Confer- 
ences; but  only  one  Soutlicrn  delegate,  and  he  a  transfer  from  a  North- 
ern Conference,  voted  with  the  majority.  It  w^as  a  solid  South 
ao-ainst  a  still  divided  North,  thouo-h  in  the  last  named  section  of  the 
Church  antislavcry  principles  had  now  become  almost  universal.  Two 
days  after\vard,  on  the  morning  of  June  3,  Dr.  Capers  offered  a  paper 
looking  to  a  division  of  the  Chnrch,  which  should  be  inaugurated  at 
the  then  present  General  Conference,  and  in  the  afternoon  of  the  same 
day  Dr.  Longstreet  presented  what  is  known  as  the  Declaration  of  the 
Southern  Delegates,  which  was  signed  by  the  entire  delegations,  ex- 
cept two,  from  the  slave-holding  Conferences — fifty-one  names  in  all. 
Xhe  substance  of  this  Declaration  was,  that  the  continued  agitation  on 
the  subject  of  slavery  and  abolition,  and  the  action  of  the  General 
Conference  in  suspending  Bishop  Andrew,  rendered  the  continuance  of 
the  jurisdiction  of  the  General  Conference  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
•  Dr.  James  Porter  in  the  "  Methodist  Quarterly  Review,"  as  quoted  by  Dr.  Myers. 


630 


Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 


WILLI  VM    t  VI  I  I         I    I>. 
Third  Bisbop  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  Soath. 

[Born  in  St.  Thomas's  Parish,  S.  C,  Jan.  26,  1790;  received  into  tlie  South 
Carolina  Conference  in  1808;  ordained  Bishop  in  the  M.  E.  Church,  South,  in 
1846.     Died  at  Anderson,  S.  C,  Jan.  29,  1855.] 

Church  in  the  South  an  impossibility ;  which  Declaration  was  referred 
to  a  committee  who  were  afterward — on  motion  of  the  Rev.  J.  B. 
M'Ferrin,  of  Tennessee — instructed,  "  to  advise,  if  possible,  a  consti- 
tutional plan  for  a  mutual  and  friendly  division  of  the  Church,  pro- 
vided they  cannot,  in  their  judgment,  devise  a  plan  for  an  amicable 
adjustment  of  the  differences  now  existing  in  the  Church  on  the  sub- 
ject of  slavery. 


Declaration  of  the  Southern  Delegates.         631 

On  the  8th  of  June,  Drs.  Durbin,  George  Peck,  and  Elliott,  were 
appointed  to  prepare  a  statement  of  facts  connected  with  the  proceed- 
ings in  Bishop  Andrew's  case.  On  the  same  day  the  following  pre- 
amble and  resolution,  offered  by  the  Committee  of  Nine,  were  adopted, 
which  the  Church  South,  at  that  time  and  ever  since,  has  held  to  be  a 
virtual  and  valid  "Plan  of  Separation,"  under  which  their  Church 
was  subsequently  organized  : — 

Whereas,  A  Declaration  has  been  presented  to  this  General  Conference,  with 
the  signatures  of  fifty-one  delegates  of  the  body,  from  thirteen  Annual  Confer- 
ences in  the  slave-holding  States,  representing  that,  for  various  reasons  enumer- 
ated, the  objects  and  purposes  of  the  Christian  ministry  and  Church-organization 
cannot  be  successfully  accomplished  by  them  under  tlie  jurisdiction  of  this  Gen- 
eral Conference  as  now  constituted  ;  and  whereas,  in  the  event  of  a  separation,  a 
contingency  to  which  the  Declaration  asks  attention  as  not  improbable,  we  esteem 
it  the  duty  of  this  General  Conference  to  meet  the  emergency  with  Christian 
kindness  and  the  strictest  equity ;  therefore, 

Resolved,  By  the  delegates  of  the  several  Annual  Conferences  in  General  Con- 
ference assembled,  that  should  the  Annual  Conferences  in  the  slave-holding 
States  find  it  necessary  to  unite  in  a  distinct  ecclesiastical  connection,  the  follow- 
ing rule  shall  be  observed  with  regard  to  the  northern  boundary  of  such  connec- 
tion :  All  the  societies,  stations,  and  Conferences  adhering  to  the  Church  in  the 
South,  by  a  vote  of  a  majority  of  the  members  of  said  societies,  stations,  and  Con- 
ferences, shall  remain  under  the  unmolested  pastoral  care  of  the  Southern  Church  ; 
and  the  ministers  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  shall  in  nowise  attempt  to 
organize  Churches  or  societies  within  the  limits  of  the  Church  South,  nor  shall 
they  attempt  to  exercise  any  pastoral  oversight  therein ;  it  being  understood  that 
the  ministry  of  the  South  reciprocally  observe  the  same  rule  in  relation  to  stations, 
societies,  and  Conferences  adhering,  by  vote  of  a  majority,  to  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church ;  provided,  also,  that  this  rule  shall  apply  only  to  societies, 
stations,  and  Conferences  bordering  on  the  line  of  division,  and  not  to  interior 
charges,  which  shall  in  all  cases  be  left  to  the  care  of  that  Church  within  whose 
territory  they  are  situated. 

This  resolution  was  passed  by  a  vote  of  one  hundred  and  thirty-live 
in  the  affirmative  and  eighteen  in  the  negative ;  the  southern  delegates 
thus  taking  the  responsibility  of  withdrawal,  and  the  whole  body  of 
their  northern  brethren,  with  only  eighteen  exceptions,  opening  the 
door  for  their  departure. 

Just  what  was  signified  by  this  "  Plan  of  Separation "  has  been 
matter  of  prolonged  dispute,  but,  happily,  now  its  significance  is  no 


632  Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 

longer  of  any  practical  importance.  As  an  answer  to  the  vexed  qnes- 
Mon  that  has  for  years  been  tossed  back  and  forth  between  the  two 
divisions  of  American  Methodism,  "  Wlio  was  responsible  for  the  seces- 
sion in  18M,  the  North  or  Sonth  ? "  it  may  be  said  :  New  England  waa 
prepared  to  secede  rather  than  accept  slavery  in  the  episcopacy ;  the 
South  was  prepared  to  secede  rather  than  jneld  their  views.  The  yeas 
and  nays  showed  the  North  to  be  tn  the  majority,  and  thus,  as  a  simple 
question  of  numbers,  it  was  of  necessity  the  South  which  must  secede, 
since  it  would  not  recede.  Southern  authors  declare,  that  the  North 
was  bent  on  changing  the  Constitution  of  the  Church ;  and  doubtless, 
in  the  light  of  subsequent  events,  that  which  was  once  charged  npon 
them  as  a  fault  would  now  be  claimed  as  an  honor. 

According  to  the  Discipline,  any  change  in  the  Constitution  of  the 
Church  required  not  only  a  two-thirds  vote  of  the  General  Conference, 
but  also  the  aggregate  vote  of  three  fourths  of  all  the  members  in 
attendance  upon  the  Annual  Conferences  throughout  the  Church,  to 
which  bodies  the  proposed  change  must  be  referred.  The  "  Plan  of 
Separation,"  although  voted  with  such  equanimity  by  the  General  Con- 
ference, failed  to  receive  the  requu-ed  three-fourths  vote  in  the  Annual 
Conferences  ;  the  slave-holding  Conferences  with  one  voice  approving, 
and  the  non-slave-holding  Conferences  dividing  upon  the  change.* 

Org^auization  oi*  the  Hctliodist  Episcopal  Church, 
8oiith. — What  was  to  be  done  with  the  brethren  whose  right  to  depart 
was  thus  denied,  or  by  what  means  they  were  to  be  reached  after  having 
gone  out  in  spite  of  all  opposition,  those  who  voted  against  ratifying 
the  "  Plan  of  Separation  "  have  not  explained  ;  nor  was  such  explana- 
tion necessary,  for  the  South,  regarding  their  o'^m  action  as  final,  at 
a  Convention  which  met  at  Louisville,  Ky.,  on  the  first  day  of  May, 
1845,  proceeded  to  organize  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South, 
according  to  the  provisions  of  the  above-mentioned  "  Plan  of  Separa- 
tion." Dr.  Lovick  Pierce,  of  the  Georgia  Conference,  was  elected  preS' 
identjyro  tera.^  Bishops  Soule  and  Andrew  being  afterward  requested, 
by  unanimous  vote,  to  assume  their  customary  rights  as  presiding  offisers. 

*The  aggregate  vote  by  Annual  Conferences  stood  2,135  for,  to  1,070  against  the  change 
of  rule.  The  whole  number  of  traveling  preachers  at  that  time  was  4,621,  of  whom  3,688 
were  full  members  and  voters.  Of  this  number,  3,206  voted  on  the  change  of  restriction, 
483  being  absent  or  not  voting. — Appeal  to  the  Records,  by  E.  Q.  Fuller,  D.D. 


The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South.  633 

The  right  of  the  General  Conference  to  suspend  a  bishop  without 
any  form  of  trial,  as  was  done  in  the  case  of  Bishop  Andrew,  was  then, 
and  has  always  since  been,  disputed  by  the  South,  they  claiming  that 
the  episcopacy  is  a  co-ordinate  branch  of  Church  authority  along  with 
the  General  Conference,  and  that  the  only  legal  mode  of  proceeding 
against  a  bishop  is  according  to  the  form  of  trial  set  fortli  in  the  Dis- 
cipline. Tlie  report  of  the  Committee  on  Church  Organization,  by 
the  adoption  of  which  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South,  was 
formally  constituted,  sets  forth  the  fact  that  the  action  of  the  General 
Conference  in  the  case  of  Bishop  Andrew  was  extra-judicial,  there 
being  no  law  covering  the  case.  It  also  declares  that  "throughout  the 
Southern  Conferences  the  ministry  and  membership  of  the  Church, 
amounting  to  nearly  five  hundred  thousand,  in  proportion  of  about 
ninety-five  in  a  hundred,  admit  a  division  of  jurisdiction  indispensable 
to  the  welfare  of  the  Church  in  the  Southern  and  South-western  Con- 
ferences of  the  slave-holding  States ;  and  this  fact  alone  must  go  far  to 
establish  the  right,  when  it  demonstrates  the  necessity,  of  the  separate 
jurisdiction  contemplated  in  the  plan  of  the  General  Conference  and 
adopted  by  that  body,  in  view  of  such  a  necessity  as  likely  to  exist."  * 

After  a  brief  review  of  the  history  of,  and  arguments  for,  separation, 
in  which  it  is  stated  "  that  every  plan  of  reconciliation  and  adjustment 
regarded  as  at  -all  eligible  or  likely  to  succeed  was  offered  by  the  South 
and  rejected  by  the  North,  the  following  preamble  and  resolutions  were 
submitted  and  adopted  seriatim,  the  first  resolution  having  only  four 
votes  in  the  negative,  and  all  the  others  being  unanimously  adopted  : — 

Such  we  regard  as  tlie  true  position  of  the  Annual  Conferences  represented 
in  this  Convention.  Tiierefore,  in  view  of  all  the  principles  and  interests  involved, 
appealing  to  the  Almighty  Searcher  of  hearts  for  the  sincerity  of  our  motives, 
And  Immbly  invoking  the  Divine  blessing  upon  our  action, 

Be  it  Eesolved,  By  tiie  delegates  of  the  several  Annual  Conferences  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  in  the  slave-holding  States,  in  General  Convention 
assembled,  That  it  is  right,  expedient,  and  necessary  to  erect  the  Annual  Con- 
ferences represented  in  this  Convention  into  a  distinct  Ecclesiastical  Connection, 
separate  from  the  jurisdiction  of  the  General  Conference  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church  as  at  present  constituted;  and,  accordingly,  we,  the  delegates  of 
the  said  Annual  Conferences,  acting  under  the  Provisional  Plan  of  Separation 
adopted  by  the  General  Conference  of  1844,  do  solemnly  declare  the  jurisdiction 

*  Rkdford's  "  History  of  the  Organization  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South." 
40 


684  Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 

hitherto  exercised  over  said  Annual  Conferences  by  the  General  Conference  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  entirely  dissolved;  and  that  said  Annual 
Conferences  shall  be,  and  they  hereby  are,  constituted  a  separate  Ecclesiastical 
Connection,  under  the  Provisional  Plan  of  Separation  aforesaid,  and  based  upon 
the  Discipline  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  comprehending  the  doctrines 
and  entire  moral,  ecclesiastical,  and  economical  rules  and  regulations  of  said 
Discipline,  except  only  in  so  far  as  verbal  alterations  may  be  necessary  to  a  dis 
tinct  organization;  and  to  lie  known  by  the  style  and  title  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Clmrch,  South. 

Resolved,  That  while  we  cannot  abandon  or  compromise  the  principles  of  ac- 
tion upon  whicli  we  proceed  to  a  separate  organization  in  the  South;  neverthe- 
less, cherishing  a  sincere  desire  to  maintain  Christian  union  and  fraternal  inter- 
course with  the  Clmrch,  North,  we  shall  always  be  ready  kindly  and  respectfully 
to  entertain,  and  duly  and  carefully  consider,  any  proposition  or  plan  having  for 
its  object  the  union  of  tiie  two  great  bodies  in  the  North  and  South,  whether 
such  proposed  union  be  jurisdictional  or  connectional. 

Resolved,  That  this  Convention  request  the  Bishops  presiding  at  the  ensuing 
sessions  of  the  border  Ccmferences  of  the  Methodist  Episcoj^al  Church,  South,  to 
incorporate  into  the  aforesaid  Conferences  any  societies  or  stations  adjoining  the 
line  of  division,  provided  such  societies  or  stations,  by  the  majority  of  the  mem- 
bers, according  to  the  provisions  of  the  Plan  of  Separation  aforesaid,  request 
such  an  arrangement. 

Resolved,  That  answer  the  second  of  3d  section,  chapter  1st,  of  the  Book 
of  Discipline,  be  so  altered  and  amended  as  to  read  as  follows:  'The  General 
Conference  shall  meet  on  the  first  of  May,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  184G,  in  the 
town  of  Petersburg,  Va.,  and  thenceforward,  in  the  month  of  April  or  May, 
once  in  four  years  successively,  and  in  such  place  and  on  such  day  as  shall  be 
fixed  on  by  the  preceding  General  Conference,'  etc. 

Resolved,  That  the  first  answer  in  the  same  chapter  be  altered  by  striking 
out  the  word  'twenty-one,'  and  inserting  in  its  place  the  word  'fourteen,'  so  as 
to  entitle  each  Annual  Conference  to  one  delegate  for  every  fourteen  members. 

Resolved,  That  a  committee  of  three  be  appointed,  whose  duty  it  shall  be 
to  prepare  and  report  to  the  General  Conference  of  1846  a  revised  copy  of  the 
present  Discipline,  with  such  changes  as  are  necessary  to  conform  it  to  the  organ- 
ization of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South. 

This  action  was  taken  on  the  ITth  of  May,  1845.  Two  days  after- 
ward, Bishops  Soule  and  Andrew  were  requested  by  the  Convention 
"  to  unite  with,  and  become  regular  and  constitutional  Bishops  of,  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South."  The  door  was  open  for  any  Soci- 
eties along  the  border  which  might  desire  to  cast  in  their  lot  with  the 


Boeder  Troubles. 


635 


EGBERT    PAINE,    D.D. 
Fonrth  Bishop  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Chnrcb,  South. 

[Born  November  12,  1799,  in  Pierson  County,  N.O. ;  entered  the  Tennessee  Con 
ference  in  1818;  was  ordained  Bishop  in  1846.    His  residence  is  Aberdeen,  Miss.] 


new  organization,  and  a  committee  was  appointed  to  prepare  and  report 
to  the  General  Conference  of  1846  a  revised  copy  of  the  present  Dis- 
ciphne^  with  such  changes  as  might  be  necessary  to  conform  it  to  the 
organization  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South. 

Border  Troubles. — The  attempt  to  divide  men  according  to 
their  opinions,  and  at  the  same  time  to  follow  a  geographical  line,  is 


636  Illusteated  History  of  Methodism. 

one  which  must  always  be  attended  with  more  or  less  difficulty,  in  pro- 
portion to  the  intensity  of  the  opinions  which  are  thus  territorially  laid 
off.  On  both  sides  of  the  line  which  at  that  time  separated  freedom 
from  slavery,  there  were  persons  whose  views  did  not  accord  with 
those  of  the  majority  of  their  neighbors.  There  were  Societies  north 
of  the  line  a  majority  of  which  were  in  sympathy  with  the  South,  and 
there  were  Societies  widely  scattered  through  the  South  which  repu- 
diated the  "  Plan  of  Separation."  Especially  was  this  true  in  Ken- 
tucky, Missouri,  and  Arkansas,  from  which  States  petitions  signed  by 
nearly  three  thousand  persons  were  presented  to  the  General  Confer- 
ence after  the  adoption  of  the  "  Plan  of  Separation,"  complaining  of 
its  effect  upon  them,  and  asking  for  recognition  as  members  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  as  well  as  the  appointment  of  ministers 
from  its  body  to  their  pulpits ;  a  fact  which  since  that  time  has  been 
frequently  recited  in  the  sharp  controversies  over  this  question 
as  a  justification  of  the  parent  Church  in  holding  its  ground  at  the 
South. 

The  "Plan  of  Separation"  also  gave  a  large  opportunity  for  dis- 
putes concerning  the  titles  to  Church  property ;  and  for  years  there 
were  border  wars  between  the  two  Churches,  distressingly  similar  in 
temper,  if  not  in  manner,  to  those  which  history  records  between  neigh- 
boring nations,  each  of  which  is  too  fond  of  the  territory  of  the  other. 
There  was  also  a  question  concerning  the  rights  of  the  Church  South 
in  the  property  of  the  Book  Concern  at  New  York  and  Cincinnati ; 
which  property,  after  much  litigation,  was  adjudged  to  be  divided 
according  to  the  claim  of  the  Southern  Church. 

The  General  Conference  of  1848  inherited,  to  a  considerable  extent, 
the  troubles  of  that  of  1844.  The  prompt  departure  of  the  Church 
South  after  the  action  in  the  case  of  Bishop  Andrew  was  at  first 
thought  to  be  a  relief,  and  an  action  which,  therefore,  should  be  con- 
curred in  as  curing,  though  by  a  desperate  remedy,  the  agitation  which 
for  years  had  raged  like  a  fever  in  the  ecclesiastical  body.  But  the 
narrow  escape  of  the  ratification  of  the  "  Plan  of  Separation "  by 
three-fourths  of  the  Annual  Conferences  was  seized  upon  by  certain 
brethren  at  the  North  as  a  basis  for  a  claim  whereby  the  division  of 
the  Church  property  might  be  refused.  This  scheme  found,  as  usual, 
advocates  who  were  governed  more  by  their  feelings  than  their  judg- 


BoRDEK  Troubles.  6.37 

ment;  teclinical  points  of  law  were  raised  against  a  division  of  the 
Church  property  in  the  Book  Concern ;  and  for  the  sake  of  a  few 
thousands  of  dollars,  and  also  for  the  sake  of  defending  opinions 
ali'eady  expressed,  certain  great  minds  in  the  Church  kept  up  the  agi- 
tation which  otherwise  gave  promise  of  subsiding :  however,  a  charita- 
ble judgment  should  be  formed  of  this  partisanship,  since  the  roar  of 
battle  was  still  sounding  in  their  ears  and  the  hot  blood  of  contention 
was  still  boiling  in  their  veins. 

The  first  General  Conference  of  the  Church  South  was  held  at 
Petersburg  in  1846,  at  which  an  organization,  closely  copied  from  that 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  was  effected ;  and  at  which,  as  a 
token  of  brotherly  kindness  toward  their  former  co-religionists,  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Lovick  Pierce  was  appointed  a  fraternal  messenger  from 
the  Church  South  to  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  and  as  such 
he  appeared  at  the  General  Conference  of  1848.  By  this  time  that 
body  had  committed  itself  to  the  policy  of  non-recognition  of  the 
Church  South,  in  view  of  the  failure  of  the  "Plan  of  Separation"  in 
the  Annual  Conferences,  and  to  receive  Dr.  Pierce  as  a  delegate  there- 
from might  be  deemed  an  inconsistency. 

Dr.  Pierce  proposed  that  tlie  General  Conference  to  which  he  was 
accredited  should  first  settle  the  question  of  fraternity,  and  afterward 
give  attention,  on  a  brotherly  basis,  to  the  financial  and  territorial  dif- 
ficulties which  liad  grown  up  between  tlie  two  Churclies :  but  certain 
leaders  in  the  controversy  protested  that  to  receive  Dr.  Pierce  at  all, 
except  as  a  commissioner  to  settle  difiiculties,  would  be  to  recognize 
the  status  of  the  Churcli  South  as  a  co-ordinate  branch  of  American 
Methodism ;  a  course  which  would  not  only  imperil  certain  property 
rights  claimed  by  the  parent  Cluirch,  but  also  override  the  opinions 
which  certain  leaders  had  set  forth ;  and  Dr.  Pierce,  chagrined  as  well 
as  grieved,  after  a  courteous  and  dignified  statement  vi  his  views,  and 
those  of  the  body  which  he  represented,  took  his  departure,  and  thus 
the  door  through  the  division  wall  was  bolted  and  barred. 

The  separation  being  now  complete,  the  General  Rule  on  Slavery  in 
the  Discipline  of  the  mother  Church  was  in  1864  changed,  so  as  to 
forbid  slave-holding  as  well  as  slave-trading,  and  thus,  in  theory  if  not 
in  practice,  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  was  saved  from  that  great 
sin.     The  South,  of  course,  expunged  the  rule  against  slavery. 


638  Illusteated  Histoky  of  Methodism. 

Methodism  During'  the  War. — The  same  cause  which  had 
now  rent  the  Church  asunder  at  length  produced  a  like  calamity  in  the 
nation.  Perhaps  the  success  of  the  "Plan  of  Separation"  was  an 
added  encouragement  to  the  State-rights  party  of  the  South,  in  their 
efforts  to  establish  a  slave-holding  Confederacy  which  should  be  to  the 
original  United  States  of  America  what  slave-holding  Methodism  had 
become  toward  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  It  is  no  part  of  the 
province  of  this  history  to  recall  the  sins  and  sorrows  of  the  great  Civil 
War  in  our  country.  Methodism,  as  "  The  Church  of  the  People," 
both  North  and  South,  was  doubtless  in  the  forefront  of  the  light  on 
both  sides ;  for  the  war  was  but  a  lighting  over  again,  with  powder 
ajid  shot,  the  very  same  battle  which,  with  words  for  weapons,  had 
called  forth  the  energy,  the  zeal,  and  the  wrath  of  the  two  parties  in 
the  Annual  and  General  Conferences  of  the  Church.  The  Methodism 
of  the  North  proudly  records  the  honor  conceded  to  it  by  President 
Lincoln,  of  sending  "more  soldiers  to  the  field  and  more  nurses  to  the 
hospitals  than  any  other  religious  body : "  and  doubtless  the  Methodism 
of  the  South  was  no  whit  behind  us  in  sustaining  its  pohtical  opinions 
at  the  point  of  the  bayonet,  in  nursing  its  sick  and  dying  soldiers,  and  in 
sending  up  its  prayers  to  Heaven  for  blessings  on  what  was  foredoomed 
to  be  a  lost  cause.  For  four  terrible  years  brethren  by  thousands,  who 
had  once  been  members  of  the  same  Christian  communion,  rose  up  in 
what  each  believed  true  patriotic  wrath,  and  sought  to  kill  one  another ; 
and  it  must  ever  be  but  mournful  satisfaction  for  any  good  man  to 
know  that  the  hands  on  his  side  of  the  conflict  scattered  the  most  death 
and  dug  the  most  graves.  Let  this  bloody  record  pass.  The  great 
Head  of  the  Church  alone  can  know  against  what  souls,  both  North 
and  South,  to  write  the  awful  charges  of  hatred,  devastation,  cruelty, 
and  death ;  as  also  he  alone  can  pardon  the  penitent  for  these  great 
offenses  against  his  law  and  his  Church. 

The  Methodist  Episcopal  Chureh  A^ain  in  the 
South. — During  the  progress  of  the  Civil  War  the  armies  of  the 
North  occupied  and  held  some  important  positions  in  the  southern 
territory,  and  the  clergy  therein  were  forbidden  to  pray  in  their 
churches  for  the  success  of  the  Confederacy.  In  New  Orleans,  espe- 
cially. General  Butler  announced  that  such  supplications  would  be  pun- 
ished by  military  law,  on  the  ground  that  such  prayers  encouraged  the 


Methodism  During  the  War.  639 

eecessionists  to  hold  out  against  the  Union  forces,  and  that  the  min- 
istrations of  the  southern  clergy  were  firing  the  southern  heart. 

Among  the  churches  which  were  closed  by  mihtary  authority  were 
some  belonging  to  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South,  and  these, 
by  order  of  the  War  Department  at  Washington,  were  placed  at  the 
disposal  of  ]3ishop  Ames  as  the  representative  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church.  The  order  under  which  Bishop  Ames  acted  was  as 
follows : — 

War  Department, 
Adjutant-General's  Office, 
Washington,  Nov.  30,  1863. 
To  the  General  commanding  the  Department  of  the  Missouri,  the  Tennessee,  and 
the  Gulf,  and  all  Generals  commanding  Armies,  Detachments,  and  Corps  and 
Posts,  and  all  Officers  in  the  Service  of  the  United  States  in  the  above-men- 
tioned Department: — 

You  are  hereby  directed  to  place  at  tlie  disposal  of  Rev.  Bishop  Ames  all 
houses  of  worship  belonging  to  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South,  in  which 
a  loyal  minister,  who  has  been  appointed  by  a  loyal  Bishop  of  said  Church,  does 
not  now  officiate. 

It  is  a  matter  of  great  importance  to  the  Government,  in  its  efforts  to  restore 
tranquillity  to  the  community  and  peace  to  the  nation,  that  Christian  ministers 
should,  by  example  and  precept,  support  and  foster  the  loyal  sentiment  of  the 
people.  Bishop  Ames  enjoys  the  entire  confidence  of  this  Department,  and  no 
doubt  is  entertained  that  all  ministers  appointed  by  him  will  be  entirely  loyal. 
You  are  expected  to  give  him  all  the  aid,  countenance,  and  support  practicable 
in  the  execution  of  his  important  mission. 

You  are  authorized  and  directed  to  furnish  Bishop  Ames  and  his  clerk  with 
transportation  and  subsistence,  when  it  can   be  done  without  prejudice  to  the 
service,  and  will  afford  them  courtesy,  assistance,  and  protection. 
By  order  of  the  Secretary  of  War, 

E.  D.  TOWNSEND, 

Assistant  Adjutant-General. 

Similar  authority  to  that  conferred  upon  Bishop  Ames  was  given 
to  the  representatives  of  the  Northern  Baptist,  Presbyterian,  and  other 
Churches ;  the  Northern  generals  in  command  at  the  South  being  or- 
dered to  allow  loyal  ministers  of  these  various  denominations  to  occupy 
the  vacant  pulpits  of  their  several  churches  in  the  captured  territory  ; 
some  of  which  were  vacant  by  the  flight  of  their  regular  clergy,  and 
others  by  the  operation  of  military  law. 


640 


Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 


HENRY    B.    BASCOM,   D.D. 
Fifth  Bishop  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South. 

[Born  May  27,  1796,  at  Hancock,  N.  Y.;  joined  the  Ohio  Conference  in  1813j 
was  ordained  Bishop  in  1850;  died  September  8,  of  the  same  year,  at  Louis- 
ville, Kentucky.] 

During  the  occupation  of  New  Orleans  the  Northern  officers  and 
soldiers  there  stationed  rallied  around  the  chief  representative  of 
Northern  Methodism,  the  Kev.  Dr.  J.  P.  Newman,  who  by  Bishop 
Ames  was  appointed  to  the  Carondelet-street  Church  ;  one  of  the  finest 
houses  of  worship  belonging  to  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South. 
For  a  considerable  time  this  was  the  leading  Church  in  the  city. 


Methodism  Dueestg  the  Wak.  641 

The  holding  of  Christian  sanctuaries  as  trophies  of  war  is  no  new 
thing  in  the  history  of  so-called  civilized  warfare.  In  the  Kevolution- 
arj  War  the  armies  of  King  George  had  made  riding-schools,  mag- 
azines, and  barracks  of  American  houses  of  worship ;  and  during  the 
Civil  War  numbers  of  the  Southern  churches  shared  the  same  fate. 
Of  this,  however,  the  South  made  no  special  complaint — at  least  no 
complaint  in  the  name  of  religion ;  but  when  Northern  Methodists, 
by  military  authority,  possessed  themselves  of  the  property  of  their 
former  brothers,  an  estrangement  between  these  two  sections  of  Meth- 
odism was  produced,  wider  and  more  bitter  even  than  that  occasioned 
by  the  War  itself.  This  led,  in  certain  quarters,  to  the  raising  of  the 
old  legal  question  as  to  the  unconstitutional  departure  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  South ;  and  it  was  hinted  that  perhaps  the  original 
body,  from  which  the  South  had  seceded,  might  have  some  construct- 
ive claim  to  the  property  in  dispute. 

After  the  conclusion  of  the  war  these  Churches  were  all  restored  to 
their  original  owners ;  but  Northern  Methodism  having  now  planted 
itself  in  the  Southern  territory,  and  taken  under  its  special  care  and  tu- 
telage many  thousands  of  the  freedmen — who  could  hardly  expect  to  re- 
ceive much  aid  in  religion  and  learning  from  the  Churches  controlled  by 
their  former  masters — prepared  to  hold  its  ground  and  extend  its  power 
throughout  the  Southern  country.  For  a  time  the  progress  of  religion 
among  the  ex-slaves,  under  the  operation  of  the  Frecdmen's  Aid 
Society  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  as  well  as  under  the  work- 
ing of  similar  organizations  of  other  Christian  communions,  was  rapid  ; 
schools,  colleges,  and  theological  seminaries  for  black  scholars,  teachers, 
an  i  preachers,  sprung  up  as  if  by  magic ;  and  when  the  smoke  of  battle 
had  been  cleared  from  Southern  eyes,  they  beheld  a  strong  and  flourish- 
ing body  of  colored  Methodists  in  the  South  who  held  the  most  loyal 
and  gr?^"<^ful  allegiance  to  the  Northern  branch  of  Methodism.  The 
same  M'as  true  of  other  Northern  branches  of  the  Church. 

After  the  assassination  of  President  Lincoln  the  administration  of 
President  Johnson  revived  the  Southern  spirit,  and  rekindled  the  hope 
of  secessionists;  and  a  systematic,  and  already  largely  successful, 
attempt  was  made  to  gain  by  policy  what  had  been  lost  by  war.  It  is 
no  unkindness  to  the  Southern  people  to  say,  in  this  connection,  what 
their  chief  editors  and  orators  have  publicly  declared,  namely,  that  the 


642  Illusteated  Histoey  of  Methodism. 

issues  which  were  settled  adversely  to  them  in  the  late  appeal  to  arms 
were  only  temporarily  settled.  In  these  statements  they  are  to  be 
credited  with  a  terrible  consistency,  which  began  at  length  to  manifest 
itself  not  only  in  rhetoric,  but  by  many  acts  of  violence  and  crime 
against  Methodists,  black  and  white.  A  single  issue  of  the  "  Christian 
Advocate,"  in  1879,  contains  a  record  republished  from  the  "  Meth- 
odist Advocate,"  at  Atlanta,  of  thirty-four  Methodist  preachers  and 
teaclicrs,  both  white  and  black,  who  were  beaten,  robbed,  and  some 
of  them  murdered,  in  the  States  of  South  CaroKua,  Georgia,  Alabama, 
Mississippi,  and  Tennessee,  for  the  crime  of  preaching  in  colored 
congregations  and  teaching  in  colored  schools  under  the  direction  and 
patronage  of  the  Northern  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  against  which 
body  the  ruffianism  of  the  South  seemed  to  have  especial  wrath. 

It  was,  let  us  believe,  not  because  of,  but  despite  of,  the  influence 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South,  that  such  great  iniquities 
were  perpetrated  without  fear  of  punishment ;  these  being  only  a  few 
among  the  thousands  of  similar  outrages  and  murders  which  followed 
the  nominal  conchision  of  the  greatest  civil  war  that  ever  cursed  the 
earth ;  nevertheless,  in  certain  quarters  these  outcroppings  of  barba- 
rism were  made  use  of  to  widen,  if  possible,  the  estrangement  between 
the  two  sections  of  American  Methodism,  which,  as  would  appear,  had 
already  become  hopelessly  divided. 

Fraternity  Re-established. — In  view  of  the  terrible  array 
of  facts  just  mentioned  nothing  less  than  a  miracle  of  grace  could 
have  been  sufficient  to  reconcile  these  divided  brethren  ;  yet  in  spite  of 
the  Church  "War  and  the  Ci\'il  War,  with  all  their  accompanying  evils 
and  horrors,  there  was,  down  deep  in  the  hearts  of  the  best  men  in 
both  sections  of  the  Church,  so  much  of  love  for  their  common  faith 
and  order,  and  so  much  of  pride  in  their  common  heroic  history,  that 
these  deserts  and  mountains  by  which  each  had  been  separated  from 
the  other,  as  it  might  be  to  the  very  ends  of  the  earth,  have  now, 
thanks  be  to  God !  been  overpassed,  and  the  best  men  in  both  bodies, 
who  always  stood  nearest  to  each  other,  have  once  more  joined  fra- 
ternal hands. 

The  history  of  Christendom  furnishes  no  parallel  to  this  reconcil- 
iation. Let  us  hope  that  as  now  His  grace  has  shown  so  glorious  a 
triumph,  the  other  and  shorter  distances  of  temper  if  not  of  doctrine, 


Fraternity  Re-established, 


643 


JOHN    EAELY,    D.D, 
Sixth  Bishop  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South. 

[Born  January  1,  1786,  in  Bedford  Co.,  Va. ;  entered  the  Virginia  Conference 
in  1807;  was  ordained  Bishop  in  1854;  died  Nov.  5,  1873,  at  Lynchburgh,  Va.] 

■which  have  divided  the  body  of  Christ  may  be  overpassed,  and  thus 
the  prayer  of  our  Lord  may  be  speedily  answered,  that  in  heart,  if  not 
in  name,  his  people  shall  be  one.  If  these  Methodist  brethren  can 
shake  hands  over  such  a  chasm,  there  is  no  conceivable  gulf  wide 
enough  to  keep  God's  people  apart ! 

In  t]je  month  of  April,  1869,  at  a  meeting  of  the  Bishops  of  the 


644  Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 

Methodist  Episcopal  Church  held  in  Meadville,  Pennsylvania,  the  first 
official  overture  of  friendship  on  the  part  of  the  Northern  Church  to 
the  Church  South  was  decided  npon.  The  Episcopacy  has  always 
maintained  its  traditional  conservatism.  Into  this  upper  and  inner 
circle  the  wilder  passions  which  sway  the  membership  and  the  ministry 
in  their  great  assembhes  very  seldom  enter  ;  thus  it  was  that  in  spite 
of  the  zeal  of  victory  on  one  side,  and  the  rage  of  defeat  on  the 
other,  the  Bishops  of  the  two  sections  of  Methodism  maintained  per- 
sonal, if  not  ofiicial,  friendship.  By  this  time  tlie  progress  of  religion 
and  of  events  had  removed  much  of  the  rancor  which,  in  the  first  in- 
stance, had  led  the  South  to  secede ;  in  the  next,  had  moved  tlie  Gen- 
eral Conference  to  reject  the  Fraternal  Messenger  and  Message  of  the 
Church  South;  and  which,  through  all  the  years  of  civil  strife  had 
surged  and  boiled  until,  on  either  hand,  political  opinions  had  been  mis- 
taken for  Christian  doctrines,  and  patriotic  enthusiasm  for  religious 
zeal.  The  Bishops,  being  by  their  office  and  their  opportunity  the 
least  removed  from  their  brethren  across  the  line,  and  remembering 
that  it  was  their  turn  to  make  advances,  reached  out  their  hands,  in 
the  persons  of  Bishops  Janes  and  Simpson,  to  their  brethren  the 
Bishops  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South,  by  whom  this  first 
fraternal  delegation  from  North  to  South  was  courteously  received  at 
the  city  of  St.  Louis  on  the  7th  of  May,  1869. 

The  communication  of  Bishops  Janes  and  Simpson  was  an  over- 
ture for  reunion  under  the  vote  of  the  Genei'al  Conference  of  1868,  at 
Chicago,  at  which  a  Commission  of  eight  members  had  been  appointed 
to  treat  with  similar  commissions  from  any  other  Methodist  Church 
which  might  desire  a  union  with  them  ;  an  action  which  had  primary 
reference  to  the  African  Methodist  Episcopal  Zion  Cliurch,  but  which 
was  extended  so  as  to  cover  all  cases  that  might  arise. 

On  the  14th  of  May  the  Southern  Bishops  responded  in  a  dignified 
though  friendly  document ;  taking  exception  to  the  statements  of 
Bishops  Janes  and  Simpson,  "  that  the  great  cause  which  led  to  the 
separation  from  us  of  both  the  "Wesleyan  Methodists  of  the  country 
and  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South,  has  passed  away,"  and 
replying,  "  Slavery  was  not  in  any  proper  sense  the  cause,  but  the  occa- 
sion only,  of  that  separation,  the  necessity  of  which  we  regretted  aa 
much  as  you."     The  document  also  recalls  the  refusal  of  the  General 


Fraternity  Re-established. 


645 


Couference  to  accept  the  Southern  Fraternal  Delegate,  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Pierce,  and  reasserts  his  final  words  spoken  on  that  occasion,  when  he 
said,  "  You  will  therefore  regard  this  communication  as  final  on  the 
part  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South.  She  can  never  renew 
the  offer  of  fraternal  relations  between  the  two  great  bodies  of  Wes- 
leyan  Methodists  in  the  United  States.  But  the  proposition  can  bo 
renewed  at  any  time,  either  now  or  hereafter,  by  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church ;  and  if  ever  made  upon  the  basis  of  the  '  Plan  of  Sep- 


CENTENART  M.  B.  CHUKCH,  SOUTH,  ST.  LOUIS,  MO. 

aratioD,'  as  adopted  by  the  General  Conference  of  1844,  the  Church 
South  will  cordially  entertain  the  proposition." 

Their  reply  also  states,  with  entire  frankness,  the  southern  objec- 
tions to  the  conduct  of  northern  missionaries  and  agents  who  had  been 
sent  into  their  portion  of  the  country  with  the  "  avowed  purpose  to 
disintegrate  and  absorb  our  Societies."  "  We  do  not  say,"  continues 
the  document,  "  that  our  own  people  have  been  in  every  instance  of 
these  unhappy  controversies  and  tempers  without  blame  as  toward 
you ;  but  this  we  say,  if  any  offenses  against  the  law  of  love,  committed 


646 


Illusteated  Histoey  of  Methodism. 


HUBBARD   H.   KAVANAUGH,   D.D. 
Seventh  Bishop  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South. 

[Born  January  14,  1802,  in  Clark  County,  Ky. ;  entered  the  Kentucky  Confer- 
ence i?  1824 ;  was  ordained  Bishop  in  1854.     His  residence  is  Louisville,  Ky.] 


by  those  under  our  appointment — any  aggressions  upon  your  just  priv- 
ileo-es  and  rights  are  properly  represented  to  us — the  representation 
will  be  respectfully  considered,  and  we  shall  stand  ready,  by  all  the 
authority  and  influence  we  have,  to  restrain  and  correct  them." 

The  next  step  toward  fraternity  was  the  visit  of  Bishop  Janes  and 
the  Rev.  Wilhara  L.  Harris,  D.D.,  then  Missionary  Secretary  at  New 


Fkaternity  Re-established.  647 

Fork,  to  the  General  Conference  of  the  Church,  South,  at  Memphis, 
in  1870.  That  eminent  scholar  and  divine,  then  the  President  of  Drew 
Theological  Seminary  at  Madison,  'New  Jersey,  the  Rev.  John  M'Clin- 
tock,  D.D.,  was  originally  appointed  as  the  colleague  of  Bishop  Janes, 
but  upon  his  death,  March  4,  1870,  Dr.  Harris  was  appointed  in  his 
stead. 

The  reception  of  these  two  delegates  by  the  southern  Conference 
was  conspicuous  both  for  its  dignity  and  its  courtesy.  They  still  main- 
tained their  original  position,  and  while  acknowledging  the  desirability 
of  fraternal  relations,  recalled  the  oft-repeated  statement  of  the  initial 
step  essential  thereto,  namely,  A  recognition  of  the  vaHdity  of  the 
original  "  Plan  of  Separation,"  which  was  the  basis  of  the  organization 
of  the  Church  South. 

The  General  Conference  of  1872  authorized  the  Bishops  to 
appoint  a  delegation,  consisting  of  two  ministers  and  one  layman,  to 
represent  them  at  the  General  Conference  of  the  Church  South,  to  be 
held  in  Louisville,  Ky.,  in  1874.  The  proceedings  on  that  memorable 
occasion  are  fully  set  forth  in  the  pamphlet  published  by  the  Book 
Concerns  of  the  two  Chm-ches,  entitled  "  Formal  Fraternity,"  to  which 
the  readers  of  this  volume  are  referred  for  the  admirable  addresses  in 
full  of  Drs.  Albert  S.  Hunt,  Charles  H.  Fowler,  and  Gen.  Clinton  B. 
Fisk,  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  response  of  the  committee  to  whom 
their  words  and  their  mission  were  referred. 

As  a  fitting  response  to  these  Fraternal  Representatives  the  Louis- 
ville Conference  adopted  the  following  resolutions : — 

liesolved,  1.  That  this  General  Conference  has  received  with  pleasure  the 
fraternal  greetings  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  conveyed  to  us  by  their 
Delegates,  and  that  our  College  of  Bishops  be,  and  are  hereby,  authorized  to  ap- 
point a  Delegation,  consisting  of  two  ministers  and  one  layman,  to  bear  our 
Christian  salutations  to  their  next  ensuing  General  Conference. 

Eesolved,  2.  That,  in  order  to  remove  all  obstacles  to  formal  fraternity  be- 
tween the  two  Churches,  our  College  of  Bishops  is  authorized  to  appoint  a  Com- 
mission, consisting  of  three  ministers  and  two  laymen,  to  meet  a  similar  Com- 
mission authorized  by  the  General  Conference  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
and  to  adjust  all  existing  difficulties. 

In  pursuance  of  the  above,  the  College  of  Bishops  of  the  Church 
South,  at  their  annual  meeting  in  May,  1875,  appointed  the  venerable 


648 


Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 


GEORGE   F.    PIERCE,  D.D. 
Eighth  Bishop  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Chorch,  South. 
[Born  in  Greene  County,  Ga.,  February  3,  1811;  entered  the  Georgia  Confer- 
ence in  1831 ;  was  elected  Bishop  in  1854.     His  residence  is  Sparta,  Ga.] 

Rev.  Lovick  Pierce,  D.D.,  the  Rev.  James  A.  Duncan,  D.D.,  Preb 
ident  of  Randolph  Macon  College,  Ya.,  and  Landon  C.  Garland,  LL.D., 
the  Chancellor  of  the  Yanderbilt  University,  as  Fraternal  Delegates  to 
the  General  Conference  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church ;  and  the 
Rev.  E.  H.  Myers,  D.D.,  Rev.  R.  K.  Hargrove,  D.D.,  Rev.  Thomas  M. 
Finney,  D.D.,  the  Hon.  Trusten  Polk,  and  Hon.  David  Clopton,  aa 
Commissioners  to  meet  a  similar  Commission  from  the  North. 


Fraternity  an  Actual  Fact.  .  649 

A  Memorable  Day. — The  appearance  of  the  Fraternal  Dele 
gates  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South,  in  the  General  Con- 
ference of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  at  Baltimore,  in  1876, 
marked  the  actual  commencement  of  fraternal  relations,  which  the  best 
men  in  both  parties  had  so  long  and  earnestly  desired.  The  12th  of  May 
was  the  time  appointed  for  their  reception,  and  on  this  day  the  Confer- 
ence reached  its  climax  of  interest.  It  was  a  scene  never  to  be  forgot- 
ten. The  vast  assemblage  was  moved  to  a  solemn  tenderness  of  feeling 
which  words  cannot  describe.  The  revered  Bishop  Janes  presided, 
and  at  the  liour  appointed  the  Rev.  Dr.  Foss,  President  of  the  Wesleyan 
University,  came  forward  to  present  to  the  Chairman  the  Rev.  Dr.  Dun- 
can, who  was  then  introduced  to  the  Conference,  which  body  arose  to 
receive  him.  In  like  manner  next  appeared  the  Rev.  Dr.  Newman, 
introducing  Chancellor  Garland,  who  was  also  introduced  to  and  re- 
ceived by  the  Conference  with  the  same  token  of  respect. 

The  Rev.  Lovick  Pierce,  D.D.,  to  the  great  regret  of  the  Confer- 
ence, failed  to  appear.  He  commenced  his  journey  toward  Baltimore, 
in  spite  of  tlie  burden  of  more  than  ninety  years  which  was  upon  liim, 
but  was  obhged  to  stop  on  the  way,  and  could  only  send  the  greeting 
which  he  had  so  greatly  desired  to  bring.  In  his  address  he  thus  struck 
the  key-note  of  the  restored  harmony  :  "  We  protest  against  any  longer 
use  of  the  popular  phrase  '  two  Methodisms '  as  between  us.  There  is 
but  one  Episcopal  Methodism  in  the  United  States  of  America,  and 
you  and  we  together  make  up  this  one  Methodism."  In  reference  to 
the  points  at  issue,  he  wrote :  "  We  do  not  believe  that  these  difficul- 
ties ought  ever  to  be  discussed  in  either  General  Conference  at  large. 
They  are  delicate,  sensitive  things,  never  to  be  settled  by  chafing 
speeches ;  but,  as  we  beheve,  can  be  speedily  prayed  and  talked  to  death 
by  a  joint  board  of  discreet  brethren  intent  upon  Christian  peace." 

A.fter  reading  the  communication  of  Dr.  Pierce,  which  was  list- 
nea  to  as  the  words  of  a  beloved  father  in  Israel,  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Duncan  made  his  memorable  address,  which  had  in  it  something  of 
the  peaceful  spirit  of  heaven,  to  which  he  was  so  soon  to  ascend. 

"Charity,"  said  he,  "is  a  provision,  not  for  unity  but  for  diversity.   .  .  . 

Heaven  send  us  rest  from   these  miserable,  unhappy  controversies  I  ...  I  am 

aware,  Mr.  President,  that  some  persons  will  not  cease  from  that  kind  of  warfare 

tn  which  thev  have  bo  much  pleasure.     But,  sir,  harmony  with  such  people  in 

41 


G50 


Illustkated  Histoey  of  Methodis:m. 


DAVID   SETH    DOGGETT,   D,D. 
Ninth  Bishop  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  9oath. 

[Born   in  Virginia,  in  1810;  entered  the  Virginia  Conference  in   1839;  'was 
ordained  Bishop  in  1866.     Resides  in  Richmond,  Va.] 


simply  impossible ;  the  only  harmony  they  ever  know  is  of  some  unhappy  tune 
that  they  alone  can  sing.  .  .  Our  proposal  is:  Let  us  appoint  wise  men  to  adjust 
all  questions  of  real  conflict  between  these  two  Churches:  let  us  pray  the  God  of 
all  wisdom  and  peace  to  direct  them  to  right  conclusions;  and  then  bury  forever 
the  weapons  of  war,  and  move  on  to  the  better,  brighter  conquests  of  peace! 

"And  now,  sir,  again  I  ask,  "What  is  Ciiristian  fraternity,  and  on  what  ground 
(\o  we  establish  it  ?     I  answer  explicitly,   Christian  fraternity  is  the  recipr'<cal 


FliATERNITY    AN    AcTUAL    FaCT.  651 

recognition  of  Clirist  in  each  other.  Where  no  such  relations  to  Christ  exist 
there  can  be  no  fraternity.  There  is  but  one  principle  of  communion  in  Chris- 
tianity. St.  John  has  stated  it  clearly  and  beautifully:  'Our  fellowship  is  with 
the  Father,  and  with  his  Son  Jesus  Christ.  ...  If  we  walk  in  the  light,  as  he  is 
in  the  light,  we  have  fellowsliip  one  with  another,  and  the  blood  of  Jesus  Christ 
his  Son  cleanseth  us  from  all  sin.' 

"  If  fraternity  is  any  thing,  it  is,  at  least,  an  end  of  strife — it  is  peace  ;  it  is  a 
delightful  silence  after  a  long  battle;  it  is  the  calm  after  the  noise  of  waters  and 
the  tumult  of  tlie  elements  when  the  Master  has  said,  "Peace,  be  still."  It  is 
an  end  of  the  calamitous  sj)ectacle  of  Christian  antagonisms  which  only  bad  men 
applaud.  It  is  exchanging  discord  for  harmony,  and  broken  and  jarring  strings 
for  harps  sweetly  tuned  and  full  of  sacred  music.  Ah,  brethren,  in  that  eternity 
to  which  we  are  all  rapidly  advancing,  when  earthly  enmities  and  all  the  fiery 
passions  that  consume  human  peace  shall  have  sunk  into  ashes,  and  petty  strifes 
of  time  shall  seem  but  miserable  follies  of  which  we  are  ashamed,  how  many  men 
will  then  wish  their  bitter  words  had  been  unsaid  1 " 

After  Dr.  Duncan  came  Chancellor  Garland,  with  a  brief  address 
admirably  befitting  the  occasion. 

To  these  words,  so  fitly  spoken,  the  Conference  and  the  vast  repre- 
sentative Methodist  assembly  listened  with  emotions  that  swept  the 
whole  circuit  of  their  Christian  feeling,  now  calling  forth  cheers  and 
hallelujahs,  and  now  melting  the  great  assembly  to  tears.  In  due 
time  the  Committee  to  whom  had  been  referred  the  question  of 
appointing  a  Commission  reported  thp  following,  which  was  cordially 
adopted : — 

To  THE  Genekal  Conference:  Your  Committee  to  whom  was  referred  a 
resolution  adopted  by  the  General  Conference  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  South,  and  borne  to  us  with  the  Christian  salutations  of  our  sister 
Church,  providing  for  the  appointment  of  a  Commission  on  the  part  of  that  body, 
to  meet  a  similar  Commission  authorized  by  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  beg 
leave  to  report  that  they  recommend  the  adoption  of  the  following  resolution : — 
^^  Besolved,  That  in  order  to  remove  all  obstacles  to  formal  fraternity  between 
the  two  Churches,  our  Board  of  Bishops  are  instructed  to  appoint  a  Commission, 
consisting  of  three  ministers  and  two  laymen,  to  meet  a  similar  Commission  au- 
thorized by  the  General  Conference  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South, 
and  to  adjust  all  existing  difficulties." 

Clinton  B.  Fisk,         F.  C.  Holliday, 
A.  0.  Geokqe,  John  D.  Blake, 

Oliver  Hott,  William  R.  Clabk, 

James  W.  W.  Bolton. 


652 


Illusteated  History  of  Methodism. 


WILLIAM    M.    WIGHTMAN,    D.D.,    LL.D. 
Tenth  Bishop  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  Soath. 

[Bom  in  Charleston,  S.  C,  January  29,  1808;  entered  South  Carolina  Cod 
ference  in  1828;  ordained  Bishop  in  1866.     He  resides  at  Charleston,  8.  C] 

The  following  Commissioners  were  appointed  under  the  foregoirii: 
resolution:  Morris  D'C.  Crawford,  D.D.,  Hon.  Enoch  L.  Fanclier, 
LL.D.,  Erasmus  Q.  Fuller,  D.D.,  General  Clinton  B.  Fisk,  John  P. 
Newman,  D.D. 

Meeting  of  the  Joint  Coiniiiission. — On  the  17th  of 
August,  1876,  the  Joint  Commission  representing  the  two  General 
Conferences  met  at  Congress  Hall,  Cape  May,  New  Jersey.     It  is 


Meeting  of  the  Joint  Commission,  653 

worthy  of  notice  that  the  Southern  Commission  inchided  the  author 
of  a  volume  entitled  "  Disruption  of  the  Church,"  (Rev.  E.  H.  Myers, 
D.D.,)  while  on  the  Northern  Commission  was  the  Rev.  Dr.  Fuller, 
whose  "  Appeal  to  the  Records "  was  pubHshed  as  a  review  and  a 
rejoinder.  The  Commission  from  the  North  was  perhaps  as  thor- 
oughly representative  as  any  equal  number  of  men  could  have  been. 
It  included  the  veteran  New  York  Presiding  Elder,  Dr.  M.  D'C. 
Crawford  ;  the  eminent  jurist,  Dr.  E.  L.  Fancher ;  the  vigorous  editor, 
author,  and  commander  of  the  Atlanta  out-post,  Dr.  E.  Q.  Fuller ;  the 
sagacious,  warm-hearted,  eloquent  Christian  soldier.  General  Clinton 
B.  Fisk ;  and  the  clerical  diplomatist,  Dr.  J.  F.  Newman. 

The  first  important  step  was  the  formal  announcement  by  the 
Southern  Commission  that  they  were  empowered  to  treat  only  on  the 
basis  of  the  much-contested  "  Plan  of  Separation,"  to  wl'.ich  annomice- 
ment  response  was  made  in  substance,  that,  though  there  might  be  dif- 
ferences of  opinion  as  to  the  force  and  meaning  of  that  well-known 
document,  there  was  nothing  in  the  mind  of  the  Northern  Commission 
to  prevent  their  entering  upon  the  business  in  hand  on  the  basis  indi- 
cated by  their  Southern  brethren.  To  remove  all  obstacles  to  formal 
fraternity  between  the  two  Churches  the  following  Declaration  was 
unanimously  adopted : — 

Declaration  and  Basis  of  Fraternity  between  said  CnxmcHES. 

Eacli  of  said  Churches  is  a  legitimate  Branch  of  Episcopal  Methodism  in  the 
United  States,  having  a  common  origin  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  organ- 
ized in  1784. 

Since  the  organization  of  the  Methodist  Episcojial  Church,  South,  was  con- 
summated in  1845,  by  the  voluntary  exercise  of  the  right  of  the  Southern  Annual 
Conferences,  rninisters,  and  members,  to  adhere  to  that  Communion,  it  has  been 
an  evangelical  Church,  reared  on  scriptural  foundations,  and  her  ministers  and 
members,  with  those  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  have  constituted  one 
Methodist  family,  though  in  distinct  ecclesiastical  connections. 

Thus  this  great  historic  contention  came  to  an  end,  and  the  final 
adjustment  of  actual  cases  of  dispute  was  now  in  order. 

On  taking  up  the  Church  property  difficulties  the  following  pre- 
liminary rules  for  adjustment  were  adopted : — 

RuiiES   FOR   THE    ADJUSTMENT   OF   ADVERSE    CLAIMS   TO    ChURCH   PROPERTY. 

Rule  I.  In  cases  not  adjudicated  by  the  Joint  Commission,  any  Society  of 
either  Church,  constituted  according  to  its  Discipline,  novv  uccu[)ying  the  Cliurcb 


654 


Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 


ENOCH    M.    MAEVIX,    D.D. 

Eleventh  Bishop  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South. 

[Born  in  Warren  County,  Missouri,  June  12,  1823  ;  joined  tlie  Missouri  Confer- 
ence in  1841;  was  ordained  Bishop  in  1866 ;  died  November  26,  1877. 


Property,  shail  remain  in  possession  tliereof;  provided,  that  where  there  is  now 
in  the  same  place  a  Society  of  more  members  attached  to  the  other  Church,  and 
which  has  liitherto  claimed  the  use  of  the  property,  the  latter  shall  be  entitled 
to  such  possession. 

Rule  II.  Forasmuch  ns  the  Joint  Commission  have  no  power  to  annul  decis- 
ions respecting  Church  Property  made  by  tlie  State  Courts,  the  Joint  Commis- 
sion ordain  in  respect  thereof: — 


Meetln^g  of  the  Joint  CoM:\rissioN.  655 

1.  In  cases  in  whicli  such  a  decision  has  been  made,  or  in  which  there  exists 
an  agreement,  the  same  shall  be  carried  out  in  good  faith. 

2.  In  communities  wliere  there  are  two  Societies,  one  belonging  to  the  Meth- 
odist Efjiscopal  Church  and  the  other  to  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South, 
which  have  adversely  claimed  the  Church  Property,  it  is  recommended  that  with- 
out delay  tliey  amicably  compose  their  differences  irrespective  of  the  strict  legal 
title,  and  settle  the  same  according  to  Christian  principles,  the  equities  of  the 
particular  case,  and,  so  far  as  practicable,  according  to  the  principle  of  the  afore- 
going rule.  But  if  such  settlement  cannot  be  speedily  made,  then  the  question 
shall  be  referred  for  equitable  decisinn  to  three  arbitrators — one  to  be  chosen  by 
each  claimant  from  their  respective  Societies,  and  the  two  thus  chosen  shall 
select  a  third  person,  not  connected  with  either  of  said  Churches,  and  the  de- 
cision of  any  two  of  them  shall  be  final. 

3.  In  communities  in  which  there  is  but  one  Society,  Rule  I  shall  be  faithfully 
observed  in  the  interests  of  ))oace  and  fraternity. 

Rule  III.  Whenever  necessary  to  carrj  the  aforegoing  rules  into  effect,  the 
legal  title  to  the  Clmrcli  Property  shall  be  accordingly  transferred, 
RuLK  IV.  These  Rules  shall  take  effect  immediately. 

Under  the  operation  of  these  rules  all  the  several  cases  relative  to 
Church  titles  in  New  Orleans  and  elsewhere  were  taken  up,  and  one 
by  one  were  adjudged  without  the  least  dissension  ;  and  when  the  last 
case  was  reached,  to  the  great  delight  of  the  Joint  Commission,  the 
fact  was  recorded  that  every  vote  on  every  question  had  been  unan- 
imous. Thus,  as  the  venerable  Father  Pierce  had  prophesied,  in  this 
small  company  of  good  men  these  harassing  difficulties  had  been 
"  prayed  and  talked  to  death." 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  session  the  respective  Secretaries  of  the 
two  commissions,  Gen.  Clinton  B.  Fisk  and  the  Rev.  T.  M.  Finney, 
were  directed  to  prepare  a  pamphlet  to  be  published  simultaneously  by 
the  Book  Concerns  at  New  York  and  Nashville,  setting  forth  the  pro- 
ceedings and  results  of  this  Commission,  to  be  preceded  by  an  outline 
history  of  the  steps  whereby  the  appointment  of  this  Commission  had 
been  reached,  from  whicli  report  the  record  of  these  pages  is  made  uj). 
The  Chairman  of  the  Southern  Commission,  the  Rev.  E.  II.  Myers, 
D.D.,  died  by  yellow  fever  in  Savannah,  on  Tuesday,  September  26th, 
187G,  and  a  tribute  to  his  memory,  by  his  brethren  of  the  Northern 
Commission,  closes  the  above-mentioned  report ;  which,  until  the  next 
session  of  the  respective  General  Confei-ences  of  the  two  Churches, 


656 


Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 


HOLLAND    NIMMONDS    M'TYEIEE,    D.D. 
Twelfth  Bishop  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  Soatb. 

[Born  February  28th,  1834,  in  Barnwell  County,  S.  C. ;  entered  the  Virgims. 
Conference  in  1845;  was  made  Bishop  in  1866.     Resides  in  Nashville,  Tenn.] 

raiy  be  regarded  as  the  charter  of  fraternity,  the  declaration  of  Chris- 
tian fellowship,  the  constitution  of  peace. 

That  such  a  conclusion  should  have  been  reached,  with  all  the  cruel 
facts  and  harrowing  memories  of  thirty  years  of  discord,  war,  and 
Btrife  surging  up  by  times  in  the  minds  of  these  men,  who  had  seen 
and  suffered  so  much  on  both  sides  of  the  line  of  separation,  is  the 


Statistics  of  M.  E.  Church,  South.  657 

best  and  largest  evidence  afforded  in  this  era  of  the  Church  of  the 
power  of  heavenly  grace  to  make  all  crooked  things  straight  and  all 
rough  places  plain.     It  is  of  God.     Let  all  good  men  give  thanks. 

Statistics  of*  the  IHethodist  Episcopal  Church, 
l^outh. — Not  only  does  the  Church  South  occupy  the  former  Slave 
States  in  which  it  was  organized,  but  it  has  also  extended  its  Confer- 
ences into  California,  Oregon,  Illinois,  Kansas,  and  Colorado.  Its 
Missionary  Society,  managed  by  a  board  of  which  the  Rev.  Thomas 
O.  Summers,  D.D.,  the  book-editor  of  the  denomination,  is  President, 
the  Rev.  N.  II.  Lee,  D.D.,  is  Yice-president,  the  Rev.  A.  "W".  Wilson, 
D.D.,  is  Secretary,  and  James  W.  Manier,  is  Treasurer,  has  home  mis- 
sionary stations  in  the  Territories  of  Montana,  Columbia,  and  New 
Mexico,  with  foreign  missions  in  Mexico,  Germany,  Brazil,  and  China. 

The  summary  of  statistics  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
South,  in  1879,  is  as  follows :  Traveling  preachers,  3,457 ;  superan- 
nuated, 306 ;  local,  5,762  ;  white  members,  783,211 ;  colored,  1,428 ; 
Indiaiis,  4,698 — total  ministers  and  members,  798,862 ;  increase  in 
1878,  24,120.  Infants  baptized,  25,049 ;  adults,  38,071  ;  Sunday- 
schools,  7,262 ;  teachers,  54,867 ;  scliolars,  391,293 — increase  in  1878, 
28,130.  Collected  for  Conference  Claimants,  $60,425  71 ;  for  Foreign 
and  Domestic  Missions,  $110,551  17.  This  includes  only  what  was 
reported  in  the  Annual  Conferences — not  special  donations,  nor  the 
collections  of  the  "Woman's  Missionary  Society. 

Education. — The  chief  educational  institution  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  South,  is  the  Yanderbilt  University,  at  Nashville, 
Tenn.,  of  which  L.  C.  Garland,  LL.D.,  is  Chancellor,  assisted  by  a  fac- 
ulty of  eleven  professors  in  the  Literary  Department ;  four  in  the  Bib- 
lical Department,  at  the  head  of  which  is  the  Rev.  Dr.  Summers  ; 
four  in  the  Law  Department,  at  the  head  of  which  is  Thomas  H. 
Malone,  M.  A. ;  fourteen  in  the  Medical  Department,  the  president  of 
wliich  is  Thomas  L.  Madden,  M.D. :  besides  which  there  is  a  School 
of  Pharmacy  and  a  School  of  Dentistry,  and  four  college  fellowships. 

The  27th  of  May  is  Founder's  Day,  being  the  birth-day  of  the  late 
Cornelius  Yanderbilt,  whose  manificcnt  gift  of  over  half  a  million 
dollars  laid  the  foundation  of  this  well-appointed  university. 

Besides  this,  there  are  thirty-two  colleges  and  seven  other  schools 
and  academics  under  the  patronage  of  the  Church,  ten  of  which  are  in 


658 


Illustkated  History  of  Methodism. 


JOHN^    CHRISTIATST    KEENER. 

Thirteenth  Bishop  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South. 

[Born  in  Baltimore,  February  7tli,  1819;  entered  Alabama  Conference  in  1843; 
■was  elected  Bishop  in  1870.     His  residence  is  New  Orleans,  La.] 

Virginia,  six  in  Tennessee,  and  smaller  numbers  throughout  the  other 
Southern  States. 

P.  S. — Just  as  this  cliapter  passes  into  the  hands  of  the  jn-inter  comes  the 
intelligence  of  the  death  of  that  eminent  and  venerable  Christian  minister,  the 
Rev.  Lovick  Pierce,  D.D.,  at  his  residence,  Sparta.  Ga.,  November  10,  1879,  in 
tlie  75th  year  of  his  ministry  and  the  95th  of  his  age.  May  his  memory  be  an 
added  bond  of  brotherly  kindness  between  the  two  Churches,  both  of  which, 
were  served  by  his  labors,  blessed  by  his  example,  and  bereaved  by  his  death! 


'  si?- 


m 


,  -^m 


THE   GERMAIf   METHODIST   BOOK    CONCERN    AND   TRACT   HOUSE,    BREMEX. 


CHAPTER  XXV, 


GERMAN    METHODISM. 

THE  great  tide  of  German  iniinigration  into  tlie  western  part  of  the 
United  States  began  about  1S3().  Spiritually,  these  immigrants 
were  as  sheep  without  a  shepherd,  having  bnt  few  evangelical  pastors, 
while  many  of  their  preachers  were  as  nnbelieving  as  they  were 
corrupt,  a  condition  which  caused  the  attention  of  the  Church  to  be 
earnestly  directed  to  them. 

It  now  became  only  a  question  of  finding  the  right  man  to  begin 
the  work  among  them  ;  and,  behold  !  God  in  his  providence  had  him 
already  in  training. 

l¥illlaiii  IVast  was  born  June  15th,  ISOT,  at  Stuttgart,  in  the 
kingdom  of  Wiirtemberg;  entered  the  lower  theological  seminary  of 
the  Lutheran  Church,  at  Blaubeuren,  in  1821 ;  and  in  his  eighteenth 
year  he,  with  his  class,  to  which  also  the  well-known  Dr.  David  Strauss 
belonged,  was  promoted  to  the  university  at  Tiibingen,  to  continue  his 
studies  for  the  ministry  of  the  State  Church.  After  two  years,  how- 
ever, he  retired  from  service  in  the  State  Church,  as  he  was  no  longer 


660       .       Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 

willing  to  adhere  to  a  form  of  faitli  which  he  then  could  not  heartily 
defend,  and  paid  out  of  his  own  means  for  that  part  of  his  course  of 
study  which  had  been  provided  by  the  State.  For  a  time  he  led  a  pri- 
vate life,  and  at  length,  guided  by  providence,  arrived  at  New  York  in 
1828.  Some  time  afterward  he  made  the  acquaintance  of  Lieut.  Whit- 
ting,  of  West  Point,  and  through  his  influence  obtained  the  appoint- 
ment of  librarian,  and  professor  of  the  German  Language  in  the  West 
Point  Military  Academy,  where,  in  the  midst  of  surroundings  appa- 
rently poorly  suited  for  deep  religious  convictions,  it  pleased  God  to 
awaken  his  conscience  to  the  fact  that  he  was  originally  destined  to  be 
a  preacher  of  the  Gospel. 

In  1835  Nast,  who  had  wandered  about  in  great  distress  of  mind, 
found  himself  at  a  camp-meeting  on  the  Monongahela  River,  where 
he  was  abundantly  blessed,  and  where  he  also  made  the  acquaint- 
ance of  the  famous  Dr.  Elhot,  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 
At  this  camp-meeting  there  was,  among  others,  an  aged  "  mother  in 
Israel"  from  Pittsburgh,  who,  as  in  prophetic  vision,  declared  to 
the  "  poor,  troubled  German "  what  his  future  course  was  to  be. 
Taking  him  by  the  hand,  she  exclaimed,  "  William,  be  of  good  cheer  1 
God  is  with  you.  You  have  been  awakened  and  converted,  and 
the  full  salvation  by  faith  will  surely  follow.  You  shall  preach 
the  Gospel  to  your  countrymen,  and  many  of  them  shall  be  converted 
to  God.  Soon  after  this  the  call  for  a  German- American  missionary 
was  made,  and  in  the  fall  of  1835  Nast  was  admitted  to  the  Ohio  Con- 
ference on  trial,  and  sent  as  missionary  to  the  Germane  of  Cincinnati, 
where  he  arrived  in  September  of  the  same  year.  During  this  Con- 
ference year  he  labored  under  great  difficulties  and  with  small  success, 
yet  with  untiring  zeal,  among  his  countrymen,  visiting  them  at  their 
homes  and  telling  them  of  the  Crucified  One. 

In  the  autumn  of  1836  he  was  appointed  to  travel  as  missionary  on 
Columbus  District,  in  the  Ohio  Conference — another  hard  field  of 
labor,  in  which  he  endured  many  privations,  traveling  a  circuit  of  three 
hundred  miles.  In  the  fall  of  1837  he  was  returned  to  Cincinnati. 
This  year  the  Lord  blessed  his  efforts  with  more  visible  success.  He 
was  enabled  to  begin  a  Sunday-school,  and  at  the  close  of  the  year  had 
a  society  of  twenty-six  members.  During  this  year  he  also  translated 
into  German  the  General  Pules  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  and 


Other  Gerjian  Missionaries.  661 

tlic  Wesleyan  Catechism,  which  works  may  be  designated  as  the  be- 
ginnirig  of  the  literature  of  German  Methodism. 

An  increased  desire  manifested  itself  in  the  year  1838  to  reach  the 
German  people,  and  voluntary  contributions  for  the  founding  of  a 
German  religious  newspaper  poured  in  so  liberally  that  the  Ohio  Con- 
feren  ;e  appointed  Nast  as  editor  of  a  German  paper,  the  tirst  issue  of 
which  appeared  January  1st,  1839,  under  the  name  of  "DerChrist- 
liche  Apologetc."  Fi-om  this  time  forward  Nast  devoted  himself  to 
this  papei  and  to. manifold  other  literary  works. 

Other  German  Iflissionaries. — Peter  Schmucker,  a  talent- 
ed Lutheran  preacher  who  had  joined  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
was  Dr.  Nast's  successor  at  Cincinnati,  (1838,)  and  labored  there  for 
two  years  with  much  success.  During  his  ministry  there  eighty 
persons  joined  the  Cliurcli,  among  them  L.  S.  Jacoby,  the  founder  of 
Methodism  in  Germany. 

From  Cincinnati  the  work  spread  into  the  surrounding  country. 
A  Society  was  soon  organized  at  Lawrenceburgh,  Ind.,  where  Dr.  Nast 
occasionally  preached,  and  to  which  belonged  Micliael  and  George  L. 
Mulfino-er,  both  of  whom  did  excellent  work  as  preachers.  The  for- 
mer, after  many  years  of  successful  labor,  entered  into  the  joy  of  his 
Lord,  while  the  latter  is  still  in  the  harvest,  officiating  as  Presiding 
Elder  in  the  Chicago  German  Conference. 

In  La\vrenceburgh  the  Society  visibly  increased,  under  the  labors 
of  a  local  preacher  by  tlie  name  of  Ilofer.  lie  afterward  moved  to 
New  Orleans  to  preacli  the  Gospel  to  the  Germans  of  that  city. 

As  early  as  July,  1838,  eight  or  ten  Germans  joined  the  English 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  at  Pittsburgh,  Pa.  In  September  of 
this  year  Dr.  Nast  was  invited  to  vnsit  these  Germans,  at  Pittsburgh, 
to  which  call  he  cheerfully  responded,  and  a  German  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church  of  twenty-five  members  was  established. 

In  a  similar  way  the  Church  at  Wheeling,  West  Ya.,  was  foundod. 
Several  devout  Germans,  who  liad  met  there  for  some  time  for  relig- 
ious edification,  asked  for  a  preacher  as  soon  as  they  heard  that  the 
Methodists  sent  out  German  ministers,  and  Rev.  J.  Swahlen,  one  of 
the  first  converts  under  the  labors  of  Dr.  Nast  in  Cincinnati,  was  sent 
to  them.  With  some  of  the  first  numbers  of  the  "  Christliche  Apolo- 
gete"  in  his  satchel  he  traveled  up  the  Ohio,  offering  the  paper  to 


662  Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 

people  every  where,  preaching  the  Gospel  as  often  as  he  had  oppor 
tunity,  and  meeting  with  large  success.  In  eight  months  his  Society 
numbered  eighty  members,  and  by  them  was  erected  the  first  German 
Methodist  Church  in  the  world.  Swahlen  is  one  of  the  chief  pioneers 
of  German  Methodism  both  East  and  West. 

Henry  Koencke,  who  was  converted  in  Germany,  united  with  the 
Church  at  Wheeling,  acted  for  a  time  as  a  class-leader,  but  was  soon 
called  to  the  ministry,  and  worked  for  more  than  twenty-live  yeai-s 
with  much  success  in  Ohio,  Indiana,  Missouri,  and  IlUnois.  He  has 
long  since  been  gathered  to  the  fathers,  but  two  of  his  sons,  Will- 
iam and  Henry  F.  Koeneke,  followed  their  father's  footsteps,  and 
are  in  the  midst  of  the  harvest  in  the  St.  Louis  German  Conference. 

From  some  central  points  the  work  of  German  Methodism  spread 
along  the  Ohio ;  among  others,  to  a  Swiss  settlement  known  as  Buck 
Hill  Bottom.  Here  L.  Nippert  was  converted  at  the  age  of  thirteen 
He  was  afterward  admitted  to  the  Ohio  Conference,  sent  to  Germany 
in  1850,  and  at  present  is  director  of  the  Martin  Mission  Institute  at 
Frankfort-on-the-]\[aiii.  The  German  Methodist  preachers  also  en- 
tered Monroe  County,  in  wliich  the  city  of  Marietta  is  situated,  and 
under  the  labors  of  Koeneke,  Riemenschneider,  and  Danker  many  souls 
were  converted.  These  afterward  emigrated  failher  west,  and  were 
active  in  extending  the  work  west  of  the  Mississippi  River. 

The  Sciota  Mission,  for  instance,  took  its  course  from  the  mouth 
of  the  Sciota  up  the  valley,  and  included,  even  at  an  early  period,  the 
city  of  Chillicothe.  liev.  G.  A.  Breunig,  a  converted  Romanist,  was 
sent  as  pastor  to  this  mission  in  1840. 

During  the  same  year  the  mission  at  BarrsviUe.  Ky.,  was  founded 
by  P.  Schmucker,  who  was  sent  to  this  place  from  Cincinnati.  The 
opposition  wliich  German  Methodism  met  with  in  that  city  was  cer- 
tainly no  trifling  matter.  The  saloon-keepers,  infidels,  and  Catholics 
united  to  exterminate  the  "  Methodist  heretics,"  so  that  Schmucker'a 
life  was  often  imperilled.  Notwithstanding  this,  a  Society  of  ninety 
members  was  founded  during  the  first  year,  and  a  church  built  and 
dedicated  in  1841.  This  was  the  second  German  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  that  had  been  erected.  Among  those  who  were  converted 
during  the  first  year  there  were  the  four  brothers  Barth,  who  formerly 
traveled  about  the  States  giving  musical  entertainments.     Three  of 


German  Methodism  en  St.  Louis.  663 

them  eventually  entered  the  ministry,  and  two,  John  H.  and  Philip 
Barth,  are  still  in  the  traveling  connection. 

From  this  time  the  German  preachers  pushed  on  toward  the  "West 
and  North-west  to  Missouri  and  Illinois,  and  reached  St.  Louis  and 
Chicago  in  1840^1,  which  years  may  be  noted  as  especially  fruitful  to 
German  Methodism. 

Crernian  Methodism  in  St.  liOuis.— In  August,  1841, 
Bishop  Morris  comphed  with  the  oft-expressed  desire  of  the  Missouri 
Conference,  by  sending  L.  S.  Jacoby  to  St.  Louis,  for  the  purpose 
of  founding  a  German  Mission  there.  The  missionary  began  the  work 
among  the  German  population,  numbering  about  15,000,  in  a  small 
frame  chapel  given  liim  by  the  Presbyterians.  Here,  also,  the  Ger- 
man daily  press  was  full  of  venomous  opposition  to  German  Method- 
ism, and  sought  to  incite  the  people  to  acts  of  violence ;  yet  the  cause 
gained  a  firm  footing  on  the  Mississippi  in  spite  of  the  revilings  of  the 
infidels  and  the  denunciations  of  Eomish  priests,  and  at  the  close  of 
the  second  year  the  Society  gathered  here  numbered  over  one  hundred 
members,  and  owned  a  pretty  httle  church.  During  this  first  epoch 
German  Methodism  embraced  within  its  fold  some  of  the  neglected 
Germans  of  New  Orleans. 

But  how  did  German  Methodism  come  there  ? 

By  means  of  a  teamster  who  had  been  converted  at  Cincinnati. 
His  comrades  often  found  him  praying  in  the  stable,  and  his  conduct 
was  so  exemplary  that  they  esteemed  him  highly,  and  gladly  responded 
to  his  invitation  to  spend  the  last  evening  of  the  year  (1841)  with  him 
in  religious  exercises.  The  Lord  greatly  blessed  the  efforts  of  the 
teamster,  for  during  the  same  evening  several  persons  found  peace 
with  God.  Now  a  preacher  was  called,  and  P.  Schmucker  came, 
worked  a  few  weeks,  organized  a  Society,  and  made  preparations  for  the 
building  of  a  church.  Such  was  the  beginning  from  which  sprang  the 
German  Societies  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  as  well  as  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South,  in  New  Orleans  and  Texas. 

At  this  time  German  Methodism  also  progressed  eastward  of  the 
AUeghanies,  and  first  of  all  planted  itself  in  the  city  of  New  York. 
C.  H.  Doering  founded  the  first  mission  in  that  city,  and  labored  for 
sixteen  months  on  that  difficult  field  with  gratifying  success.  His  suc- 
cessor. John  C.  Lyon,  a  German  by  birth,  had  served  in  the  English 


664  Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 

speaking  ministry  for  several  years,  and  now  devoted  his  whole  energy 
and  talents  to  the  German  cause.  He  was  noted  for  extraordinary 
gifts  as  a  speaker,  served  as  preacher  and  Presiding  Elder  with  great 
success,  and  died  happy  in  the  Lord  on  the  21st  of  May,  1868. 

In  the  year  1844,  at  which  time  a  new  epoch  commences,  we  find 
German  Methodism  firmly  estabhshed  on  the  Ohio,  the  central  Missis- 
sippi, in  many  places  of  Missouri  and  Ilhnois,  in  New  Orleans,  and  in 
New  York.  Less  than  ten  years  had  elapsed  since  Dr.  Nast  (1838) 
had  been  sent  to  the  neglected  Germans  in  Cincinnati,  and  they  now 
(1844)  numbered  19  missions,  20  missionaries,  and  1,500  members. 
The  mustard  seed  had  not  only  taken  root,  but  was  growing,  and  gave 
promise  of  becoming  a  considerable  tree. 

German  Conferences  Org^anized. — A  new  period  in' the 
history  of  German  Methodism  begins  with  the  year  1844.  Up  to  this 
time  the  German  missions  in  the  various  conferences  had  been  distrib- 
uted so  as  to  belong  to  the  English  Presiding  Elders'  district  in  wliich 
they  happened  to  be  located.  It  is  obvious  that,  in  dividing  the  work 
thus,  inconveniences  and  disadvantages  in  transferring  and  supplying 
missionaries  were  experienced.  Having  taken  notice  of  this,  the  Gen- 
eral Conference  of  1844  passed  a  resolution  to  form  tlie  German 
work  into  districts  irrespective  of  Conference  limits,  and  to  jilace  sucli 
districts  in  charge  of  German  Presiding  Elders  ;  the  German  preachers 
in  each  district  to  be  members  of  that  Conference  to  which  the  Pre- 
siding Elder  may  belong.  Two  such  districts  were  formed  in  the  west, 
under  the  presiding  eldership  of  Revs.  P.  Schumucker  and  C.  H 
Doering,  and  both  were  attached  to  the  Ohio  Conference.  Henceforth 
German  Methodism  assumed  a  more  compact  form.  The  German 
districts  were  now  credited  from  year  to  year  with  what  they  accom- 
plished ;  missions  could  be  suppUed  with  less  trouble,  and  the  German 
preachers  were  enabled  to  complete  the  Course  of  Study  so  essential 
to  them,  as  prescribed  by  the  Church. 

About  this  time  (1844)  the  successful  mission  at  Quincy,  111.,  was 
begun  by  PhiHp  Barth,  also  the  Leadmines  Mission,  near  Galena,  by 
W.  Schreck,  and  the  first  missions  in  Iowa  and  Wisconsin. 

The  year  1846  was  fruitful  for  German  Methodism.  Among  other 
missions  those  at  Detroit,  Mich.,  Chicago,  111.,  and  Milwaukee,  Wis., 
were  oommenced.     Though  the  opposition  at  Detroit  was  great,  still 


German  Conferences  Organized.  665 

Hartmarm  experienced  sucli  wonderful  aid  from  the  Almighty  that 
the  work  there  was  firmly  established  and  placed  in  a  flourishing  con- 
dition. In  Milwaukee  the  untiring  "W.  Schreck,  long  since  deceased, 
was  the  pioneer,  and  in  Chicago  Philip  Barth  was  its  founder.  In  all 
of  tliesc  cities,  especially  at  Chicago,  German  Methodist  Societies 
flourish  and  exert  a  powerful  influence.  Among  the  first  who  were 
converted  at  Chicago  we  may  mention  "Wm.  Pfiiffle,  now  Pi-esiding 
Elder  in  the  Southern  German  Conference,  and  C.  A.  Loeber,  for- 
merly one  of  the  leading  preachers  of  the  Chicago  German  Confer- 
ence, and  now  Presiding  Elder  at  Milwaukee.  The  future  of  German 
Methodism  in  the  North-west  is  very  promising. 

It  was  respected  to  such  a  degree  that,  as  early  as  1848,  it  was  rep- 
resented at  the  General  Conference  by  two  delegates.  Rev.  W.  Nast, 
D.D.,  of  the  Ohio  Conference,  and  Rev.  L.  S.  Jacoby,  D.D.,  of  the 
Illinois  Conference.  This  General  Conference  renewed  the  resolution' 
which  had  been  so  beneficial,  according  to  which  the  Bishops  had  full 
authority  to  form  German  districts  regardless  of  Conference  lin^its, 
and  instructed  the  Book  Agent  to  publish,  in  German,  and  as  soon  as 
possible,  certain  theological  works  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
In  1852  the  German  work  was  represented  at  the  General  Confei 
ence  by  three,  in  1856  by  four,  and  in  1860  by  five  German  delegates 

In  the  General  Conference  of  1864  were  seven  German  delegates 
At  their  request  the  German  work  was  divided  into  three  Annual  Con- 
ferences ;  namely,  the  North-western,  South-western,  and  Central.  As 
this  begins  another  period  in  German  Methodism,  the  statistics  of 
1864  are  here  inserted  :  Preachers  in  charge,  238  ;  membership,  20,293 ; 
Church  property,  valued  at  $710,824.  The  mission  in  Germany, 
already  in  a  prosperous  condition,  is  not  included  in  the  above  figures. 

The  German  Hission. — The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
began  her  missionary  work  in  Germany  at  a  time  when  Germany,  in 
all  directions,  was  gaining  more  liberal  ideas  in  rehgious  matters  ; 
namely,  in  the  year  1848.  As  we  have  said  before.  Dr.  Nast  had  trav- 
eled to  Germany  in  1844,  for  the  purpose  of  founding  a  mission  there 
if  it  were  possible.  But  he  was  obliged  to  report  that,  although  the 
people  were  willing  to  listen  to  the  Gospel,  the  time  for  such  an 
undertaking  had  not  yet  come,  because  the  oflficers  of  State  assumed 
too  liostile  an  attitude  against  it. 
42 


666  Illtjstkated  History  of  Methodism. 

The  revolution  of  1848  opened  the  way,  and  as  a  call  for  help 
had  long  since  been  heard  from  the  Fatherland,  the  Bishops  and  Mis- 
sionary Committee  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  resolved,  in 
1849,  to  found  a  new  mission  in  Germany.  The  superintendency  of 
this  mission  was  given  to  Bishop  Morris,  who,  in  the  month  of  June, 
1849,  appointed  Kev.  L.  S.  Jacoby,  then  Presiding  Elder  of  the  Quincy 
District,  111.,  as  missionary. 

Dr.  Jacoby,  the  founder  of  our  mission  in  Germany,  relates  his 
conversion  as  follows :  "  I  lived  at  Cincinnati  in  1839,  intending  to 
commence  to  practice  as  a  physician,  and  supported  myself  by  giving 
lessons  in  the  German  language.  One  evening  one  of  my  pupils  asked 
me  to  attend  a  German  Methodist  Church  with  him.  As  I  never  had 
heard  of  such  a  Church,  I  thought  at  first  it  must  be  a  place  of  amuse- 
ment ;  a  theater,  or  some  place  of  that  description.  Having,  however, 
been  instructed  as  to  what  it  really  was,  I  had  at  first  no  inclination  to 
go,  but  finally  was  persuaded  by  my  friends  to  accompany  them.  A 
local  preacher.  Brother  Breunig,  made  his  first  attempt  in  preaching 
tliat  .evening,  and  spoke  of  "  the  prodigal  son."  Although  his  pronun- 
ciation was  new  to  me,  since  I  came  from  a  different  part  of  Germany 
than  he,  still  I  lost  all  inclination  to  ridicule.  On  the  contrary,  I  was 
surprised  that  an  uneducated  layman  could  preach  with  such  effect. 
On  the  next  Sabbath  evening  I  heard  Dr.  ISTast  preach  from  the  text, 
"  I  am  not  ashamed  of  the  Gospel  of  Christ,"  etc.  Satan  whispering 
in  my  ear,  told  me  to  stare  steadfastly  at  the  minister  to  get  him  to 
laugh,  which  I  did  without  accomplishing  my  object.  On  the  con- 
trary, I  soon  was  an  attentive  listener.  "  Perhaps,"  said  Dr.  Nast, 
"  there  is  a  Saul  among  us  whom  the  Lord  wants  to  convert  into  a 
Paul."  These  words  touched  my  heart.  Thursday  evening  next  I 
visited  a  class-meeting,  where  I  was  attracted  by  the  harmony  and  love 
which  I  noticed  among  these  people.  Upon  invitation,  I  called  on 
Dr.  Nast  at  his  home  on  Friday,  gained  confidence  in  him,  and  opened 
my  heart  to  him.  He  directed  me  to  the  Lamb  of  God  that  bears  the 
sins  of  the  world,  and  that  evening  I  prayed  to  God  for  the  first  time. 
Leaving  my  former  companions,  I  joined  the  Church  on  the  Monday 
before  Christmas,  1839,  and  sought  forgiveness  of  my  sins  from  that 
time  until  New  Year's  day,  when  I  found  peace  with  God." 

Since  that  time  Jacoby  has  been  active  in  the  vineyard  of  the  Lord, 


Dr.  Jacobt.  667 

The  history  of  the  mission  in  Germany,  which  he  founded  in  1849, 
is  the  subsequent  history  of  his  life.  In  1872,  his  health  failing,  he 
returned  to  America,  was  engaged  for  a  short  time  as  Presiding  Elder 
in  the  South-western  Conference,  and  died  in  the  triumph  of  faith 
in  1874. 

Toward  the  close  of  1855  Methodism  had  become  known  in  all 
Germany,  and  had  founded  missions  in  the  I^orth,  in  the  Central  States, 
in  the  Palatinate  of  the  Khine,  in  the  South,  and  in  Switzerland.  In 
February,  1856,  the  superintendent  followed  the  invitation  of  the  Mis- 
sionary Committee,  and  came  to  America  to  represent  the  mission  at 
the  General  Conference  held  at  IndianapoHs,  where  the  privilege  of 
organizing  a  Conference  in  Germany  was  granted.  On  September 
10,  of  the  same  year,  the  first  Mission  Conference  in  Germany  was 
opened  in  the  chapel  of  the  Tract  Establishment,  consisting  of  the  f  ol 
lowing  members :  L.  S.  Jacoby,  C.  H.  Doering,  L.  Nippert,  H.  ]^uel 
sen,  and  E.  Keimenschneider.  The  first-mentioned  had  been  appointed 
Chairman  by  the  Bishops,  and  C.  H.  Doering  was  elected  Secretary  by 
the  Conference. 

In  the  year  1858  was  established  the  Methodist  Theological  Semi- 
nary. The  beginning  was  very  insignificant,  and  was  made  at  Bre- 
men. Its  growth,  however,  was  rapid,  and  the  present  Martin  Mission 
Institute  at  Frankfort  grew  out  of  this  germ.  The  Catechism  used 
at  present  by  the  German  Methodists  was  also  written  by  Dr.  :N"ast, 
upon  order  of  the  General  Conference,  and  afterward  the  same  was 
translated  into  the  English  language. 

Dr.  Liebhart.— In  the  year  1872  a  German  Sunday-school  and 
Tract  Department,  similar  to  that  of  the  English,  was  estabhshed,  and 
a  monthly  magazine  for  the  family,  issued  in  the  German  language, 
of  which  the  Eev.  H.  Liebhart,  D.D.,  an  eminent  German  scholar  and 
writer,  a  native  of  Carlsruhe,  Germany,  was  elected  Editor,  as  well  as 
of  the  entire  Sunday-School  Department.  He  edits  the  following 
periodicals:  "Die  Sontag-Schul  Glocke,"  (Sunday-School  Bell,)  26,500 
subscribers;  "  Bibelforscher,"  (Bible  Lessons,)  24,000  subscribers; 
"  Haus  und  Herd,"  (The  German  Magazine,)  7,200  subscribers ;  "  Der 
Biblische  Bildersaal "  (Leaf  Cluster)  and  "  Fiir  Kleine  Leute,"  (Pic- 
torial Paper  for  Little  Folks.) 

As   may  be   noticed  from  the  above  list,,  the  German    Sunday- 


668  Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 

School  Department  supplies  all  necessary  periodicals  both  for  the 
Sunday-school  and  the  family.  These  are  not  translations  of  similar 
Enghsh  periodicals,  as  many  think ;  they  all  are  written  expressly  to 
meet  the  wants  of  the  Germans,  and  breathe  the  true  spirit  of  Meth- 
odism, but  do  not  follow  literally  any  similar  Enghsh  paper. 

Hitchcock  &  Walden,  the  Agents  of  the  Western  Methodist  Book 
Concern,  have  pubhshed  more  books  in  the  German  language  than 
any  other  pubhshing  house  in  the  United  States;  and,  in  addition  to 
these,  they  keep  in  stock  complete  works  of  other  pubhshing  liouses. 
The  literature  of  German  Methodism  has  outgrown  the  period  of 
infancy,  and  has  become  a  faithful,  effective  assistant  of  the  Church. 
It  exerts  great  influence  upon  the  German  population,  and,  without 
doubt,  will  grow  still  more  efficient. 

The  Institutions  of  German  Hetliodism. — As  well  as 
to  Church  hterature  German  Methodism  gave  early  attention  to  Church 
educational  interests.     The  following  is  the  hst  of  its  schools : — 

1.  The  Central  Wesleyan  College  at  "Warrenton,  Mo. 

The  Endowment  Fund  amounts  to  only  $25,000,  and  the  college  is 
maintained  principally  by  tuition  fees. 

Dr.  H.  Koch  is  the  president,  aided  by  a  faculty  of  four  pro- 
fessors. It  possesses  a  fine  three-story  college  building,  90  by  55,  a 
library  of  more  than  2,500  volumes,  and  a  good  museum. 

The  Central  Wesleyan  Orphan  Asylum  is  in  a  good  condition,  and 
has  afforded  refuge  to  many  a  poor  orphan. 

2.  The  Orphanage  and  College,  at  Berea,  O.  Dr.  W.  Nast  is 
nominally  president,  but  does  not  reside  at  Berea. 

The  college  possesses  one  of  the  finest  churches  of  German  Meth- 
odism, a  good  school-building,  a  commodious  hall  for  male  students, 
a  ladies'  hall,  and  residences  for  all  of  the  professors.  The  endowment 
fund  amounts  to  $55,000,  and  is  being  increased  continually.  The 
institution  rests  upon  a  sound  basis.  It  owns  property  to  the  amount 
of  $125,000,  and  to  the  present  time  its  growth  has  been  unusually 
prosperous.  It  has  been  especially  useful  in  educating  young  men 
called  to  the  ministry,  and  has  been  until  now  the  bibhcal  seminary  of 
German  Methodism,  although  attempts  are  now  being  made  to  carry 
out  theological  courses  in  other  German  Methodist  institutions. 

The  German  Orphan  Asylum  at  Berea  possesses  a  large,  massive 


The  Institutions  of  German  Methodism.  669 

Btone  building,  where  about  forty  oi-phans  are  lodged.  About  $4,000 
is  spent  annually  by  the  German  Methodists  in  maintaining  it.  Eev.  H. 
Herzer  is  the  competent  and  well-beloved  foster-father  of  the  orphans. 

3.  The  Normal  School  at  Galena,  Illinois,  was  called  into  exist- 
ence by  the  German  Methodists  in  1868,  for  the  purpose  of  educating 
competent  Enghsh-German  teachers  under  Christian  influence. 
A  massive  structure,  formerly  used  as  a  hospital,  was  purchased  from 
the  United  States  for  $6,000.  Instruction  was  begun  inunediately. 
The  Eev.  Dr.  Frederick  Kopp,  the  Presiding  Elder  of  the  Galena 
District,  is  at  present  the  head  of  the  institution.  It  has  lately  added 
a  theological  course  to  its  curriculum. 

4.  The  German  College  at  Mount  Pleasant,  Iowa,  was  founded  in 
1873,  and  bears  the  same  relation  to  the  Iowa  Wesleyan  University  as 
the  German  Wallace  College  does  to  Baldwin  University,  at  Berea,  O. 

5.  The  Martin  Mission  Institute  in  Germany.  To  which  "institution 
W.  F.  Warren  was  sent  from  America  as  professor.  A  new  turning- 
point  was  occasioned  by  his  arrival  in  the  institution,  and  he  became 
a  great  blessing  to  the  students,  and  through  them  to  the  whole  mis- 
sion. Dr.  Ilurst  succeeded  him  in  1866,  who  was  succeeded  by  Dr. 
Sulzberger.     At  present  Rev.  L.  Nippert  serves  as  principal. 

Present  Condition  and  Influence  of  German 
Hetliodisni. — The  German  work  at  present  includes  eight  Confer- 
ences ;  namely,  the  Central,  Chicago,  North-west,  St.  Louis,  Western, 
East,  and  Southern  German  Conferences  in  the  United  States,  and 
the  Conference  of  Germany  and  Switzerland,  besides  the  missions  in 
Louisiana  and  California.  Exclusive  of  those  who  are  to-day  gathered 
in  German  Societies,  thousands  of  Germans  have  joined  EngHsh  Socie- 
ties, and  exert  a  good  influence  there. 

German  Methodism  is  not  instrumental  in  saving  souls  alone,  but 
it  has  proved  itself  an  element  in  promoting  civihzation ;  it  assists  in 
estabhshing  American  institutions,  and  making  them  effective ;  it  is 
the  champion  of  these  among  a  part  of  our  population  that  can  be 
reached  only  in  their  own  tongue ;  it  propagates  genuine  Protestant 
prmciples  in  circles  to  which  it  alone  can  gain  access  by  its  special 
missionary  work. 

In  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  German  Methodism  at  pres- 
ent enjoys  unbounded  confidence.     The  fears  which  arose,  especially 


670 


Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 


upon  the  organization  of  German  Conferences,  that  eventually  it 
would  separate  altogether  from  the  Church  and  form  an  independent 
organization,  have  been  entirely  dispelled.  The  Church  knows  that  it 
has  no  members  more  loyal  than  the  German  Methodists ;  that  they 
exert  a  salutary  influence ;  and  that  the  English  Methodists  can  learn 
many  things  from  their  German  brethren ;  for  example,  the  mainte- 
nance of  class-meetings,  the  faithful  observance  of  all  Church  collec- 
tions, instruction  of  the  youth  in  the  Catechism  by  the  pastor  at  regu- 
larly-appointed seasons,  simplicity  in  mode  of  living,  etc. 

Thus  German  Methodism  has  been  a  blessing  to  the  world,  and 
is  an  added  power  to  the  Church.  In  order  to  show  its  present 
condition  in  figures,  we  append,  in  conclusion,  the  complete  statistics 
for  the  year  18Y8  : — 


STATISTICS  OF  THE  GERMAN   CONFERENCES  OF  THE  M.  E.  CHURCH,   1878. 


NUMBER. 

BAPTISMS. 

CHURCH  PBOPKRTY. 

CONFERENCES. 

C3 

'Ja 

i| 

J3 

0 

2 
0 

d 

< 

* 

M 
0 

0 

11 

i 

1 

East              

493 

1,034 

879 

1,069 

1,070 

161 

49 

18 

8,217 

11.822 

5,130 

5,232 

10.295 

924 

289 

147 

89 

101 

56 

65 

153 

12 

6 

2 

47 

121 

56 

60 

140 

9 

4 

2 

642 

971 

601 

660 

1,162 

163 

87 

22 

4 

15 

7 
9 
7 
6 

'i 

41 
181 
101 
94 
174 
23 
5 
3 

$437,900 

675,150 

205,400 

164,750 

430.100 

82.625 

66,000 

15,000 

24 

72 
47 
47 
78 
13 
8 
1 

$68,800 

98,750 

39,900 

40,625 

70,400 

6,200 

6,000 

2,000 

$7,463 
22,761 

4,121 
12,565 
22,825 

2,725 

'  1,160 

$<;6,781 

44,842 

Chicago 

North-west .... 

20,348 
15,788 
27,509 

4,872 

In  California 

In  Louisiana 

4,800 

4,773 
2,237 

86,556 
9,083 

433 

48 

486 
157 

4,308 
812 

49 

622 
71 

$1,9'26,925 
448,677 

285 
50 

$882,175 
88,545 

$78,120 
4,827 

$204,440 

In  Germany.   

245,95« 

CONTRIBUTIONS  FOR   BENEVOLENT  PURPOSES. 


£3 

65 

MISSIONARY    COLLECTION. 

Foreign  Wom- 
en's Miji. 
Society. 

0  toS 

a 
ll 

1 

1 

In 

Churches. 

Sundfty- 
Bchools. 

Total. 

11 

East 

Central 

$271  70 

1,445  70 

506  05 

287  88 

1,132  73 

61  35 

57  00 

11  65 

$1,089  26 

4,584  63 

2,153  67 

1,869  IS 

3,81S  61 

567  50 

12s  00 

89  70 

$1,666  41 

1,240  09 

989  29 

893  OS 

1,178  21 

261  48 

27  50 

74  25 

$2,755  67 

.5,848  67 

3,165  02 

2.782  26 

4,996  82 

845  00 

155  50 

163  95 

$31  50 
25  50 
10  00 
112  25 
44  50 
4  25 
2  00 
1  00 

$255  63 

4,358  00 

4,153  30 

8,830  85 

1,828  25 

50  15 

25  00 

9  80 

$95  00 

220  SO 

77  30 

51  60 

166  86 

11  00 

13  00 

4  25 

$72  25 
208  01 

78  45 

52  90 

168  05 

18  50 

18  00 

In  Louisiana 

1  80 

In  America 

$3,774  05 

114,300  55 

$6,330  31 

$20,710  89 
1,530  00 

$231  00 

$14,006  08 
191  75 

$639  81 
445  00 

$607  96 

In  Germany 

47  50 

Statistics. 


671 


Contributions  for  Benevolent  Purposes. — {Continued.) 


CONFERENCES. 

II 

-2 

m  ^ 

11 

a  u 
.Sen 

<5 

|l 

Salaries  of  Preacheri  and 
Presiding  Elders. 

Claims. 

Received. 

East 

$99  75 
145  02 
50  52 
56  S5 
111  46 
6  25 
2  00 
2  10 

$62  50 

454  33 

179  56 

654  85 

263  36 

43  10 

22  00 

2  65 

$82  93 
245  94 
105  18 

67  78 
191  87 

13  30 

"'"2'66 

$180  50 
367  15 
259  14 
238  81 
417  62 
34  60 

"    "5  00 

$27,465  00 
60,098  06 
28,200  00 
80,651  00 
58,772  00 
4,220  00 

'3,460"  66 

$26,632  00 

5K,8eii  84 

27.093  85 

2T.3I1  0(1 

56,395  00 

3,032  15 

2,277  00 

$473  94 

$1,6S1  85 
1,851  00 

$709  00 
67  50 

11,502  82 

$211,866  06 
11,359  25 

$199,631  84 

Id  Germany 

11,359  25 

SUNDAY-SCHOOL   STATISTICS. 


CONTERENCES. 

1 

i| 

SE  1 
OH 

.a 

Scholars  un- 
der 15  y'rs  ex- 
cept Infant 
Scholars. 

.ss 

*    ^    cj      _ 

>  a  ffiM 

Pi 

1 
6 

1 
3 

Total  expen- 
ditures for 
the  year.' 

East 

49 
176 
118 
146 
229 
30 
6 
3 

810 

2,211 

1,125 

1,241 

2,110 

163 

78 

61 

4,994 

10,6S4 

5,319 

5.058 

10,834 

1,011 

504 

424 

518 
2,760 

760 
1,303 
2,-327 

176 

3,108 
5,035 
2,402 
2,234 
4.750 
567 

1,870 
2,668 
1,804 
1,274 
2,796 
253 

4,171 
10,089 
4.871 
4.091 
9.970 
784 

699 
1.937 
1,100 
1,216 
1,944 

155 

856 
1,959 

623 
1,337 
2,077 

185 

95 
441 
193 

281 

845 

49 

9,986 
17,951 
10,104 

7.548 
14,921 

1.108 

$2,954  80 

Central 

.5,521  00 

3.690  86 

North-west 

South-west 

1,753  00 

4,631  39 

454  25 

Id  California 

In  Louisiana 

460  00 

In  America 

In  Germany 

752 
338 

7,804 
1.380 

38.828 
16,476 

7,844 

10,160 
6,151 

10,160 
6,151 

84,576 

7,101 

6,687 

1,404 

70 

61,618 
8,192 

$19,405  30 
8,221  00 

WILLAMETTE    UNIVERSITY,    SALEM,   OREGON. 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 


LATER  CHARACTERS  AND  EVENTS. 


Pacific  Coast  Methodisin — Oregon.* — In  1832  four  Ore- 
gon Indians,  belonging  to  the  Flat  Head  Tribe,  appeared  in  the  city 
of  St.  Louis,  saying  they  had  come  to  inquire  about  "  the  great  book." 
By  some  unknown  means  they  had  heard  of  the  white  man's  Bible, 
and,  led  by  that  Hght  which  "  hghteth  every  man  that  cometh  into  the 
world,"  they  made  their  long  journey  over  mountains  and  deserts  to 
the  principal  trading-post  on  the  Mississippi.     This  singular  and  im- 

*  The  author  gratefully  acknowledges  the  kind  assistance  of  Bishop  Peck  in  furnishing 
materials  for  this  topic. 


Oregon.  673 

pressive  fact  excited  great  interest  among  the  eastern  Churches,  and  in 
1834  Jason  Lee  and  his  cousin,  Daniel  Lee,  under  the  auspices  of  the 
Methodist  Missionary  Board,  crossed  the  continent  and  established  the 
first  mission  in  Oregon. 

Jason  Lee,  the  pioneer  missionary  to  Oregon,  was  a  Canadian  by 
birth,  who  received  an  education  at  the  "Wesleyan  Academy  at  Wilbra- 
ham,  Mass.,  then  under  the  care  of  Dr.  Wilbur  Fisk.  Like  many 
other  students  of  this  institution  in  its  early  days,  Lee  was  already  far 
past  his  youth ;  a  strong  man  physically,  intellectually,  and  spiritually, 
with  a  clear  head,  a  sound  judgment,  and  of  a  courageous  and  devoted 
spirit.  It  was  his  intention  to  spend  his  life  in  missionary  work  among 
the  Canadian  Indians,  under  the  direction  of  the  British  Wesleyan 
Missionary  Society,  but  when  his  old  preceptor.  Dr.  Fisk,  heard  the 
Macedonian  cry  of  those  four  red  men  from  Oregon,  he  at  once  nomi- 
Qated  Lee  as  the  man  of  all  others  to  be  intrusted  with  the  founding 
of  a  mission  which  meant  the  founding  of  a  State.  To  this  evident 
call  of  providence  Lee  joyfully  responded,  and  at  the  head  of  a  little 
company  of  woodsmen  he  started  across  the  continent,  taking  the  route 
followed  by  the  American  Fur  Trading  Company ;  the  whole  summer 
of  1834  being  occupied  in  their  journey  to  the  Columbia  River.  On 
his  arrival  in  the  region  of  The  Dalles  of  the  Columbia  Lee  selected  a 
location  for  his  mission  on  the  Willamette  River,  about  twelve  miles 
below  the  present  city  of  Salem. 

In  1838  he  returned  overland  to  New  York,  bringing  with  him  the 
tidings  of  the  success  of  the  Gospel  among  the  Indians,  and  seeking 
for  reinforcements  for  the  new  and  rapidly-extending  field.  After  a 
year  spent  in  delivering  addresses  in  the  chief  eastern  cities,  he  suc- 
ceeded in  organizing  the  largest  missionary  expedition  that  ever  sailed 
from  an  American  port,  which  body  of  ministers  and  emigrants  left 
New  York  in  1839,  and  landed  in  Oregon  in  June,  1840,  having  made 
the  voyage  by  way  of  Cape  Horn. 

At  tliis  time  the  northern  section  of  Oregon,  as  far  south  as  the 
Columbia  River,  was  claimed  as  British  territory  by  that  powerful 
corporation,  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company ;  and  it  is  due  to  the  early 
Methodist  settlers  in  that  country  to  record,  that  through  their  repre- 
sentations to  the  American  Government  of  the  proper  geography  of 
that  region  this  immense  territory  was  saved  to  the  United  States. 


674  Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 

Although  Lee.  the  four  Hines  brothers,  and  other  sturdy  pioneer 
preachers  went  out  to  labor  among  the  Indians,  their  success  among 
them  was  the  least  of  their  achievements.  In  1839  immigrants  began 
to  pour  into  the  valley,  and  nine  years  afterward  Oregon  was  organized 
iuto  a  Territory.  During  this  year  the  General  Conference  authorized 
the  establishment  of  the  Oregon  and  California  Mission  Conference, 
Ilev.  Wilham  Roberts,  of  the  New  Jersey  Conference,  being  ap- 
pointed as  Missionary  Superintendent,  with  a  held  com.prising  the  en- 
tire Protestant  civilization  between  the  Sierras  and  tlie  Pacific  Ocean. 
In  1855  "  The  Pacific  Christian  Advocate "  was  started  in  Salem, 
Oregon,  by  the  Rev.  T.  II.  Pearne,  at  his  personal  risk,  and  was  so 
continued  to  be  published  until  after  the  General  Conference  of  1856, 
when  it  was  adopted  as  a  General  Conference  paper,  its  former  owner 
being  appointed  its  Editor.  "  The  names  of  Roberts  and  Pearne," 
says  Bishop  Peck,.  "  will  ever  remain  among  the  great  men  of  the 
Pacific  Coast.  They  were  stalwart,  powerful,  pushing  men,  whose  en- 
terprise and  sagacity  secured  to  Methodism  and  to  civilization  a  country 
in  which  there  are  now  five  flourishing  Methodist  Conferences,  and 
out  of  which  has  been  organized  three  great  States  of  the  Union." 

For  four  years  Roberts  ranged  from  the  Columbia  River  to  the 
Golden  Gate,  having,  previous  to  his  appointment,  by  direction  of  the 
Missionary  Board,  in  1846,  explored  what  was  then  the  territory  of 
Upper  California,  and  organized  the  first  Methodist  Church  in  what 
was  then  the  little  half-Spanish  city  of  San  Francisco.  In  1852  this 
region  was  divided,  and  the  Oregon  Conference  was  organized  by  Bishop 
Ames,  who  visited  that  country  in  1853,  and  reported  a  membership  of 
921,  with  27  traveling  and  35  local  preachers.  Roberts  remained 
with  the  Oregon  Conference,  serving  as  Presiding  Elder  of  the  Port- 
land District  and  in  other  important  positions  until  1877,  when  he 
was  placed  upon  the  superannuated  list ;  thus  closing  forty-two  years 
of  effective  labor,  whose  fruits  the  Church  and  the  nation  richly 
enjoy. 

The  Rev.  James  H.  Wilbur,  known  among  the  Indians  in  Oregon 
and  "Washington  Territories  as  "  Father  Wilbur,"  was  appointed  to 
this  field  in  1847.  In  1853  he  was  made  Superintendent  of  the  work 
in  southern  Oregon,  and  in  1861  he  was  appointed  to  the  Indian  Re- 
serve in  the  Yakima  district,  where  he  has  since  lived  and  labored. 


Oregon.  675 

Father  Wilbur  has  identified  himself  with  the  true  interests  of  the  red 
men,  who  have  boundless  faith  in  him ;  and  this  is  doubtless  one  of 
the  great  reasons  for  the  prosperity  of  his  mission,  which  has  now 
about  four  hundred  members,  with  several  native  Indian  preachers. 
His  work  is  regarded  as  a  wonderful  success. 

The  Willamette  University,  at  Salem,  Oregon,  is  the  successor  of  a 
little  mission  and  manual  labor  school  established  in  1834  by  Jason  and 
Daniel  Lee.  These  men,  foreseeing  the  growth  and  requirements  of 
tlie  Church,  secured  large  tracts  of  land  in  the  Willamette  Valley,  on 
which  the  city  of  Salem  was  afterward  built,  from  the  proceeds 
whereof  it  was  hoped  that  large  educational  endowments  would  be 
realized.  After  various  changes  of  location  and  ownership  the  school 
building  was  sold  by  the  Missionary  Superintendent,  Eev.  Mr.  Gary, 
in  1842,  to  tlie  ti-ustees  of  the  Oregon  Institute,  by  whom  it  was,  in 
1853,  incorporated  as  Willamette  University,  under  the  patronage  of 
the  Oregon  Conference. 

The  new  building  represented  at  the  opening  of  this  chajjter  was 
erected  in  1867.  It  stands  in  the  heart  of  the  city  of  Salem,  the  cap- 
ital of  the  State  of  Oregon,  neai-  the  State  capitol  building ;  and  from 
its  dome  may  be  seen  a  vast  extent  of  country,  with  the  snow-clad 
peaks  of  Mts.  Hood,  Tliomas,  Jefferson,  and  St.  Helens  piercing  the 
distant  horizon.  Its  president  is  the  Eev.  Thomas  M.  Gatch,  Ph.D., 
an  alumnus  of  the  Oliio  Wesleyan  University,  and  a  gentleman  of  large 
experience  as  an  instructor,  he  having  been  Professor  of  Matliematics 
and  jS'atural  Sciences  in  the  University  of  the  Pacific  in  CaHfornia  from 
1855  to  1858,  and  being  now  in  the  fourteenth  year  of  his  presidency 
of  the  Willamette  University.  Dr.  Gatch  is  a  member  of  the  State 
Board  of  Examination,  and  in  1877  was  Mayor  of  the  city  of 
Salem. 

Califbrnia. — The  five  conferences  formed  from  the  territory 
pre-empted  by  Lee  and  his  brethren  are,  the  Oregon,  Columbia  Eiver, 
California,  Southern  California,  and  Nevada  Conferences ;  whose 
genesis  would  form  a  volume  of  surpassing  power  and  interest.  No 
attempt  will  here  be  made  to  write  a  history  of  the  stirring  events  in 
the  midst  of  which,  under  the  leadership  of  that  great-hearted  Pauhne 
missionary,  William  Taylor,  ("  California  Taylor,"  as  he  is  called  at  the 
East,  to  distinguish  him  from  the  Boston  sailor  preacher,)  the  Method- 


676  Illusteated  Histoky  of  Methodism. 

ist  Episcopal  Church  became  so  great  a  power  for  good  in  the  city  of 
San  Francisco  and  the  region  round  about.  Some  day  the  Pacific 
Coast  will  have  its  own  historian.  May  his  genius  and  inspiration  be 
equal  to  his  theme  ! 

About  the  time  of  the  discovery  of  gold  in  Cahfornia,  in  1849,  the 
Rev.  Isaac  Owen,  of  the  Indiana  Conference,  and  the  Rev.  William 
Taylor,  of  the  Baltimore  Confei'cnce,  were  appointed  missionaries  to 
California;  the  former  settled  at  Sacramento,  and  the  latter  at  San 
Francisco.  They  were  presently  followed  by  Rev.  S.  D.  Symonds,  of 
the  Michigan ;  Edward  Bannister,  of  the  Genesee ;  and  M.  C.  Briggs, 
of  Erie  Conference,  and  others.  It  was  a  glorious  opportunity  for 
men  who  were  equal  to  it ;  weak  men  would  have  gone  down  out  of 
sight  at  once  and  forever  in  these  surging  rapids.  From  the  present 
stand-point  it  appears  that  God  selected  these  pioneers  himself,  and  he 
makes  no  mistakes. 

They  were  men  fit  to  found  states  and  empires ;  men  who  could 
stand  steady  in  the  wildest  torrents  of  speculatioii,  holding  their  faith 
and  their  mission  of  more  value  tlian  all  the  gold  in  tlie  placers  and 
gulches.  They  thundered  the  Law  and  shouted  the  Gospel  into  the  ears 
of  the  hurrying  crowds  on  street  corners ;  invaded  the  gambling  hells, 
and  preached  Jesus  and  the  resurrection  to  gangs  of  haK-crazed  cut- 
throats and  adventurers ;  set  up  a  Christian  newspaper,  "  The  Cali- 
fornia Christian  Advocate,"  and  made  it  the  organ  of  liberty,  edu- 
cation, righteousness,  and  orthodoxy ;  hunted  barbarism  out  of  its 
gaudy  palaces,  and  drove  it  into  dens  and  caves  ;  and  fairly  wrenched 
the  mastery  of  those  golden  shores  from  the  grasp  of  libertinism  and 
atheism,  and  gave  it  over  to  the  hands  of  men  whose  consciences  they 
had  at  last  succeeded  in  waking  up. 

"  To  Methodism,"  says  Bishop  Peck,  "  belongs  the  honor  of  saving 
the  State  of  Cahfornia  to  freedom.  Until  recently  it  was  equal  there 
to  all  the  other  Protestant  denominations  put  together."  "  The  style 
of  the  people,"  he  continues,  "  enters  into  the  history  of  the  Church. 
California  is  an  exhilarating  country.  Its  people  are  free,  chivalrous, 
the  opposite  of  all  hypocrisy."  If  a  man  were  wicked  he  did  not  deny 
it — that  would  be  mean. 

When  these  men  became  Christians,  they  brought  these  same  char 
acteristics  into  the  Church  with  them.     They  expected  to  pay  their 


California. 


677 


way  at  Church  as  rn  iich  as  at  a  theater.  Our  "  '  Penny  Collections  '  at 
the  old  Howard-street  Church  used  to  amount  to  forty  or  fifty  dollars  a 
Sunday,  all  in  silver  and  gold." 

It  was  in  1860  that  the  Board  of 
Bishops  requested  Dr.  Jesse  T.  Peck 
(now  Bishop  Peck)  to  go  out  to  Califor- 
nia, and  for  eight  years  he  served  the 
Church  as  pastor  and  Presiding  Elder. 
The  Howard-street  Methodist  Episco- 
pal Church  was  one  of  his  enterprises, 
and  the  University  of  the  Pacific  at 
Santa  Clara,  now  under  the  presidency 
of  Kev.  A.  S.  Gibbons,  A.M.,  M.D., 
shared  the  benefit  of  his  hopefulness 
and  sagacity. 

Later  came  Rev.  Nathan  R.  Peck, 
from  the  Black  River  Conference,  wlio 
was  Presiding  Elder  of  the  Washoe 
District  when  it  composed  what  is  now 
tlie  wliole  State  of  Nevada  and  a  large  part  of  Eastern  California. 
The  Nevada  Conference  was  explored  and  projected  chiefly  by  his 
labors. 

California  Methodism  has  its  martyr  minister  in  the  Rev.  Eliezer 
Thomas,  one  of  the  many  victims  of  that  iniquitous-  Indian  Bureau,  in 
whose  service  as  special  Commissioner  to  the  Modocs  he  was  mur- 
dered by  "  Boston  Charlie." 

Of  the  present  incumbents  in  the  General  Conference  ofiices  on 
the  Pacific  Coast,  further  account  will  be  given  under  the  head  of  "  The 
Staff  of  Methodism." 

The  Columbia  River  Conference  is  a  limb  from  the  Oregon  Con- 
ference. It  is  a  country  of  magnificent  distances,  of  vast  prairies,  well 
wooded  and  watered ;  a  grazing,  wheat-growing  country,  sparsely  set- 
tled as  yet,  through  which  the  Methodist  itinerants  travel  in  wagons, 
in  which  they  live,  thus  improving  somewhat  on  the  "saddle-bags' 
men  "  of  the  earlier  time.  It  is  a  glorious  land,  a  hopeful  field  of  labor, 
and  affording  experiences  to  amply  demonstrate  that  the  heroic  days 
of  Methodism  have  not  yet  passed  away. 


HOWARD-STREET  M.  E.  OllUKCIl, 
SAN   FRAXCISCO,    CAL. 


678 


Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 


Metliodisiii  ill  Moriuondoill.— So  far  as  we  are  informed, 
no  Methodist  services  were  held  in  Utah  previous  to  1869.  During 
that  year,  while  Presiding  Elder  of  Wyoming  District,  Colorado  Con- 
ference, Rev.  L.  Hartsough  preached  at  Wasatch,  and  also  visited  and 
preached  in  Salt  Lake  City.  At  the  meeting  of  the  Missionary  Board 
in  November  an  appropriation  of  three  hundred  dollars  was  made, 
and  Mr.  Hartsough  made  Superintendent  of  Utah  Missions.  He 
preached  not  only  in  Salt  Lake  City,  but  also  in  Ogden  and  Corinne, 
and  may  justly  be  styled  the  pioneer  of  Methodism  in  Utah.  In  the 
spring  of  1870,  Rev.  G,  M.  Pierce,  of  the  Central  Xew  York  Confer- 
ence, was  appointed  to  this  work,  and  held  his  first  service  on  Sunday, 
May  15th,  in  the  Mormon  capital.    An  unfinished  hayloft  over  a  livery 


METHODIST  EPISCOPAL   CHURCH,   SALT  LAKE   CITY. 

stable  was  presently  engaged  for  a  year  as  a  place  of  meeting,  and 
here  public  w^orship,  the  Sabbath-school,  class-meetings,  and  other 
Methodist  services  were  held  until  the  basement  rooms  of  the  new 
church  building  were  ready  for  occupancy  in  December,  1871. 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Pierce  was  sent  out  not  only  to  occupy  this  central 
point  of  Utah  Territory,  but  also  to  explore  and  establish  a  district 
over  which  he  should  be  the  Presiding  Elder,  and  which  it  was  his 
privilege  and  duty  to  make  as  long  and  wide  as  possible.  About  a 
month  after  the  commencement  of  the  Salt  Lake  City  Mission,  he 


Methodism  ln  Mokmondom.  679 

opened  another  at  Corinne,  at  which  place  a  church  was  dedicated  by 
Chaplain  M'Cabe  on  the  20th  of  September,  1870,  being  the  first 
church  dedication  in  Utah.  At  Ogden — the  point  of  junction  of  the 
two  great  raih-oads  which  had  recently  been  completed  across  the  con- 
tinent— the  passenger  depot  was  used  for  the  Methodist  assembly, 
and  on  the  29th  of  September,  1871,  the  Society  entered  upon  the 
occupancy  of  property  bought  for  that  purpose.  In  October  of  1871 
Pierce  added  another  appointment  to  his  circuit  at  a  place  called 
Evanston,  in  honor  of  that  distinguished  Methodist,  Governor  Evans, 
of  Colorado,  where,  in  the  following  summer,  a  church  was  erected  at 
a  cost  of  about  two  thousand  dollars.  These  three  churches,  and  the 
rent  of  hall,  were  paid  for  in  part  by  liberal  donations  from  the 
Church  Extension  Society. 

The  coming  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  was  hailed  with 
delight  by  the  territorial  authorities  of  Utah  and  the  few  "  Gentiles  " 
who  had  settled  there  Its  traditions  had  already  prepared  its  way 
in  the  minds  of  these  first  settlers,  and  one  of  the  apostate  Mormons, 
on  meeting  the  Methodist  missionary,  said  to  him,  "I  have  heard 
much  of  the  Methodist  Church,  and  have  been  surprised  that  it  has 
passed  by  Utah  so  long." 

On  the  other  hand,  the  Mormon  authorities  looked  upon  these  mis- 
sionaries with  unspeakable  displeasure  then ;  but  the  days  were  over 
when  "  Danites  "  and  "  Destroying  Angels  "  could  murder  their  neigh- 
bors with  safety.  The  reign  of  law,  as  well  as  of  Gospel  missions,  had 
begun.  A  Mormon  editor  of  Salt  Lake  said  to  Colonel  Morrow,  then 
Commandant  at  the  United  States  post  near  Salt  Lake  City :  "  "We 
Mormons  can  fight  your  soldiers ;  we  are  not  afraid  of  you  ;  but  these 
Methodists,  with  their  network  of  circuits,  we  are  afraid  of.  If  they 
can  reach  and  influence  our  people,  they  are  the  most  dreaded  by  us 
of  any  of  our  foes."  The  Mormon  apostle,  Brigham  Young,  after 
pretending  to  despise  the  Methodists,  and  saying,  "  They  can  tell  all 
they  know  about  religion  in  five  minutes,"  at  length  changed  his 
mode  of  speech,  and  said  to  one  of  them,  "  You  Methodist  preachers 
and  people  are  doing  more  to  injure  us  through  your  papers,  and  in 
your  pulpits  at  Washington  and  elsewhere,  than  all  else.  We  shall  fight 
you  to  the  bitter  end."  The  Methodists  had  now  furnished  the  first 
essential  requisite  to  the  converts  from  Mormonism ;  namely,  a  Chris- 


680 


Illustrated  History  of  Methodis:m. 


tian  church  and  school,  in  which  to  bring  up  their  children.  So  long 
as  apostate  Mormons  were  transformed  from  Latter-Day  Saints  into 
outbreaking  sinners  or  blatant  infidels,  Young  and  his  eldei's  were 
not  alarmed ;  but  now  that  their  people  were  in  danger  of  being  trans- 
lated from  Mormons  into  Methodists,  they  began  to  bestir  themselves 
to  prevent,  as  far  as  possible,  the  progress  of  this  new  enterprise. 
Among  the  early  reinforcements  of  the  Utah  work  were  the  Revs.  W. 
C.  Damon,  of  the  California  Conference ;  James  B.  Seymour,  of  the 


THE    LATE    PETER    CARTWRIGHT,    D.D., 

Of  the  Illinois  Conference. 


Illinois  Conference;  J.  M.  Jameson,  of  the  Ohio  Conference;  and 
W.  Carver,  of  the  Minnesota  Conference,  who,  for  a  considerable 
length  of  time  carried  on  the  work  amid  great  hardships  and  danger. 
Nev^ertheless,  under  the  blessing  of  God,  the  labors  of  the  heroic  mis- 
sionaries, and  their  not  less  heroic  wives,  resulted  in  the  establisliment, 
in  1872,  of  the  Rocky  Mountain  Conference,  which  included  the  Terri- 
tories of  Utah,  Idaho,  Montana,  and  a  part  of  Wyoming.  This  vast 
mountain  region  was  afterward  divided  into  the  Utah  and  Montana 


]\Ietiiodism  in  Mormondom. 


681 


Coiifereiif',es.  The  statistics  of  tlie  Utah  Conference  at  tliis  date 
showed  nine  traveling  preachers,  two  local  preachers,  155  members, 
725  Simday-scliool  scholars,  nine  churches  valued  at  $70,000,  and 
three  parsonages  valued  at  $3,500.  There  was  also  one  Methodist 
school  within  its  limits,  the  Rocky  Mountain  Seminary,  whose  prin- 
cipal was  the  Rev.  J.  M'Eldowny,  D.D.,  a  native  of  Ireland,  a  convcn 
in  ihe  Wesleyan  Connection  of  America,  in  which  he  served  as  pro- 
fessor and  president  of  Adrian  College,  Mich.,  and  from  which  he 


THE    LATE    HENKY    SLICBR,   D.D., 
Of  the  Baltimore  Conference. 


wad  received  into  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  and  assigned  to  the 
charge  of  the  Rocky  Mountain  Seminary  in  1877. 

The  elegant  structure  erected  by  the  Methodists  in  Salt  Lake  City, 
by  unforeseen  circumstances  was  left  as  a  hopeless  burden  on  the  So- 
ciety, and  in  view  of  its  importance  to  the  denomination,  and  its  untold 
value  as  an  outpost  along  the  line  of  Christ's  kingdom,  the  Rev.  Dr. 
0.  C.  M'Cabe,  (or  as  he  is  more  familiarly  known,  "  Chaplain  M'Cabe,") 
€he  efficient  Assistant  Secretary  of  the  Church  Extension  Society,  per 
43 


682  Illtjsteated  Histoey  of  Methodism. 

sonallj  assumed  the  debt  thereon,  to  the  amount  of  forty  thousand 
dollars;  which  sum,  in  addition  to  his  regular  work  in  that  direction, 
has  now  been  raised,  thus  giving  Methodism  a  well-appointed  fort  to 
be  held  in  this  enemy's  country  till  the  Lord  himseK  shall  come. 

The  closing  period  of  this  history,  embracing  the  last  quarter  of  a 
century,  though  crowded  with  great  characters  and  events,  is  not  yet 
properly  distanced  for  historic  review.  During  this  period  nine  bish- 
ops of  the  Church  have  died,  and  numbers  of  other  names,  long  famil- 
iar to  the  Church,  have  been  placed  upon  the  marble  which  marks  their 
honored  graves.  The  scholarly  M'Clintock,  cut  down  in  his  prime ; 
that  sturdy  Illinois  veteran,  Peter  Cartwright,  over  whose  early  vic- 
tories the  Church  has  shouted,  and  over  whose  later  vagaries  it  haa 
laughed  ;  Thomas  M.  Eddy,  whose  ever  youthful  heart  forbade  his 
growing  old ;  Father  Slicer,  of  Baltimore,  whose  strong  face  and  mas- 
sive form  were  so  long  familiar  in  the  General  Conferences  of  the 
Church ;  Dr.  Monroe,  the  first  Secretary  of  the  Church  Extension  So- 
ciety, suddenly  called  from  a  brilKant  career ;  these  and  others,  whom 
future  writers  will  duly  estimate  and  honor,  have  passed  out  of  sight 
of  half-blind  mortal  eyes.  In  less  conspicuous  places  uncounted  thou- 
sands of  brave  men  and  holy  women  have  been  doing  good  service  for 
the  Master  in  tliis  particular  branch  of  his  Church ;  and  to  almost  every 
reader  under  whose  eyes  these  pages  may  come,  there  will  recur  the 
name  and  fame  of  some  right  royal  soul  quite  as  worthy  of  place  in 
this  volume  as  many  which  there  appear.  So  let  it  be !  Memory  is 
better  than  history.  There  hath  been  no  godly  life  lived  among  men 
but  hath  its  record  in  loving,  grateful  hearts ;  a  record  more  lasting 
than  that  made  with  ink  and  paper.  So  then,  in  the  ultimate  history, 
all  right  speaking  and  all  well  doing,  however  little  heard  or  seen  by 
men,  will  have  its  proper  place :  and  in  those  pages  all  truly  honorable 
names  will  duly  appear ;  some  that  were  last,  perchance,  exchanging 
place  with  the  first. 

Bishop  Hamline. — Leonidas  L.  Hamhne,  the  first  of  the  two 
Bishops  elected  by  the  General  Conference  of  1844,  was  born  in  Bur- 
lington, Connecticut,  May  10, 1797.  In  1833  he  was  received  on  trial 
in  the  Ohio  Conference,  and  stationed  at  Wesley  Chapel,  Cincinnati, 
from  which  pastorate  he  was  appointed,  in  1836,  Assistant  Editor  ol 
the  "  Western  Christian  Advocate."     In  1841,  the  "  Ladies'  Reposi- 


Bishop  Hamllne.  683 

torj  "  was  established  at  Cincinnati,  and  Hamline  served  as  its  Editor 
until  his  election  as  Bishop  in  1844.  After  eight  years  of  service  in 
the  Episcopacy  he  resigned  that  office,  removed  to  Mt.  Pleasant,  Iowa, 
where  he  died  on  the  22d  of  February,  1865.  A  few  months  after  hie 
death,  his  devoted  and  accomplished  widow  removed  to  Evanston,  lU., 


BISHOP    HAMLINE. 


&iid  the  remains  of  her  husband  were  removed  to  the  beautiful  Chica- 
go cemetery  at  Eose  Hill. 

The  residence  of  Mrs.  Bishop  Hamline  has  been  for  years  one  of 
the  chief  centers  of  that  form  of  rehgious  Hfe  called  entire  sanctifica- 


684 


Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 


tion.  Large  weekly  assemblies  of  j)ersons  especially  interested  in  this 
doctrine  and  experience  have  long  been  held  in  her  home,  and  Mrs. 
Hamline  is  widely  known  and  honored  throughont  the  ISTorth-west  as 
one  of  the  elect  ladies,  whose  teaching  and  examj^le  in  the  "  higher 
life  "  have  been  the  means  of  untold  blessing  to  the  Church. 


xV 


J 


\\ 


kx 


BISHOP    JANES. 


Bishop   Janets. — Edmund  Storer  Janes,  D.D,,  LL.D.,  one  of 

the  most  sagacious  and  statesmanlike  men  which  America  has  ever 
produced,  has  but  recently  departed  this  life.  His  biography  is  in 
course  of  preparation,  but  has  not  yet  appeared. 


Bishop  Janes.  685 

Bishop  Janes  was  born  in  Sheffield,  Berkshire  County,  Mass.,  April 
20,  1807.  He  united  with  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  1820, 
and  for  ten  years  engaged  in  teaching,  during  which  time  he  prepared 
himseU  for  the  profession  of  the  law ;  but  in  1830,  his  mind  havinr^ 
been  turned  to  the  ministry,  he  was  received  into  the  Philadelphia 
Conference,  and  in  1844  was  elected,  with  Bishop  Hamline,  to  the 
Episcopal  office.  His  long  period  of  service  as  senior  Bishop  devolved 
upon  him  many  and  great  responsibilities,  but  his  power  always 
seemed  to  enlarge  with  every  added  demand  upon  it.  His  death 
occurred  on  the  18th  of  September,  1876,  at  his  residence  in  New 
York,  after  a  brief  illness.  His  friend  and  contemporary,  Bishop 
Simpson,  in  his  "Encyclopedia  of  Methodism,  pays  this  high  tribute 
to  his  memory  : — 

"  Bishop  Janes  was  one  of  the  most  remarkable  men  in  the  history 
of  American  Methodism,  with  no  superior  and  few  equals.  He  pos- 
sessed a  mind  of  a  high  order,  capable  of  the  broadest  discernment, 
and  of  the  most  subtle  analysis.  .  He  was  a  model  platfonn  speaker, 
ready,  earnest,  and  comprehensive,  and  a  pi-eacher  of  rare  power  and 
grasping  eloquence.  As  an  execiitivu  officer  lie  especially  excelled, 
presiding  with  great  skill  and  dignity,  and  attending  diligently  to  all 
the  details  of  liis  office.  He  was  a  man  of  inflexible  principle,  thor- 
ongli,  conscientious,  and  untiring  in  labor  and  devotion.  He  had  a 
lieart  of  overllowing  sympathy  for  any  wjio  were  in  distress,  and 
endeared  himself  to  many  an  afflicted  preacher  by  the  kindness  of  his 
manner.  One  has  well  said,  he  was  as  practical  as  James,  as  cautious 
as  Peter,  as  tender  and  loving  as  John,  as  many-sided  and  comprehen- 
sive as  Paul." 

Bishop  Baker.— Osinon  C.  Baker,  D.D.,  one  of  the  four 
bishops  elected  at  the  General  Conference  of  1S52,  and  the  first  of 
their  number  to  go  up  higher,  was  a  native  of  New  Hampshire. 
He  was  born  in  the  town  of  Marlow,  July  30,  1812.  At  the  age 
of  fifteen  he  entered  the  Wesleyan  Academy  at  AVilbraham,  Mass., 
where  he  was  converted,  and  received  into  the  Church  by  that  prince 
of  educators.  Dr.  Wilbur  Fisk.  In  1830  he  entered  the  Wesleyan 
University  in  Middleto^vn,  from  which  he  removed,  after  three  years, 
by  reason  of  ill  health.  In  1839  he  was  admitted  on  trial  into  the 
New  Hampshire  Conference,  and  thereafter  served  the   Church  as  a 


686 


Illusteated  Histoky  of  Methodism. 


teacher  and  author  until  his  election  to  the  Episcopate,  along  with 
Bishops  Scott,  Simpson,  and  Ames,  in  1852.  For  fourteen  years  hs 
rendered  good  service  in  this  highest  office  in  the  Church,  after  which 
he  became  an  invalid,  and  lingered  until  his  death,  which  occurred  on 
the  20th  of  December,  1871,  at  Concord,  New  Hampshire,  in  the  59tb 
year  of  his  age. 


BISHOP    BAKEE. 


Bishop  Baker  is  remembered  as  a  calm,  polished.  Christian  scholar. 
His  administration  as  bishop  was  distinguished  by  a  clear  comprehen- 
sion of  the  duties  of  his  office.     His  "  Guide-book  in  the  Administra- 


Bishop  Ames.  687 

tion  of  the  Discipline  of  flie  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  "  remains  as 
a  monument  to  his  name  and  work. 

Bishop  Ames.— The  effort  to  put  a  man  of  the  size  and 
Btjle  of  Bishop  Ames  into  a  book,  is  a  difficult,  if  not  a  hopeless,  task. 
There  is  so  much  of  him,  in  so  many  different  directions,  that  one  who 
knew  and  loved  him  finds  himself  discouraged  at  every  step.  Perhaps 
no  better  tiling  has  been  said  in  few  words  in  honor  of  his  memory 
than  this  sentence  with  which  the  Kev.  Dr.  Fowler  concludes  a  tribute 
to  his  memory  in  the  editorial  columns  of  "The  Christian  Advo- 
cate :  "  "  Bishop  Ames  was  truly  a  great  man,  and  the  Church  will  be 
lonesome  without  him." 

Edward  Raymond  Ames  was  of  good  old  Puritan  stock.  His 
grandfather,  the  Rev.  Sylvanus  Ames,  was  a  Massachusetts  man,  a 
graduate  of  Harvard  College,  and  a  pastor  at  Taunton,  Mass.  During 
the  war  of  the  Revolution  he  was  a  chaplain  in  "Washington's  army, 
and  died  in  camp  at  Valley  Forge  in  that  terrible  winter  of  1778-79. 
II  is  son,  the  father  of  the  Bishop,  settled  at  Amesville,  Ohio,  where 
Edward  Raymond  Ames  was  born  on  the  20th  of  May,  1806.  During 
his  student  life  at  the  University  of  Ohio  he  experienced  the  grace 
of  God,  and  was  received  into  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 
Among  his  associates  at  that  time  may  be  mentioned  the  distinguished 
names  of  Rev.  H.  J.  Clark,  Rev.  J.  M.  Trimble,  Rev.  E.  H.  Pilcher, 
E.  "W.  Sehon,  and  other  young  men,  who  afterward  obtained  distinc- 
tion in  the  Church.  In  1830  he  was  Hcensed  to  preach  by  that  re- 
markable man  Peter  Cartwi-ight,  and  during  the  same  year  he  was 
received  on  trial  by  the  Illinois  Conference.  In  1832,  on  the  division 
of  this  Conference,  he  was  assigned  to  that  portion  of  it  which  was 
designated  the  Indiana  Conference,  as  a  member  of  which  he  was 
ordained  deacon  by  Bishop  Soule,  and  elder  by  Bishop  Roberts.  In 
1840  he  was  chosen  a  delegate  to  the  General  Conference  held  in 
Baltimore,  and  was  elected  Corresponding  Secretary  of  the  Missionary 
Society,  holding  also  the  position  of  Superintendent  of  the  German 
an  1  Indian  Missions  of  the  Church,  in  which  capacity  he  traveled  over 
twenty-four  thousand  miles  during  the  four  years  of  his  secretaryship, 
traversing  the  whole  Indian  Territory  from  Texas  to  Lake  Superior, 
and  camping  out  in  the  wilderness  for  weeks  at  a  time.  During  his 
life  among  the  various  Indian  tribes  ho  learned  to  speak  the  Choctaw 


688  Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 

language.  lie  was  absolutely  without  fear,  and  traveled  among 
friendly  and  hostile  Indians,  often  alone,  most  of  the  time  with  only 
a  single  companion.  He  was  the  first  chaplain  ever  elected  by  an 
Indian  council,  in  which  capacity  he  served  in  the  Choctaw  General 
Conncil  of  1842,  where,  at  their  request,  he  drew  up  the  School  Law 
of  the  Choctaw  Nation,  a  noble  bill,  by  the  provision  of  which  a  larger 
sum  was  appropriated  for  education,  ^er  capita,  than  in  any  State  of 
tlic  Union.  The  confidence  reposed  in  him,  and  in  his  knowledge  of 
Indian  character,  was  often  shown  during  the  presidencies  of  Lincoln 
and  Grant,  by  whom  he  was  often  solicited  to  serve  on  Indian  Com- 
missions, but  which  honor,  from  press  of  other  duties,  lie  was  obliged 
to  decline. 

In  1844  he  was  again  elected  delegate  to  the  General  Conference, 
and  thence,  until  1852,  he  traveled  as  Presiding  Elder  on  the  New 
Albany,  Indianapolis,  and  Jeffersonville  Districts  in  the  Indiana  Con- 
ference. LLis  election  to  the  Episcopate,  in  1852,  after  the  election  of 
another  man  from  the  same  State,  (Bishop  Simpson,)  shows  how  high 
was  the  appreciation  in  which  he  was  held,  no  other  instance  being  on 
vecoi'd  of' the  election  of  two  Bishops  at  one  time  from  the  same  State 
or  Conference.  During  the  War  of  the  Rebellion  Bishop  Ames  was 
the  intimate  friend  of  President  Lincoln  and  of  the  late  Gov.  Morton, 
uf  Indiana,  and  was  often  the  bearer  of  private  communications  be- 
tween the  two.  For  thirteen  years  after  his  election  as  Bishop  he  re- 
sided in  Indiana,  but  in  1865  he  removed  to  the  city  of  Baltimore, 
which  was  his  place  of  residence  until  his  death,  which  occurred  on 
the  25th  of  April,  1879,  in  the  seventy-third  year  of  his  age. 

As  a  preacher  Bishop  Ames  was  capable  of  wonderful  eloquence, 
which  was  only  occasionally  manifested  ;  but  sometimes  with  some  sim- 
ple narration,  some  tender  little  story,  told  with  all  the  pathos  of  his 
great  nature,  he  would  melt  a  congregation  to  tears  ;  or  in  some  grand 
statement  of  doctrine  or  duty  he  would  stir  the  blood  of  a  Conference 
until  the  "amens"  became  so  loud  that  he  would  be  obliged  to  pause 
for  silence.  There  was  a  broad,  deep  vein  of  humor  in  him  ;  his  smile 
was  sunshine  ;  his  commendation  was  a  power  and  blessing  to  those 
who  received  it,  and  his  rebuke  had  so  much  of  the  terrible  in  it  that 
few  ventured  to  incur  it  a  second  time.  He  was  the  prince  of  admin- 
istrators ;  in  personal  appearance,  dignified  and  imposing ;  in  bearing, 


Bishop  Ames. 


689 


majestic.  While  presiding  at  a  Conference  his  words  went  always 
straight  to  the  heart  of  the  subject ;  his  decision  was  prompt  and  final. 
At  one  time  in  his  life  he  was  called  upon  to  choose  between  the 
office  of  Presiding  Elder  on  an  Indiana  District  and  that  of  a  Senator 
of  the  United  States.     But  God  had  called  him  to  the  ministry,  and 


BISHOP    AMES. 


men  only  called  him  into  politics,  and  on  this  basis  he  settled  the  ques- 
tion once  for  all.  Nevertheless  he  was  as  a  statesman  bom.  He 
seemed  always  ready  for  an  emergency,  possessing  the  courage  to  face 
all  difficulty,  and  the  key  to  unlock  ahnost  all  success.     He  abounded 


690  Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 

in  practical  sense.  As  Missionary  Secretary,  from  1840  to  1844,  he 
instituted  and  put  in  good  working  order  the  plan  afterward  enlarged 
and  worked  by  Dr.  Durbin,  and  which  now  has  taken  definite  form  in 
the  Discipline  of  the  Church. 

When  the  Rebellion  broke  out  he  was  prepared  for  it.  Dr.  Fowler 
says  of  him :  "  His  familiarity  with  the  South,  acquired  by  traveling 
over  it  in  the  order  of  his  work,  and  his  close  observations  of  the 
topography,  productions,  highways,  streams,  towns,  and  cities  of  that 
region,  made  him  of  great  service  to  the  Government  in  ordering  their 
campaigns.  He  was  more  than  once  closeted  with  President  Lincoln 
and  Secretary  Stanton  in  planning  for  the  suppression  of  the  Rebellion, 
and  more  than  once  he  was  closeted  with  Stanton  in  prayer  during  the 
dark  days."  Among  the  memorable  conferences  at  which  he  pre- 
sided was  the  session  of  the  Rock  River  Conference,  in  1871,  at 
Aurora,  while  the  smoke  of  the  great  conflagration  at  Chicago  was 
stiU  darkening  the  sky.  In  this  great  crisis,  when  so  large  a  portion 
of  that  stronghold  of  Methodism  lay  in  embers  and  ashes,  and  the 
interests  of  the  Church  in  that  city  were  in  peril.  Bishop  Ames,  by 
his  calmness,  sagacity,  and  boundless  hope,  guided,  encouraged,  and 
inspirited  the  anxious  men  who  looked  into  each  other's  eyes  for 
sympathy,  and  uj)  to  God  for  help  in  this  great  calamity.  When 
doubts  were  raised  as  to  whether  the  city  could  possibly  be  rebuilt, 
or  whether  it  would  lie  for  long  years  in  its  ashes.  Bishop  Ames 
immediately  replied :  "  The  railroads  could  afford  to  rebuild  Chicago 
rather  than  it  should  not  be  done " — a  business  opinion  which 
showed  the  breadth  of  his  understanding  and  his  grasp  of  practical 
affairs. 

His  funeral,  which  was  attended  by  many  representative  men  of 
the  Church,  as  well  as  by  a  great  concourse  of  the  citizens  of  Bal- 
timore, among  whom  he  was  greatly  honored  and  beloved,  took  place 
from  his  late  residence,  No.  184  M'Cullough-street,  Baltimore,  being, 
by  his  special  direction,  particularly  plain  and  simple  in  all  its  details. 

Francis  Burns,  the  Methodist  Bishop  of  Liberin,  was  a  native 
of  Albany,  N.  T.  At  fifteen  years  of  age  he  was  converted,  and  at 
seventeen  felt  that  God  called  him  to  preach  the  Gospel.  In  1834  he 
accompanied  the  Rev.  John  Seys  to  Liberia,  as  a  missionary  teacher  in 
Monrovia  Seminary.     In  1849  he  was  appointed  Presiding  Elder  of 


Bishop  Burks. 


691 


the  Cape  Palmas  District,  and  was  the  favorite  presiding  officer  of  the 
African  Conference.  In  1856  the  General  Conference  made  provision 
for  the  election  and  consecration  of  a  Bishop  for  the  African  work, 
and  two  years  afterward  the  Liberia  Annual  Conference  elected  Mr. 
Burns  to  that  office,  and  sent  him  to  America  for  ordination,  which 


BISHOP  BURNS. 


was  performed  at  the  Genesee  Conference,  October  14,  1858,  the  serv- 
ices being  conducted  by  Bishops  Janes  and  Baker.  Although  a  full- 
blooded  African  the  Cape  fever  was  too  much  even  for  him,  and  after 
four  years'  episcopal  service,  his  health  becoming  impaired,  he  was  di- 


892 


Illustkated  Histoky  ojb^  Metuudis.^i. 


rected  to  take  a  sea  voyage,  and  accordingly  set  sail  for  America,  but 
lie  died  on  tlie  IStli  of  April,  1863,  only  a  few  days  after  his  arrival  at 
Baltimore. 

He  is  described  as  a  gentlemanly  person,  of  an  intelligent  and  cul- 
tivated mind,  a  ready  and  even  eloquent  speaker,  and  ''  in  all  respects 
a  model  African." 

]Si!!ihoi>  Rol>erts„ — Jolm  "Wriglit  Eoberts,  the  late  Missionary 
Bishop  for  Africa,  was  l)orn  at  Petersburg!!,  Ya.     At  an  early  age  he 


IlKV.    JOHN    WKIGUT    KOr.I^RT!',    BISHOP    OF    LIBERIA,    ' 

was  converted,  and  united  with  the  Methodist  Ejuscopal  Church,  after 
which  he  emigrated  to  the  Colony  of  Liberia.  In  1 841  he  was  elected 
to  elders'  orders  by  the  Lil)eria  Conference,  and  came  to  America  the 
same  year  to  be  ordained.  Twenty-three  years  afterward  he  was  elected 
to  the  office  of  Missionary  Bishop  l)y  the  General  Conference  of  1864, 
and  was  consecrated  in  St.  Paul's  Methodi:  t  Episcopal  Clnirch,  New 
York,  on  the  2r>th  of  Jtiiio,  1860.  Without  delay  he  set  sail  for 
Liberia,  where  he  diligently  and  judiciously  performed  the  duties  of 


Bishop  Clark.  693 

tiis  office  until  his  death,  which  occurred  on  the  30th  of  January,  1875. 
Tlic  vacancy  caused  by  his  death  has  never  been  filled ;  the  African 
Mission,  as  well  as  those  in  Asia  and  Europe,  being  now  regarded  as 
integral  parts  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  and  their  Confer- 
ences, hke  others,  are  presided  over  by  Bishops  of  the  regular  staff, 
who  from  time  to  time  are  designated  to  visit  this  distant  field. 

Bishop  Clark. — Three  men  were  elevated  to  the  Episcopacy  by 
the  General  Conference  of  1864,  all  of  whom  within  six  years  there- 
after passed  to  their  reward.     The  first  of  these  was  Davis  W.  Clark.* 

llis  first  fame  in  the  Church  was  as  the  successful  editor  of  the 
"  Ladies'  Repository,"  at  Cincinnati,  which  periodical,  under  his  man- 
agement, became  the  acknowledged  "queen  of  the  monthlies."  It 
would  appear  that  the  editorship  of  tliis  journal  was  for  a  time  re- 
garded as  an  excellent  training  scliool  for  the  bishopric,  several  of  its 
editors  having  been  promoted  to  the  Episcopal  Cliair. 

Bishop  Clark  w^as  a  New  England  man,  born  on  the  Island  of  Mt. 
Desert,  off  the  coast  of  Maine,  February  25,  1812.  On  this  bleak, 
storm-swept  islet  he  passed  his  childhood  and  youth,  and  united  witli 
the  little  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  while  yet  a  boy.  Like  most  of 
the  other  lads  born  in  the  arms  of  the  ocean,  he  early  manifested  fond- 
ness for  sea-faring  life,  but  his  conversion  changed  the  line  of  his  am- 
bition, and  instead  of  climbing  to  the  captaincy  of  some  fishing  smack 
or  coasting  schooner,  he  began  to  look  forward  to  tlie  Christian  minis- 
try. In  the  spring  of  1831  young  Clark — then  about  nineteen  years 
of  age — left  home  for  Readfield,  the  seat  of  the  Maine  Wesleyan  Semi- 
nary, which  was  at  that  time  a  manual  labor  school,  where  he  began  to 
revolve  in  his  mind  the  idea  of  a  collegiate  education.  It  was  a  dis- 
couraging prospect,  since  he  was  without  money,  and  his  parents  and 
friends  were  very  much  in  the  same  condition.  But  he  made  uj) 
in  labor  and  faith  what  he  laclced  in  other  respects,  and  by  studying 
twelve  or  fourteen  hours  a  day,  with  two  or  three  hours  of  manual 
labor  thrown  in,  he  was  not  long  in  preparing  himself  to  enter  college. 
He  speaks  of  these  experiences  as  "climbing  the  hiU  of  science  bare- 
foot," M^hich  was,  doubtless,  as  rough  a  journey  in  its  way  as  many 
of  those  tours  of  exploration  in  the  wilderness  which  require  so  much 
courage  and  muscle  on  the  part  of  the  backwoods  itinerants. 

*  '•'  Life  Story,"  by  Daniel  Curry,  D.D. 


694 


Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 


In  1833  he  entered  the  Wesleyan  University,  at  Middletown,  Con- 
necticut— the  first  collegiate  institution  established  by  the  Methodists 
in  the  East — and  in  two  years  finished  the  entire  four  years'  course, 
graduating  in  1836,  this  being  the  fourth  class  sent  out  by  this  new 
college.     His  fine  mental  and  physical  endowments  carried  him  safely 


BISHOP    CLAEK. 


through  this  tremendous  strain,  and  he  graduated  with  honors,  after 
which  he  devoted  himself  to  teaching  at  the  Amenia  Seminary,  N.  Y., 
first  as  tutor  in  mathematics,  and  for  the  last  five  of  the  seven  yeara 
as  principal  of  the  seminary,  and  instructor  in  English  Literature  and 


Bishop  Clark.  695 

in  Mental  and  Moral  Philosophy,  during  which  time  he  prepared  a 
volume  entitled  "  Mental  Disciphne,"  which  was  afterward  published 
at  the  Methodist  Book  Koom  in  1847. 

His  work  as  a  teacher  was,  however,  only  a  stepping-stone  to  the 
gospel  ministry.  In  1846  he  closed  his  successful  administration  at 
Amenia,  and  was  received  into  the  New  York  Annual  Conference, 
which  commenced  its  session  for  that  year  on  the  17th  of  May,  in  the 
city  of  New  York,  and  was  appointed  to  "Winsted,  Conn.  He  had 
ah-eady  distinguished  himself  as  a  contributor  to  the  "  Christian  Advo- 
cate," and  the  "  Quarterly  Eeview,"  and  after  filling  five  appointments 
—the  most  of  which  were  in  New  York  City — as  preacher  in  charge, 
in  which,  among  other  things,  he  distinguished  himself  by  his  strong 
antislavery  sentiments  and  sermons,  and  gained  the  title  of  aboHtionist 
— which  was  then  one  of  the  worst  names  a  good  man  could 
carry— he  was,  in  1852,  invited  from  his  pastorate  at  Poughkeepsie 
to  Cincinnati,  to  become  the  editor  of  the  "  Ladies'  Eepository "  in 
place  of  Professor  W.  C.  Larrabee,  who  had  resigned  this  position 
to  become  Superintendent  of  PubKc  Instruction  for  the  State  of 
Indiana. 

His  success  as  an  editor  was  so  distinguished  that  the  G-eneral  Con- 
ference continued  him  at  his  post,  tiU,  in  1864,  he  was  honored  with 
the  highest  office  in  its  gift,  from  which  position,  after  a  faithful  serv- 
ice of  seven  years,  he  was  further  promoted  by  the  Great  Head  of  the 
Church  himseK. 

In  1851  the  Wesleyan  University  conferred  upon  him  the  title  of 
Doctor  of  Divinity,  he  being  the  first  alumnus  which  the  institution 
thus  honored.  As  a  writer  he  was  clear  and  forcible  ;  as  an  educator 
and  pastor  he  was  faithful  and  successful.  As  an  antislavery  reformer 
he  was  bold  and  progressive,  yet  not  more  zealous  than  wise.  The 
best  part  of  his  hfe-work  was  accompHshed  before  his  election  to  the 
Episcopacy.  After  some  years  of  faUing  health  and  strength  he 
died  at  his  home,  in  Cincinnati,  in  what,  but  for  his  intense  mental 
application,  would  have  been  the  full  prime  of  his  life,  he  being  then 
fifty-nine  years  of  age.     He  died  May  23,  1871. 

Bishop  Thomson.— The  Kev.  Edward  Thomson  was  bom  at 
Portsea,  England,  October,  1810,  and  immigrated  to  America  in  1819. 
Dr.  Punshon,  in  the  eloquent  tribute   to    his   memory  pronounced 


t>96 


Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 


before  the   Brooklyn   General   Conference  of   1872  styled   him  the 
"  Chrysostora  of  America." 

A  character  more  perfect  than  that  of  Bishop  Thomson  it  would 
be  difficult  to  imagine.  There  were,  doubtless,  weak  places  in  him, 
since  he  was  a  mortal  man,  but  neither  his  pupils,  his  parishioners,  hia 


BISHOP    THOMSON.  ,    ,  ,  .         ,, 

i  ovr.il  bliuyn  ,jJOitxj'ijiq(,j;; 
readers,  nor  his  subordinates  in  the  ministry  seem  to  have  been  able  to 
discover  them.  It  has  been  said  of  him  that  in  the  fuUness  of  his 
poweis  he  was  able  to  enter  a  coUege  recitation  room,  in  any  depart- 
ment, and  conduct  the   recitation  off-hand,  in  such  a  manner  that 


Bishop  Thomson.  697 

the  class  would  regard  liis  presence  as  a  high  privilege  and  pleasure. 
When  only  nineteen  years  of  age  he  received  a  diploma  as  Doctor  of 
Medicine  from  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  but  rather  more  than 
a  year  afterward,  in  1831,  he  renounced  the  world,  gave  himself  to 
the  Lord  and  the  Church,  and  was  admitted  into  the  Ohio  Conference 
in  1832,  having  then  just  reached  his  majority. 

From  1838  to  1843  he  had  charge  of  Norwalk  Seminary,  which 
was  then  under  the  charge  of  the  North  Ohio  Conference,  and  after 
filling  appointments  at  Norwalk,  Cincinnati,  Detroit,  and  other  prom- 
inent stations,  in  1844  he  was  made  editor  of  the  "  Ladies'  Repository," 
and  two  years  afterward  was  honored  with  an  election  to  the  Presi- 
dency of  the  Ohio  Wesleyan  University,  which  position  he  filled  and 
adorned  for  fourteen  years.      In   1860  Dr.  Thomson  was  elected  to 
^Jie  chief  editorial  chair  of  the  "  Christian  Advocate,"  at  New  York, 
and  in  1864  was  elected  to  the  office  of  Bishop.      His  early  death  was' 
one  of  the  greatest  losses  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  ever  suf- 
fered  in  the  removal  of  any  one  of  its  officers  and  servants.     Four 
years  was  too  short  a  time  foi-  this  quiet,  gentle,  saintly  nature  to  im- 
press himself  upon   the  whole  of  Methodism  ;  but  at  the  North-west, 
where  he  lived  and  died,  his  name  is  as  ointment  poured  forth,  and 
heaven  is   made  richer   and  earth  poorer    by  his  transference  from 
labor  to  glory. 

In  the  class-room  he  was  an  admirable  instructor ;  in  the  pastorate, 
he  seemed  to  be  in  his  divinely-appointed  element,  not  only  pointing 
to  his  flock  the  way  to  holiness  and  heaven,  but  joj-fully  and  lovingly 
going  before  them  therein.  He  possessed  a  hterary  genius  of  a  high 
order,  and  his  volume  of  theological  lectures  entitled,  "  Evidences  of 
Revealed  Religion,"  is  one  of  the  richest  treasures  in  the  literature  of 
the  Church.  But  over  and  above  his  social  and  mental  powers  and 
excellences  was  that  manifest  indwelling  of  the  Holy  Ghost  which 
gloriously  characterized  his  pubhc  ministry  and  his  private  life.  He 
was,  perhaps,  more  nearly  a  repetition  of  the  saintly  Fletcher  of 
Madeley,  than  any  other  man  which  Methodism  has  produced.  His 
eermons,  though  not  in  the  manner  of  the  fire  or  the  tempest,  were 
melting  and  powerful. 

Bishop  Thomson  made  the  first  Episcopal  visit  to  India,  of  which 
te  gave  an  account  after  his  return  in  two  admirable  volumes,  and 

44  .  .     : 


698 


Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 


not  long  after,  on  the  22d  of  Marcli,  1870,  lie  died  t-f  pneumonia,  in 
the  City  of  Wheeling,  West  Virginia,  in  the  60th  year  of  liis  age. 

Bishop  Kin^sley. — Calvin  Kingsley  was  a  native  of  the  Stale 
of  New  York.  Re  was  born  in  Annsville,  September  S,  1812,  and 
was  converted  at  the  age  of  fourteen,  in  a   revival   in  Chautauqua 


niSHOP    KINGSLEY. 


County  in  western  New  York,  to  which  place  his  family  had  removed 
At  the  age  of  twenty-four,  having  pursued  his  preparatory  studies  by 
himseK,  he  entered  Alleghany  College,  where  his  proficiency  was  such 
that  in  his  sophomore  year  he  was  appointed  tutor  in  mathematics. 


Bishop  Kingsley. 


699 


After  his  graduation  in  1841,  he  eontiimed  his  scholastic  duties,  to 
which,  however,  he  added  the  labor  of  preaching  the  Gospel  on  cir- 
cuits and  stations  within  reach  of  his  college.  He  was  received  on 
trial  by  the  Erie  Conference  in  1841,  and  in  1856  he  was  elected  editor 
of  "  The  "Western  Christian  Advocate,"  which  post  he  filled  with  honor 
and  success.  In  the  General  Conference  of  1860  he  was  a  recognized 
leader,  and  his  report  as  chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Slavery  is 
one  of  the  great  historic  documents  upon  that  subject.  He  was  a 
member  of  the  General  Conference  of  1864 — his  fourth  term  of  such 
service — at  which  he  was  elected  and  consecrated  as  one  of  the  four 
Bishops  then  chosen. 

The  missions  of  the  Church  having  become  numerous  and  wide- 
spread, it  was  necessary  that  they  should  now  receive  personal  Episcopal 
attention  and  Bishop  Kingsley  was  chosen  for  this  important  service. 

In  1869,  after  holding  the  Conference  on  the  Pacific  coast,  he  set 
sail  for  China  and  India,  ex- 
pecting to  return  by  way  of  Eu- 
rope. He  arrived  in  Cairo,  in 
Egypt,  on  the  1st  of  March, 
1870,  where  he  determined  to 
gratify  a  long-cherished  wish  of 
visiting  the  Holy  Land.  After 
a  brief  stay  among  the  sacred 
places  once  glorified  by  tlie 
presence  of  the  Son  of  God  he 
made  his  way  to  Beyroot,  and 
engaged  his  passage  for  Con- 
stantinople ;  but  on  the  morn- 
ing of  the  6th  of  April,  the  day 
appointed  for  his  departure, 
having  ascended  to  the  house- 
top to  enjoy  one  more  look  at  the  sun-clad  heights  of  Lebanon,  he 
was  seized  with  a  pain  in  the  left  breast,  and  in  a  few  minutes  fell 
dead  upon  the  floor.  A  post-mortem  examination  showed  that  he 
had  died  of  disease  of  the  heart. 

His  traveling  companions,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Bannister,  of  the  Garrett 
BibHcal  Institute,  and  Miss  Frances  E.  Willard,  performed  the  last 


BISHOP    KINGSLEY'S    MONUMENT. 


700  Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 

sad  offices  of  love  and  respect  for  their  fallen  leader  and  friend,  and 
laid  him  to  sleep  in  the  little  Protestant  Mission  cemetery  at  Bejroot 
in  Syria,  where  subsequently  his  friends  in  America  caused  a  modest 
shaft  to  be  erected  to  mark  his  grave. 

He  was  the  youngest  member  of  the  Board  of  Bishops,  and  from 
his  strong  health  and  brave  heart  great  things  were  expected  of  him, 
and  doubtless  great  power  and  blessing  has  come  to  the  Church,  not 
in  spite  of,  but  because  of,  his  death  on  Asiatic  soil.  It  has  been  said, 
"  The  blood  of  the  martyrs  is  the  seed  of  the  Church,"  and  the  grave 
of  Kingsley,  who  sleeps  by  the  shore  of  the  Mediterranean,  is  one 
of  the  sacred  places  and  memories  of  the  Church  whose  track  in  the 
American  wilderness  and  through  the  wilder  regions  of  Asia  and 
Africa  is  marked  by  so  many  weary,  but  persistent,  footsteps,  and  so 
many  honorable  sufferers. 

"The  heathen  hold  him  as  a  hostage  till  we  come." 

Ijay  Delectation. — The  only  essential  change  in  the  Constitu- 
tion of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  since  its  organization  in  1784 
was  the  admission  of  lay  delegates  to  the  General  Conference,  such 
delegates  appearing  for  the  first  time  at  the  Brooklyn  General  Ccn- 
ference  of  1872.  Ever  since  the  days  of  O'Kelly,  and  more  especially 
after  the  secession  which  formed  the  Methodist  Protestant  Church  in 
1828,  and  that  which  became  the  "Wesleyan  Methodist  Connection  in 
1843,  the  fact  that  the  ecclesiastical  affairs  of  the  great  Mctliodist  body 
were  wholly  managed  by  the  clergy  was  a  subject  of  more  or  less  agi- 
tation ;  not,  however,  because  of  any  actual  abuse  of  power  on  their 
part,  but  because  it  was  feared  there  might  sometime  be  such  an  abuse. 
In  1860,  a  newspaper  called  "  The  Methodist,"  was  founded  in  the 
interest  of  Lay  Delegation,  of  which  Rev.  Dr.  George  R.  Crooks  was 
the  first  editor,  whose  persistent  advocacy  of  that  measure  for  nearly 
twelve  years  was  one  of  the  chief  reasons  for  its  ultimate  success.  In 
1868  the  General  Conference  submitted  to  the  entire  membership  of 
the  Church  a  plan  for  the  admission  of  laymen  to  their  body  which 
was  approved  by  the  very  small  vote  of  100,000  for  and  50,000  against, 
showing  how  very  far  from  universal  was  the  interest  in  this  much- 
debated  question.  More  than  three  fourths  of  the  ministry  voted  for 
the  measure,  and  thus  the  change  was  at  length  effected,  admitting  two 


Tjie  Centent^ial  of  American  Methodism.         70] 

lajmen  from  eacli  Annual  Conference  to  seats  m  the  General  Confer- 
ence a^  co-ordinate  members,  with  the  right  of  voting  as  a  separate 
house  upon  the  demand  therefor  of  two  thirds  of  their  own  number. 

The  working  of  this  system  thus  far  leaves  no  room  to  doubt  its 
wisdom. 

The    Ceuteimial    of   American    Methodism.— The 

month  of  October,  1866,  was  celebrated  throughout  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  as  the  one  hundredth  anniversary  of  American 
Methodism.  The  first  Sunday  of  the  year  was  speciaUy  appointed  to  be 
observed  as  a  day  of  thanksgiving,  praise,  and  prayer;  and  throughout 
tlie  entire  year  memorial  meetings,  centennial  celebrations,  and  every 


HECK   HALL.       GARRETT  BIBLICAL  INSTITUTE,   EVANSTON     ILL 

The  U>wer  ristag  above  the  oaks  In  the  distance  Is  the  stately  main  building  of  the  North-western  ijniyemitr 

now  under  the  presidency  of  OUver  Marcy,  LL.D. 

species  of  appropriate  services  were  held,  at  the  most,  if  not  aU,  of 
Avhich  there  were  thank-offerings  in  the  form  of  contributions  to  gen- 
eral or  local  Church  enterprises.  It  was  a  time  for  paying  Church 
debts,  raising  college  endowments,  erecting  and  establishing  new 
churches,  schools,  etc.,  notable  among  wliich  was  Heck  Hall,  for  the 
use  of  the  Garrett  Biblical  Institute,  at  Evanston,  111.;  the  theological 
mstitution  founded  by  the  Hberahty  of  Mrs.  Eliza  (Clark)  Garrett,  of 
Chicago;  Drew  Theological  Seminary,  at  Madison,  N.  J.,  the  gift  of 
the  late  Daniel  Drew ;  the  Centenary  Bibhcal  Institute,  at  Baltimore, 
for  the  training  of  colored  men  for  the  ministry ;  the  Centenary  Col- 
legiate Institute,  at  Hackettstown,  N.  J. ;  the  Centenary  Church,  Chi-  ■ 


702  Illustkated  Histoky  of  Methodism. 

cago ;  and  large  numbers  of  smaller  enterprises  of  like  character  all 
over  the  country,  both  North  and  South.  An  admirable  volume  by  Dr. 
Abel  Stevens  was  prepared  by  request  of  General  Conference,  showing 
the  progress  of  Methodism  during  its  first  century,  and  a  great  finan- 
cial, if  not  spiritual,  advance  was  made  throughout  the  Church.  The 
Centenary  Committee,  appointed  by  the  Bishops  to  have  charge  of  the 
celebration,  asked  for  an  aggregate  of  two  milhons  of  dollars  for  gen- 
eral educational  interests,  but  for  the  most  part  the  liberality  of  the 
people  turned  in  the  direction  of  local  Church  interests  :  the  entire 
centenary  collections  and  subscriptions  reaching  the  enormous  amount 
in  round  nmnbers  of  eight  millions  seven  hundred  thousand  dolla/rs. 
The  General  Education  Fund  received  about  $16,000.  The  Children's 
Fund,  $83,785  %Q.  Besides  the  centenary  contributions  during  this 
year,  the  Church  raised  for  the  usual  benevolent  objects,  $930,419. 

Centennial  Stati§tics. — The  following  statistics  from  Simp- 
son's "  Cyclopaedia  of  Methodism,"  indicate  the  growth  of  the  denom- 
ination as  well  as  of  the  bodies  which  had  separated  from  it : — 

"  There  were  in  1866,  as  the  product  of  a  century's  toil,  9  Bishops, 
64:  Annual  Conferences,  7,576  itinerant  and  8,602  local  preachers ;  to- 
tal members,  1,032,184;  church  edifices,  10,462,  valued  at  $29,594,004; 
parsonages,  3,314,  valued  at  $4,420,958 ;  Sunday-schools,  14,045 ; 
scholars,  980,622  ;  foreign  missionaries,  222  ;  members  in  foreign  lands, 
7,478 ;  domestic  missionaries,  303 ;  having  a  membership  of  26,075  ; 
2  theological  seminaries,  23  colleges,  and  77  seminaries  and  female  col- 
leges ;  77  instructors,  22,305  students ;  educational  property  valued  at 
$7,898,239 ;  2  Book  Concerns  in  New  York  and  Cincinnati,  with  7 
depositories  in  as  many  different  cities.  The  capital  stock  of  the  Book 
Concern,  $1,213,327 ;  oflicial  Church  papers,  16 ;  unoflEicial,  6 ;  bomid 
volumes  of  books  issued  by  the  Book  Concern,  2,548 ;  tracts  of  various 
sizes,  1,037." 

"  Other  Methodist  Bodies. — There  were  8  other  Methodist 
bodies  in  the  United  States,  and  at  the  close  of  1865  their  statistics 
were  as  follows  :  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South,  2,591  traveling 
and  4,904  local  preachers ;  708,949  members.  Methodist  Protestant 
Church,  810  traveling  and  750  local  preachers.  This  includes  both 
North  and  South.  African  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  513  travel- 
ing and  2,100  local  preachers  ;  53,670  members.     Evangehcal  Associa^ 


Other  Methodist  Bodies. 


703 


tion,  405  traveling  and  323  local  preachers  ;  5,185  members.  Was- 
leyan  Methodists,  236  traveling  and  164  local  preachers;  25,620  mem- 
bers. African  Methodist  Episcopal  Zion  Church,  217  traveling  and 
444  local  preachers  ;  5,600  members.  Free  Methodist  Church,  67 
travehng  and  69  local  preachers ;  3,655  members.  Primitive  Method- 
ist Church,  20  traveling  and  34  local  preachers  ;  1,905  members.  Unit- 
ed Brethren  in  Christ,  2,152  ministers,  152,231  members.  Colored 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  638  traveling  preachers,  683  local  preach- 
ers, 112,300  members.  Making  a  total  outside  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  of  7,649  traveling  and  9,471  local  preachers,  and 
1,245,135  members." 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD. 

Born  at  Preston,  England,  January  31,  1798.  Came  to  America  in  March, 
182:  entered  tlie  Troy  Conference  in  June,  1822,  and  after  three  years  oi 
special  service  at  missionary  meetings,  dedications,  and  other  public  occasions, 
where  his  marvelous  eloquence  attracted  vast  congregations,  he  sunk  under  the 
attack  of  pulmonary  disease,  and  died  June  13,  1825. 


BISHOP    SCOTT. 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 

THE  STAFF  OF  THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

TT  is  an  occasion  of  profound  gratitude  to  God  that  he  has  conferred 
J_  such  manifest  and  manifold  blessings  upon  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church,  in  the  personal  characters  and  official  services  of  the 
men  who  have  been  called  to  the  management  of  its  connectional 
affairs.  The  following  brief  notice  of  the  Bishops  in  active  service^ 
and  of  the  present  General  Conference  officers,  may  appropriately 
complete  this  outline  of  Methodist  History  : — 


Bishop  Scott.  705 

Bishop  Scott. — Our  senior  Bishop,  the  venerable  Levi  Scott, 
D.D..  wliose  term  of  office  dates  from  1852,  was  born  October  11, 
1802.  Like  most  of  his  brethren  of  that  day  he  entered  the  ministry 
without  a  regular  collegiate  education,  but  made  such  good  use  of  his 
few  opportunities  for  study  that  in  1840  he  was  made  Principal  of  the 
Dickinson  Grammar  School  at  Carlisle,  Pa.,  on  the  nomination  of  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Durbin,  who  was  then  President  of  Dickinson  College — that 
historic  school,  (named  in  honor  of  its  patron.  Governor  Dickinson,  of 
Delaware,)  in  which  so  many  eminent  Methodists  have  studied,  taught, 
and  governed.  In  1848  he  was  made  Assistant  Book  Agent  at  New 
York,  and  four  years  later  was  elected  and  consecrated  Bishop.  His 
present  residence  is  in  his  native  town  of  Odessa,  Delaware. 

Bishop  Simpson. — The  name  for  many  years  the  most 
widely  known  in  our  Church,  is  that  of  Matthew  Simpson,  D.D., 
LL.D.,  a  man  who,  in  the  prime  of  his  life,  was  the  peerless  orator  of 
the  American  pulpit ;  and  whose  services,  both  to  his  Church  and  his 
country,  will  be  held  in  grateful  remembrance  so  long  as  either  his 
(yhurch  or  his  country  endures. 

His  election  to  the  episcopate  occurred  in  1852,  in  the  same  clase 
with  Bishops  Scott,  Baker,  and  Ames,  at  which  time  he  had  become 
distinguished  by  his  labors  as  President  of  Indiana  Asbury  University, 
which  chair  he  filled  from  1839  to  1848,  and  also  by  his  four  years' 
service  thereafter  as  editor  of  the  "  Western  Christian  Advocate." 

"  How,"  asked  the  author  of  this  volume,  "  did  you  gain  your 
power  as  an  orator  ?  " 

"  By  having  one  single  purpose  in  view  in  every  discourse,  and 
giving  myself  wholly  up  to  its  accomplishment,"  was  the  Bishop's 
reply.  "  At  school,"  he  continued,  "  the  one  thing  I  could  not  do,  was 
to  speak.  It  cost  me  unspeakable  effort  to  bring  myself  to  attempt  it, 
and  I  was  invariably  mortified  by  my  failures.  At  length,  having  felt 
called  to  the  ministry,  I  sought  to  forget  myself  as  far  as  possible,  and, 
banishing  all  thoughts  of  oratory,  to  give  myself  absolutely  up  to  the 
task  of  saying  things  so  that  people  could  readily  understand  them. 
Then  followed  an  increasing  effort  to  impress  the  truth  upon  them, 
and  by  that  means  I  have  gained  whatever  power  I  possess  as  a  public 
speaker." 

This  simple  system  of  rhetoric,  brought  into  use  in  dealing  with 


706 


Illustrated  Histoky  of  Meihodism. 


the  great  themes  of  revelation  and  the  experience  of  the  things  of 
God,  with  the  siij^eradded  baptism  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  has  made  out 
of  very  unpromising  material  the  very  prince  of  American  preachers. 
A  professor  of  oratory  once  went  to  hear  Biohop   Simpson  as  a 
professional  study.     Being  afterward  asked  how  he  liked  the  preacher's 


BISHOP   SIMPSON. 


elocution,  he  replied,  "  Elocution  !  I  never  thought  of  it.     What  does 
he  need  of  elocution  ?  " 

On  some  great  occasions  his  whole  audience  have  been  known 
almost  unconsciously  to  rise  to  their  feet  and  crowd  close  up  around 
him  as  he  opened  to  their  faith  the  mysteries  of  eternity.  It  was  as 
if  he  actually  saw  the  great  white  throne,  and  Him  that  sat  on  it,  and 


Bishop  Simpson.  -jtq-^ 

were  just  about  to  part  the  curtains  of  the  sky  and  give  his  congrega- 
had  a  forc,blo  suggosfon  of  the  supernatural  power  that  dweUs  in  the 

truth  of  the  Gospel  and  ,ts  mission  of  salvation,  was  thns  prepared  for 

the  highest  uses  which  God  ever  makes  of  men 

The  Bishop's  literary  labors  have  already  been  mentioned.     His 

Cyclopsed-a  of  Methodism"  is  a  treasury  of  historic  material  which 

becomes  more  a.d  more  valuable  every  year;  while  his  "Yale  Le. 

tures  on  Preachmg,"  especially  that  on  "Pulpit  Power,"  will    lo" 

remam  not  only  a  masterful  treatise  on  sanctified  rhetoric,  but  als: 

a  monu,„cnt  of  Christian  catholicity,  by  which  both  the  lcc;,n.      and 

the  >nst,tut,on  m  whose  halls  he  spoke  alike  receive  distinguished  praise. 

Bishop  Snnpson  was  born  in  Cadiz,  Ohio,  on  the  20th  of  June,  1811  • 

studied  at  Madison,  afterward  Alleghany,  College,  in  which,  at  the  a.e' 

o   eighteen,  he  was  elected  tutor.     He  first  studied  medicine,  and  ttl 
en  ere    „        ,,  ^,  ,,_^^  p^^^^^^.^___  ^^^^^^^  ^^  ^^_^  ^,^ 

Lord  he  entered  the  ministry  and  joined  the  Pittsburgh  Conference 
heaiof-thfih.""'""  '''""  '"  ''''''''''--■  '^  "-  '"  '•■» 

ei.hf  !fe?p-  f  """""'-I"  1«^2  the  General  Conference  elected 
eight  new  Bishops  to  re-enforce  the  four  effective  men  whose  vast 

^sZllTSP'  '■"'■', ,'"'  "°"  '""'"^  "PP^^^^'™-     One  reason 
assigned  fo   so  large  an  addition  to  the  episcopal  college  at  once  was 

he  removal  of  elections  from  „,e  General  Conference  fer  a  lonl  tlTe 
to  come;  a  coui.e  which  had  this  other  advantage,  namely,  th:  com 
mencenient  of  t  e  episcopal  training  of  a  large  clas!  'of  men  who  wouTd 
thus  be  constantly  gaining  on  the  duties  of  the  office 
_      In  this  grandest  field  of  labor  open  to  Christian  ambition  on  earth 
s  found  the  best  imaginable  school  for  educating  great  men.1^ 
potty  d-ocose  couflnes  their  effort  and  Umits  the  scale  of  their  plans 
Thasops  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  may  have  the  r'ound 
^rtlfo,  their  circuit;  one  of  them.  Bishop  Harris,  has  actually  trav- 
e  ed  It.     Occasionally  a  suggestion  is  heard  that  our  Church,  by  fixing 

Not  „.     The  size  and  quality  of  the  men  produced  by  a  worid  wide 
and  long-time  episcopal  trainhig,  as  compared  mtb  what  might  be 


708 


Illustkated  History  of  Methodism. 


looked  for  in  a  class  of  prelates  shut  up  to  a  single  State  of  the  Union, 
or  sometimes  to  a  half  or  quarter  of  a  State,  ought  forever  to  banish 
all  thoughts  of  a  diocesan  episcopacy  from  our  communion.  With 
such  names  as  Asbury,  and  Hedding,  and  Janes  in  our  annals,  anil  the 


BISHOP   BOWMAN. 


material  and  opportunity  for  producing  others  like  them,  the  Church 
ought  to  be  in  no  danger  of  so  far  backsliding  from  its  discipline  and 
its  sagacity  as  to  cage  up  its  eagles,  and  doom  itself  to  endure  the 
small  dignities  of  a  class  of  local  prelates  whose  work  must  be  done 


m  a  corner. 


Bishop  Hakris.  700 

The  first*  of  the  eight  bishops  elected  at  the  Brooklyn  General 
Conference  in  1872  was  the  Rev.  Thomas  Bowman,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  whose 
service  to  the  Church  had  been  chiefly  in  its  Western  literary  institu- 
tions, he  having  been  elected  to  the  Episcopacy  from  the  Presidency 
of  the  Indiana  Asbury  University,  which  chair  he  had  held  since  1859. 
Bishop  Bowman  is  a  native  of  Columbia  County,  Pennslyvania,  bom 
July  15,  1817.  He  was  a  student  both  at  Wilbraham  and  Cazenovia 
Academies,  and  graduated  with  first  honors  from  Dickinson  College 
in  the  class  of  1837.  He  is  classed  as  one  of  the  conservative  bishops ; 
more,  however,  because  of  the  evenness  and  gentleness  of  his  nature, 
than  any  slowness  of  appreciation  of  great  principles  or  opportunities. 
Ilis  chosen  residence  is  St.  Louis. 

Bishop  Harris.— The  Rev.  Wilham  L.  Hams,  D.D.,  LL.D., 
was  long  prominent  in  the  Church,  as  Assistant  Missionary  Secretary 
with  tlic  venerable  Dr.  Durbin.  He  was  born  near  Mansfield,  Ohio, 
November  14,  1817,  was  converted  in  1834,  entered  the  ministry  in 
the  Michigan  Conference  in  1837,  but  was  afterward  transferred  to 
the  North  Ohio  Conference.  He  is  not  a  college  graduate,  but  lie 
enjoys  the  distinction  of  being  versed  both  in  classical  and  theological 
leai-ning,  having  studied  the  ancient  tongues  by  the  light  of  pine  knots 
in  the  cabins,  and  read  theology  with  his  book  resting  on  the  horn  of 
his  saddle  as  he  traveled  his  early  circuits. 

In  185G  he  first  appeared  in  the  General  Conference,  which  body 
elected  him  its  Secretary  and  this  post  he  filled  by  unanimous  consent 
at  every  subsequent  conference  until  his  election  to  the  bishopric  in 
1872.  He  is  our  "  Missionary  Bishop."  A  map  of  his  tour  over  the 
eastern  hemisphere,  showing  the  chief  points  of  his  itinerary,  appears 
in  the  opening  pages  of  this  vohime.  His  chosen  residence  was  Chica- 
go ;  from  whence,  on  the  death  of  Bishop  Janes,  he  removed  to  New 
York  by  the  special  desire  of  the  eastern  Bishops,  in  view  of  his  great 
familiarity  with  the  management  of  affairs  at  the  missionary  and 
publishing  head-quarters  of  the  Church.  As  secretary  of  the  General 
Conference,  the  important  duty  of  editing  the  quadrennial  editions 
of  the  Discipline  fell  to  his  hands.  He  also  prepared  the  editions 
of  1872  and  1876.  He  has  published  a  volume  on  The  Powers  of  the 
General  Conference,  and  a  work  jointly  with  Judge  Henry,  on  Eccle- 

•  Priority  in  this  case  is  reckoned  by  the  number  of  votes  received  on  each  ballot 


710 


Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 


BISHOP   HARRIS. 


siastical  Law.  His  buoyant,  cheery  spirit  is  contagious;  his  labors 
are  abundant,  and  his  Western  vigor  joined  to  liis  cosmopolitan 
experience  and  observation  give  him  force  and  favor  throughout  the 
Church. 

Bishop  Foster. — Kandolph  S.  Foster,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  was  elected 
to  the  Episcopate  from  the  presidency  of  Drew  Theological  Seminary; 
to. which  office  he  succeeded  on  tlie  death  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  McClintock, 
in  1870,  having  served  as  a  professor  in  that  institution  since  1868. 
Bishop  Foster  is  a  native  of  Ohio ;  born  at  Williamsburgh,  February 
22d,  1820.  He  entered  the  Ohio  Conference  in  his  eighteenth  year, 
and  early  distinguished  himself  both  as  a  preacher  and  a  defender  of 
Methodist  theology  with  his  pen.  He  is  distinguished  as  author  and 
theologian.     His  more  notable  volumes  are,  "  Cliristian  Purity,"  "  Life 


Bishop  Wiley. 


71.1 


BISHOP    FOSTER. 


Beyond  the  Grave,"  some  controversial  writings  on  Calvinism,  and  a 
work  on  Systematic  Theology.     His  residence  is  Boston,  Mass. 

Bishop  Wiley.— The  Kev.  Isaac  W.  Wiley,  D.D.,  is  another  of 
OTir  Bishops  whose  name  is  intimately  associated  with  missionary  work, 
he  having  served  for  four  years  in  the  Chinese  mission,  and  on  his 
return  published  a  volume  entitled,  "  The  Fallen  Missionaries  of  Foo- 
chow."  He  was  boni  in  Lewistown,  Pa.,  March  29,  1825,  united  with 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  at  ten  years  of  age;  graduated  in 
medicine  from  the  University  of  New  York  in  1846  ;  joined  the  East 


712 


Illustkated  History  of  Methodism. 


Genesee  Conference  in  1850 ;  sailed  for  China  in  the  spring  of  1858; 
was  editor  of  the  "  Ladies'  Repository  "  from  1864  until  his  election  as 
Bishop  in  1872. 

In  1877  he  was  chosen  to  make  a  survey  of  our  missions  in  China 
and  Japan.     His  residence  is  Cincinnati. 


BISHOP    WILEY. 


Bishop  Merrill.— The  State  of  Ohio  may  be  called  the  mother 
of  Bishops,  as  Virginia  has  been  "  the  mother  of  Presidents."  The 
Rev.  Stephen  M.  Merrill,  D.D.,  is  the  fifth  man  elected  to  the  Epis- 
copacy who  commenced  his  ministry  in  the  Ohio  Conference;   one 


Bishop  Mekkill.  •-■,., 

h^  boo  cl,osen  from  the  North  Ohio  Conference,  and  four  othe™ 
have  been  elevated  to  this  highest  ofliee  in  the  Ohu;eh  from  ed.tori^ 
pos,t,o„s  ,n  Cmeinnati.     Tlu.s,  ten  out  of  the  twenty-nine  native  B^h 
oi>s  of  the  Methodist  Episeopal  Chureh  have  been  Ohioans,     Iher  bv 
birth  or  office,  or  botJi.  '  - 


BISHOP  MERRILL. 


tember  IC,  1825;  was  admitted  to   the  Ohio  Conference  in  1846 
^^      lerence  m  1868,  at  wliich  session  he  was  elected  to  the 


714 


Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 


editorship  of  the  "  Western  Christian  Advocate,"  at  Cincinnati ;  and 
four  years  later  was  elected  bishop. 

He  is  the  author  of  two  books,  one  on  "  Christian  Baptism,"  and 
one  on  the  "  Second  Coming  of  Christ."  His  first  episcopal  residence 
was  St.  Paul,  whence  he  removed  to  Chicago,  on  the  removal  of 
Bishop  Harris  to  New  York. 


BISHOP    ANDREWS. 


Bishop  Audre^vs  was  elevated  to  the  episcopacy  immediately 
from  the  pastorate ;  a  fact  worthy  of  note,  it  being  an  exception  to  the 
asual  workings  of  Methodist  Church  politics  ;  though  he  had  previously 


Bishop  Andrews.  715 

served  the  Church  as  an  educator  both  in  the  Cazenovia  Seminary  and 
the  Mansfield  (Ohio)  Female  College. 

Edward  G.  Andrews,  D.D.,  was  born  in  New  Hartford,  JST.  Y., 
August  7,  1825 ;  entered  the  Church  while  yet  a  child  ;  was  admitted 
to  t]ie  Oneida  Conference  in  1848  ;  was  transferred  to  the  New  York 
East  in  1864 ;  and  in  1872  was  elected  Bishop  by  the  Brooklyn  Gen- 
eral Conference,  from  the  pastorate  of  the  Seventh  Avenue  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  in  that  city. 

His  duties  have  called  him  to  extensive  travels  among  our  missions 
both  in  Europe  and  Asia.     His  residence  is  Des  Moines,  Iowa. 

Bishop  Haven.— The  Eev.  Gilbert  Haven,  the  literary  genius, 
the  radical  reformer,  is  one  of  the  most  admired  and  best  hated  men 
in  America.  By  the  irresistible  bent  of  his  nature  he  moves  in 
the  van  of  events.  His  eye  is  toward  the  future ;  for  the  past  he 
often  manifests  a  somewhat  troublesome  contempt.  With  him  gray 
errors  and  venerable  wrongs  are  no  more  entitled  to  respect  than  if 
they  were  of  to-day :  he  would  crush  the  head  of  the  original  serpent 
which  appeared  in  Eden  without  stopping  to  think  of  its  value  as  an 
ophidian  specimen  or  a  theological  curiosity.  Bishop  Haven  is  a  fair 
illustration  of  what  New  England,  and  especially  Boston,  can  produce 
in  the  way  of  rehgious  agitators  and  leaders ;  a  man  of  the  William 
Lloyd  Garrison  and  Wendell  Phillips  type ;  with  no  whit  less  of  devo- 
tion and  self-abandonment  to  the  principles  he  holds,  yet  with  a  mighty 
love  for  the  Church  of  Christ  and  a  heart  full  of  good  fellowship  and 
Methodist  religion.  The  element  of  fear  seems  wanting  in  his  compo- 
sition ;  he  is  brave  enough  to  be  singular.  With  him  a  minority  is  no 
discouragement  provided  it  be  arrayed  for  the  defense  of  a  great 
truth.  He  believes  God.  Why,  then,  in  his  case  as  well  as  that  of 
Abraham,  shall  it  not  be  "  counted  unto  him  for  righteousness  ? "  One 
such  man  is  enough  to  keep  a  whole  Christian  communion  from  going 
to  sleep  ;  a  dozen  such  could  revolutionize  a  nation. 

Bishop  Haven  was  born  in  Maiden,  one  of  the  suburban  towns  of 
Boston,  on  the  19th  of  September,  1821.  He  was  converted  while  a 
student  at  the  Wilbraham  Academy,  and  in  1846  graduated  at  the 
Wesley  an  University,  Middletown,  Conn.  After  five  years  as  teacher 
and  principal  at  Amenia  Seminary  he  joined  the  New  England  Confei^ 
ence  in  1851,  and  ten  years  after,  on  the  breaking  out  of  the  war,  he  en 


716 


Illustkated  Histoky  of  Methodism. 


listed  in  the  famous  8th  Massachusetts  Regiment,  of  which  he  was  made 
chaplain ;  his  commission  being  the  first  one  issued  for  that  service. 
He  visited  Europe  and  the  East  in  1862-63,  and  in  1867  was  elected 
editor  of  "  Zion's  Herald,"  which,  under  his  administration,  was  one  of 


BISHOP    UAVEN. 

the  most  stirring  and  independent  sheets,  secular  or  religious,  evei 
seen  in  America,  and  from  the  chair  of  which  he  was  raised  to  the 
Episcopacy  in  1872. 

Of  his  movements  the  Church  has  been  kept  well  informed,  for 
the  Bishop  has  by  no  means  overcome  the  editor.     Ho  has  braved  the 


Bishop  Haven.  717 

African  fever  for  the  sake  of  strengthening  the  brethren  in  that  dark 
continent,  and  if  the  Church  should  ever  have  another  forlorn  hope  to 
lead  during  his  lifetime,  what  there  may  be  left  of  him  ^dll  be  eager 
to  lead  it.  "  The  Pilgrim's  Wallet,"  "  Life  of  Father  Taylor,"  "  Our 
Next-door  Neighbor ;  or,  A  Winter  in  Mexico,"  and  "  National  Ser- 
mons," are  the  titles  of  his  published  volumes.  His  official  residence 
is  Atlanta,  Ga.* 

JBisliop  Peck.' — Of  a  family  which  in  three  generations  has 
produced  twenty  Methodist  preachers,  the  chief  historic  names  are 
those  of  the  two  brothers,  George  Peck,  D.D.,  and  Jesse  Trusdell 
Peck,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  sons  of  Lnther  Peck  and  Annis  (Coller)  Peck, 
born  in  Middlefield,  Otsego  County,  N.  Y. ;  the  former  in  1797,  and 
the  latter  April  4th,  ISll.  The  family  was  of  Puritan  stock,  their 
two  grandfathers  having  Ix^en  soldiers  of  tlie  Revolution.  Bishop 
Peck  was  the  eleventh  child  of  his  mother,  and  he  still  remembers 
her  constant  prayer  in  tlie  days  of  his  Ixiyhood,  wliich  was  answered 
to  tlie  letter :  "  O  Lord,  conveit  my  five  sons  and  take  them  all  for 
the  ministry." 

His  father  was  for  forty  years  a  Methodist  class-leader,  a  black- 
smith by  trade,  and  a  teacher  of  music  by  way  of  recreation  ;  in  both 
of  which  arts  the  embryo  bisho])  was  duly  instructed.  The  forge  and 
anNTil  have  now  been  left  l)ehind,  but  the  music  I'cmaiiis,  and  the  same 
flute  which  his  father  used  to  })lay  when  the  Bisho])  was  a  lad,  may 
still  occasionally  be  heard  of  a  summer  evening  on  tlie  back  piazza  of 
tliat  Bishop's  residence  in  Syracuse,  N.  Y. 

In  a  testimony  concerning  his  early  religious  life  Bishop  Peck  once 
said : — 

"The  doctrines  and  practices  of  Methodisn.  liave  with  me  no 
beginning.  My  conversion  occurred  at  home,  five  days  before  I  was 
sixteen  years  old,  at  a  time  M'hen  there  was  no  revival.  It  was  the 
result  of  the  teachings  of  my  mother,  and  of  a  sense  of  duty  pressed 
upon  me  by  the  Holy  Spirit  that  it  Avas  time  to  begin  a  holy  life.'' 

Ever  since  his  thirteenth  year  he  had  been  the  chief  reliance  of  his 
parents,  all  of  whose  other  sons  liad  entered  the  ministry;  and  when 
Jesse  came  and  said,  "  I  feel  called  to  preach,"  his  father,  with  the 
tears  raining  down  his  cheeks,  replied:  "I  have  opposed  all  the  rest, 

*  Bishop  Haven  died  in  great  triumpli,  at  Maiden,  Mass.,  Jan.  3,  1880. 


718 


Illustrated  Histoky  of  Methodism. 


but  I  promised  the  Lord  that  if  he  would  convert  you  he  might  have 
you ; "  and  the  lad  at  once  began  to  do  double  duty,  working  by  day 
and  studying  by  night  to  prepare  for  his  holy  mission.  He  had  been 
the  chief  declaimer  in  the  district  school,  and  now  he  began  to  preach 


BISHOP  PECK. 


for  practice.  He  would  preach  to  the  trees  in  the  orchard,  to  the 
horse  as  he  rode  to  mill,  to  the  stones  in  the  wall  by  the  roadside — no 
bad  preparation,  this  last,  for  preaching  to  hard-hearted  sinners ;  and 
after  a  career  of  training,  chiefly  under  the  direction  of  his  brother, 
the  late  Dr.  George  Peck,  including  something  of  a  course  at  Cazen- 


Eisiiop  Peck.  719 

ovia  Seminaiy,  he  was  "  called  out "  by  Elder  Elias  Bowen,  and  began 
to  work  the  Conrtland  Circuit,  on-  which  his  brothers  before  him  had 
tried  their  'prentice  hand. 

He  got  on  well  enough  with  the  preaching,  but  for  some  time  he 

tvas  obliged,  from  sheer  bashfulness,  to  take  his  wife  along  with  him 

when  he  went  to  make  pastoral  calls.     In  1S32  ho  joined  the  Oneida 

Conference;    from    1837  to   ISll   he   was   Principal   of    Gouverneur 

Wesleyan  Seminary,  St.  Lawrence  County,  N.  Y. ;  in  1S41  he  became 

Principal  of  the  Troy  Conference  Academy,  at  Poultney,  Vt. ;  from 

1818  to  1852  he  M-as  President  of  Dickinson  College,  and  a  member 

of  the  Baltimore  Conference;  and  in  1859  he  was  transferred  from 

a  pastorate  in  the  city  of  Kew  York  to  the  rising  young  Conference 

on  the  Pacilic  Coast,  and  stationed  at  the  Powell-street  Church,  San 

Francisco.     Of  his  eight  years'  work  in  Califoi'uia  brief  mention  has 

already  been  made. 

He  brought  all  the  great  war  questions  into  his  puli)it ;  preached 
to  crowds  on  the  corners  of  the  streets ;  spoke  for  liberty,  for  loyalty, 
for  free  schools,  for  Christian  civilization  in  every  form,  a]id  with  sucli 
effect  that  upon  the  coahtion  of  the  Republicans  and  Wai-  Democrats 
lie  was  oifered  the  post  of  United  States  Senator  for  California,  wliicli 
he  coolly  declined ;  saying,  when  pressed  to  consent  to  a  nomination, 
wliich  would  be  equivalent  to  an   election  :  "  I   will  not  be  senator. 
Find  you  a  man  for  tliat  ofHee  who  is  not  called  to  the  ministry  of  the 
Gospel."     During  his  j)astorates  in  San   Francisco,  Saci-amento,  Santa 
Clara,  and  as  Presiding  Elder  on  the  San  Francisco  District,  lie  served 
as  president  of  the  Boai-d  of  Trustees  of  the  University  of  the  Pacific : 
and  on  his  return  to  the  East,  in  1SG6,  he  accepted  a  similar  relation  to 
the  Syracuse  University,  of  which  he  has  been  a  wise  counselor  and  a 
generous  patron.     He  was  elected  Bishop  in  1872.     He  is  the  author 
of  "  The  History  of  the  Great  Republic,"  "  The  Central  Idea  of  Chris- 
tianity," "What  Must  I  Do  to  Be  Saved?"  and  "The  True  Woman." 
Itishop  Warren.  — Henry  W.  Warren,   D.D.,   was  born  at 
Williamsburgh,  Mass.,  January  4,  1831.     He  is  an  alumnus  of  Wes- 
leyan University,  at  which  institution  he  graduated   with  honor  in 
1853.     The  two  years  subsequent  were  spent  as  Professor  of  Ancient 
Languages  at  Wesleyan  Academy,  Wilbraham,  Mass.,  and  in  the  spring 
of  1855  he  was  received  on  trial  in  the  New  England  Conference. 


720 


Illustrated  History  of  Methcx^ism. 


He  soon  made  for 
himself  a  name,  not 
only  in  his  own 
Conference,  but  be- 
yond its  bounds ; 
and  at  the  session 
of  1873  was  trans- 
ferj-ed  to  the  Phil- 
adelphia Confer- 
ence, and  assigned 
to  the  A  r  c  h  - 
street  Church,  a 
leading  appoint- 
ment of  Philadel- 
phia. Three  years 
later  he  was  trans- 
ferred to  the  New 
York  East  Confer- 
ence, and  placed  in 
charge  of  St.  John's 
Church,  Brooklyn, 
N.  Y.  After  serving  this  Church  three  years  Dr.  Warren  was  sent 
back  to  Arch-street,  Philadelphia ;  and  at  the  end  of  his  second  three 
years'  pastorate  there  was  removed  to  Spring  Garden  Church,  an 
important  charge  in  the  same  city.  Here  a  pastorate  of  a  little  more 
than  two  months  was  terminated  by  his  election  to  the  Episcopacy  at 
the  General  Conference  of  1880.  Bishop  Warren  is  the  author 
of  "Recreations  in  Astronomy,"'  and  an  instructive  book  called 
''Sights  and  Insights;  or.  Knowledge  by  Travel,"  a  collection  of 
reminiscences  of  foreign  lands. 

Bi^^hop  Foss.  —  Cyrus  D.  Foss,  D.D.,  was  born  at  Kingston, 
N.  Y.,  January  17,  1834.  Converted  in  early  life,  he  soon  felt  the 
ministry  to  be  the  vocation  assigned  him  of  God.  He  graduated  with 
high  honor  at  Wesleyan  University  in  1851;  and  after  spending  three 
years  as  professor  or  principal  at  Amenia  Seminary,  (the  Conference 
Academy,)  in  1857  he  entered  the  New  York  Conference.  In  1859 
he  was   transferred    to   the   New   York   East   Conference,   and   was 


BISHOP    WARBEN. 


Bishop  Foss. 


721 


stationed  at  the 
Fleet  -  street 
Church,  Brooklyn. 
From  this  time  he 
occujjied  the  lead- 
: n g  pulpits  in 
Brooklyn  and  'New 
York,  until,  in 
1875,  he  was  unan- 
imously elected  to 
the  presidency  of 
the  Wesleyan  Uni- 
versity, which  po- 
sition he  held  at 
the  time  of  his  be- 
ing chosen  to  the 
office  of  Bishop. 
Under  the  super- 
vision of  Dr.  Foss 
the  university  en- 
tered upon  a 
grander  course  than  ever  before,  both  as  to  its  standing  in  the  realms 
of  higher  classical  education,  and  as  to  its  financial  condition.  Al- 
most coeval  with  his  election  to  the  presidency  the  endowment  fund 
began  to  rise  steadily,  and  from  that  time  forward  until  the  present 
it  has  been  increasing  in  volume. 

Bishop  Hurst.  —  John  F.  Hurst,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  was  born  in 
Dorchester  County,  Md.,  August  17,  1831:.  Pie  was  converted  in 
early  youth,  and  graduated  at  Dickinson  College  with  much  honor  the 
year  Ijefore  he  reached  his  majority.  After  teaching  two  years  in 
Hedding  Institute  he  went  abroad  to  study  and  travel,  where  he  com- 
pleted his  theological  studies  at  the  Universities  of  Halle  and  Heidel- 
berg. In  1858  he  returned  to  this  country,  and  was  received  into  the 
Newark  Conference,  and  spent  some  years  in  pastoral  work.  In  1866 
he  was  elected  principal  of  the  theological  department  of  the  Mission 
Institute  at  Bremen,  Germany,  and  on  its  removal  to  Frankfort-on- 
the-Main,  as  Martin   Biblical  Institute,  he  accompanied  it.     His  ad- 


BISHOP   FOSS. 


722 


Illustrated  History  of  Methodis3i. 


ministration  of  its 
affairs  was  emi- 
nent! v  successful. 
In  1871  he  was 
elected  to  tlie 
cliair  of  Historical 
Theology  in  Drew 
Theological  Sem- 
inary, at  Madison, 
N.J.  When  Bish- 
op Foster  was 
elected  to  the  Epis- 
copacy in  1872, 
Dr.  Hurst  was 
unanimously  elect- 
ed by  the  trustees 
as  his  successor, 
retaining,  how- 
ever, the  chair  of 
Historical  Theol- 
ogy. He  early 
demonstrated  eminent  fitness  for  the  position,  both  as  a  skillful 
educator  and  wise  administrator  of  the  affairs  of  the  Seminary. 

Bishop  Hurst  is  well  known  in  the  theological  and  literary  world. 
His  translation  of  Hagenbach's  "  History  of  the  Church  in  the  Eight- 
eenth and  Nineteenth  Centuries,"  Yan  Oosterzee's  "  Lectures  in  De- 
fense of  JoliTi's  Gospel,"  and  of  Lange's  "  Commentary  on  the  Epistle 
to  the  Romans,"  and  an  original  and  very  able  "  History  of  Rational- 
ism," are  among  his  chief  theological  contributions.  He  is  also  the 
author  of  a  delightfully  readable  volume  called  "Life  and  Literature 
of  the  Fatherland."  A  still  more  important  and  learned  work  from 
his  pen  is  now,  we  understand,  only  awaiting  a  few  iinishing  touches. 
Bishop  Haven.— Erastus  O.  Haven,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  was  born  in 
Boston,  Mass.,  November  1,  1820.  He  early  gave  indications  of  the 
superior  mental  and  moral  qualities  Avliich  have  since  mar^'ed  him,  and 
which  have  so  commended  him  to  the  favorable  consideration  of  the 
Church.     He,  as  well  as  Drs.  Warren  and  Foss,  is  a  graduate  of  Wes- 


BISHOP   HUBST. 


Bishop  Haveiv. 


723 


lejan  University. 
Having  honorably 
completed  his  col- 
lege course,  he  be- 
came professor  in, 
and  ultimately 
principal  of,  Ame- 
nia  Seminary.  In 
1848  he  was  re- 
ceived into  the 
New  York  Confer- 
ence, and  stationed 
at  the  Twenty- 
fourth  -  street 
Church.  In  1852 
he  had  charge  of 
the  M  u  1  b  e  r  r  y  - 
street,  now  St. 
Paul's,  Church.  In 
1853  Dr.  Haven 
was  transferred  to 
the  Michigan  Conference,  having  been  elected  to  a  professorship 
in  the  University  of  Michigan,  the  duties  of  which  position  he  con- 
tinued to  discharge  until  1856,  when  he  accepted  the  editorship  of 
"Zion's  Herald,"  Boston,  in  M'hich  office  he  continued  until  1863. 
During  this  period  he  was  elected  as  State  Senator  of  Massachusetts. 
In  1863  he  was  elected  to  the  presidency  of  the  Michigan  University. 
In  1869  he  became  President  of  the  North-western  University,  at 
Evanston,  111.  In  1872  he  was  elected  by  the  General  Conference 
Secretary  of  the  Board  of  Education,  and  in  1874  accepted  the  Chan- 
cellorship of  the  Syracuse  University,  both  of  which  offices  he  held 
at  the  time  of  his  election  to  the  Episcopacy,  in  1880.  He  is  an  author 
of  repute,  and  has  been  a  frequent  contrilnitor  to  the  pei'iodical  press. 
General  Conference  Officers— The  Book  Concern. 
— At  the  close  of  the  Revolutionary  War  John  Dickins,  a  Londoner, 
who  immigrated  to  America  in  1774,  and  joined  the  little  band  of 
Methodist  itinerants  in  1777,  was  stationed  at  New  York  in  1783  for 


BISHOP   HAV^EX. 


724  Illusteated  History  of  Methodism. 

the  purpose  of  superintending  the  publication  of  Methodist  books. 
He  was  quite  a  distinguished  scholar,  and  therefore  was  thought  to  be 
the  most  suitable  person  for  an  office  which  included  the  duties  both 
of  editor  and  publislier. 

In  the  "Minutes  of  the  Conference  of  1789"  the  name  of  John 
Dickins  appears  as  Book  Steward,  and  Philip  Cox  is  left  without  a 
Circuit  and  appointed  Book  Steward  at  Large.  For  reasons  now  un- 
known the  publishing  business  of  the  Church  was  at  this  time  removed 
to  Philadelphia,  but  was  brought  back  to  New  York  in  180-i, 

When  Mr.  Dickins  commenced  operations  in  Philadelphia  the 
Book  Concern — now  so  strong  and  helpful — possessed  little,  if  any, 
accumulated  capital,  and  the  iirst  Book  Steward  placed  at  its  disposal,' 
from  his  own  private  funds,  the  sum  of  $G00  wherewith  to  commence 
the  business.  The  earlier  publications  were  "  The  Christian's  Pattern," 
by  Thomas  a  Kempis ;  an  edition  of  "The  Discipline,"  and  "The 
Saints'  Everlasting  Rest."  It  was  agreed  by  the  Confei-ence  that  the 
profits  arising  from  the  sale  of  books  should  be  applied,  under  the 
Conference  direction,  toward  the  college,  (Cokesbury,)  the  preachers' 
fund,  the  deficiencies  of  preachers,  the  district  missions,  and  the  debts 
of  Churches.  It  was  supposed  that  the  profits  would  amount  to  at 
least  $2,500  a  year,  out  of  which  the  Book  Steward  was  to  be  paid  a 
salary  of  $QQQ  33,  and  the  rent  of  a  house.  A  similar  sum  was  to  be 
divided  among  the  distressed  preachers  by  way  of  making  up  the 
arrears  of  their  unpaid  salaries,  and  the  most  of  the  remainder  was  to 
go  to  Cokesbury  College.  As  has  already  been  seen,  this  college  was 
burned  in  1795,  and  since  that  time  there  has  been  no  financial  connec- 
tion between  the  Concern  and  the  educational  system  of  the  Church. 

Dickins  fell  a  victim  to  the  yellow  fever,  which  raged  with  great 
violence  in  Philadelphia  in  1798.  When  the  disease  beoame  epidemic 
his  friends  urged  him  to  leave  the  city,  but,  having  passed  through 
similar  calamities  in  1793  and  1797  uninjured,  he  determined  to  remain 
at  his  post ;  and  to  the  duties  of  Book  Steward  he  added  those  of  vis- 
itor to  the  sick  and  the  dying.  On  being  attacked  with  the  fever  he 
called  his  wife  to  his  bedside,  and  said,  "  My  dear,  I  am  very  ill,  but 
do  not  be  in  the  least  uneasy.  Divine  Wisdom  cannot  err.  Glory  be 
to  God !  I  can  rejoice  in  his  will,  whether  for  life  or  death.  I  know 
all  is  well." 


Methodist  Book  Concern. 


725 


If  there  is  any  romance  at  all  connected  with  the  history  of  Bishop 
Asbury,  it  may  aiijiear  in  the  fact  that  after  the  death  of  John 
Dickins,  the  Bishop,  for  a  considerable  number  of  years,  contributed 
to  the  support  of  his  widow  and  her  family.  This  he  did,  after  the 
death  of  his  own  mother,  on  the  principle,  as  he  said,  that  it  was  the 
duty  of  every  man  to  provide  for  some  one  woman ;  and  his  manner 
of  life  being  such  as  to  preclude  the  possibility  of  his  having  a  home 
of  his  own,  he,  in  a  sense,  adopted  the  widow  and  family  of  this  faith- 
ful man  as  the  objects  of  this  particular  charity. 

The  Methodist  Book  Concern  now  consists  of  two  principal  estab- 
lishments and  a  number  of  depositories.  The  New  York,  or  Eastern, 
Book  Concern  has  depositories  at  Boston,  Buffalo,  Pittsburgh,  and 


^^- 


REV.   REUBEN  NELSON,   D.D. 


San  Francisco.  The  Western  Concern  has  branch  houses  at  Chicago, 
St.  Louis,  and  Atlanta.  Depositories  on  private  account  exist  in  Phil- 
adelphia, Baltimore,  and  Kew  Orleans.  During  its  existence  the  Book 
Concern  has  paid  to  the  various  interests  of  the  Church,  outside  of  its 


726  Illustkated  History  of  Methodism. 

own  business,  nearly  one  million  eight  lumdred  thousand  dollars.  Its 
present  capital  is  something  over  a  million. 

Renben  Nelson,  D.D.,  was  a  native  of  the  State  of  New 
York  ;  born  December  13,  181S  ;  converted  at  the  age  of  fifteen  ; 
received  into  the  Oneida  Conference  in  1838.  His  first  great  achieve- 
ment  was  the  founding  of  the  "Wyoming  Conference  Seminary,  at 
Kingston,  Pa.,  in  1844,  of  which  institution  he  was  the  honored  head 
for  twenty-seven  years.     He  died  at  New  York,  February  20,  1879. 

The  Missionary  Society. — As  ah-eady  mentioned,  the  first 
systematic  missionary  movement  on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic  was  that 
which  commenced  with  the  organization  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  in  1784.  Collections  were  then  ordered  for  sending  preachers 
into  the  wild  regions  between  the  Alleghany  Mountains  and  the  Missis- 
sippi River;  an  arrangement  which  shows  how  truly  Methodism  in 
America,  no  less  than  in  Great  Britain,  was  itself  a  great  missionary 
movement.  The  first  preachers  sent  out  to  the  Colonies  by  Mr.  Wes- 
ley were  called  "Missionaries,"  and  far  into  the  present  century  this 
was  still  the  title  given  to  ministers  sent  out  by  the  English  Confer 
ences  to  the  Societies  in  British  America. 

The  first  form  of  what  is  now  the  Missionary  Society,  was  set 
up  at  New  York  in  the  year  1819,  chiefiy  under  the  direction  of  the 
Rev.  Nathan  Bangs,  D.D.,  and  the  Rev.  Joshua  Soule,  afterward  Bishop 
Soule,  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South.  In  the  following 
year  it  was  recognized  by  the  General  Conference,  and  gradually  came 
to  be  the  great  public  charity  of  the  Church.  At  this  General  Con- 
ference Dr.  Bangs  was  elected  Book  Agent  at  New  York,  and  to  the 
duties  of  this  oftice  he  gratuitously  added  those  of  Secretary,  Vice- 
president,  and  Treasurer  of  the  fiedgling  Missionary  Society,  whose  first 
mission  was  among  the  Wyandotte  Indians,  and  whose  work  for  tlio 
next  thirteen  years  was  wholly  among  the  red  men  in  Canada  and  the 
Territories,  and  among  the  black  men  of  the  South.  Its  first  foreign 
mission  was  in  Liberia,  which  was  established  in  1833,  where  now  there 
is  a  conference  which  in  1878  reported  18  ministers,  47  local  preach- 
ers, and  a  total  membership  of  2,110. 

The  next  important  foreign  work  of  the  Society  was  the  inauguration 
of  the  China  Mission  in  1847,  with  its  head-quarters  at  Foochow,  Tins 
was  in  1878  a  conference  with  34  ministers,  50  local  preachers,  and  a 


The  Missioinaky  ouciety. 


727 


total  membership  of  2,011.  Two  other  missions,  one  in  Central  and 
one  in  Southern  China,  have  since  been  established,  and  there  is  an  in- 
teresting Chinese  Mission  in  San  Francisco.  For  a  history  of  the 
Society  from  its  commencement,  see  "  Missions  and  Missionary  Soci- 
ety of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,"  by  Kev.  J.  M.  Eeid,  D.D., 
two  volumes,  New  York:  Phillips  &  Hunt,  1879. 

John  P.  Diirbin,  n.n.^  is  still  remembered  as  one  of  the 
most  magnetic  advocates  and  preachers,  both  on  the  platform  and  in 
the  pulpit,  that  the  Church  in  America  ever  produced.  Beginning  in 
a  weak,  whining  tone,  and  with  a  slow,  drawling  movement,  he  inva- 


^^y 


JOHJSr  p.  DURBIN,  D.D. 


/" 


nably  disappointed  his  auditors  who  had  come  for  the  first  time  to 
hear  "  the  great  Dr.  Durbin  ; "  but  in  a  few  minutes,  as  he  became 
more  and  more  impressed  with  his  subject,  his  voice  and  manner 
would  change,  first  to  earnestness,  then  to  eloquence,  then  to  flashes  of 
light  and  bursts  of  power  which  overwhelmed  his  great  congregations, 
and  sometimes  called  forth  such  an  irrepressible  tempest  of  responses 
as  to  drown  the  voice  of  the  speaker  and  compel  him  to  break  off  his 
discourse.  He  was  a  Kentuckian  by  birth.  In  1852  he  was  elected 
Missionary  Secretary,  and  at   the  close  of   twenty  memorable  years. 


728 


Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 


during  wliich  lie  saw  tlie  annual  income  of  the  great  charity  of  the 
Church  mount  up  from  $100,000  to  nearly  $700,000,  he  resigned 
his  place,  retired  from  public  life,  and  died  of  paralysis  October  18, 
1876. 

Thomas  M.  Eddy,  D.D. — Of  the  three  men  chosen  to  suc- 
ceed Dr.  Durbin  one  has  joined  the  immortals.  Dr.  Eddy  wf-;  & 
western  man  by  birth,  manner,  breadth,  and  spirit.  He  was  born  neai 
Cincinnati,  Ohio,  in  1823,  at  wliich  time  "the  Ohio"  was  one  of  the 
far-away  regions  toward  the  setting  sun.  In  1842  he  joined  the  Indi- 
ana Conference,  edited  "  The  North-western  Christian  Advocate " 
from  1856  to  1868,  held  foremost  rank  as  an  editor  and  patriot,  doub- 


THOMAS    M.    EDDY,    D.D. 


led  the  circulation  of  his  paper,  became  the  acknowledged  prince  of 
Church  dedicators  in  the  Korth-west,  and  on  his  return  to  the  pastorate 
secured  the  erection  of  the  magnificent  Mt.  Vernon  Place  Church,  in 
the  city  of  Baltimore.  His  next  station  was  the  Metropolitan  Church, 
Washington,  D.  C,  from  which  he  was  elected  Missionary  Secretar;^ 
in  1872.     His  death  occurred  in  New  York,  October  7,  1874. 

The  Woiiiaii's  Foreign  Missionary  Society  is  among 
the  most  successful  of  the  Church  societies,  and  may  appropriately 
have  a  place  in  this  connection,  though  none  of  its  officers  are  elected 
by  the  General  Conference  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.     It 


Sunday-Schools.  729 

was  organized  in  1869,  and  consists  of  a  General  Executive  Committee, 
co-ordinate  branches,  and  auxiliary  societies. 

The  head-quarters  of  tlie  several  branches  arc  as  follows :  Boston, 
New  York,  Philadelj)hia,  Baltimore,  Cincinnati,  Chicago,  Des  Moines, 
New  Orleans,  Atlanta,  and  San  Francisco,  Its  purpose  is  to  do 
specific  Christian  work  among  heathen  women.  Its  members  pay  a 
fee  of  $1  annually. 

The  administrative  power  is  lodged  with  the  General  Executive 
Committee,  which  consists  of  the  Corresponding  Secretaries  and  two 
delegates  from  each  branch,  and  meets  annually.  Keceipts  from 
February  10,  187Y,  to  February,  1878,  $61,665  08 ;  total  since  organi- 
zation, $441,464  06. 

Sanday-Schools. — The  year  1790  was  signalized  by  an  ordi- 
nance of  the  Methodist  Conference,  establishing  Sunday-schools  for 
the  instruction  of  poor  children,  white  and  black ;  on  which  subject 
the  Minutes  say,  "  Let  us  labor  as  the  heart  and  soul  of  one  man  to 
establish  Sunday-schools  in  or  near  the  place  of  public  worship.  Let 
persons  be  appointed  by  the  bishops,  elders,  deacons,  or  preachers,  to 
teach  (gratis)  all  that  will  attend  and  have  a  capacity  to  learn,  from  six 
o'clock  in  the  morning  till  ten,  and  from  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon 
until  six,  where  it  does  not  interfere  with  public  worship.  The  Coun- 
cil shall  compile  a  proper  school-book  to  teach  them  learning  and 
piety."  This  is  supposed  to  be  the  first  ofiicial  establishment  of  Sun- 
day-schools by  any  American  Church.  Only  about  nine  years  had 
pas'sed  since  their  commencement  in  England. 

It  lias  been  the  custom  to  credit  Robert  Raikes  with  the  projection 
of  this  new  means  of  grace,  at  Gloucester,  in  England,  in  1781,  but 
the  idea  was  not  his  own.  It  was  suggested  to  him  by  a  young  Meth- 
odist woman,  afterward  the  wife  of  Samuel  Bradburn,  one  of  Wesley's 
most  distinguished  preachers,  who  assisted  Raikes  in  forming  the  first 
school  at  Gloucester.*  Of  the  Sunday-School  Union  and  of  the  Tract 
Society  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  Dr.  J.  H.  Yincent  is  tlie 
distinguished  Secretary,  and  Editor  of  their  publications. 

Wesley  was  the  first  public  man  in  England  to  approve  of  this 
new  method  of  religious  instruction,  and  in  1784  publicly  recom- 
mended his  people  to  adopt  it.     During  the  same  year  Fletcher  of 

*  Memoir  of  Sophia  Bradburn,  in  Wesleyan  Magazine  for  1834, 
46 


730  Illustrated  Histoet  of  ^Iethodism. 

Madelej  introduced  it  into  his  parish,  and  in  1786 — fonr  years  before 
the  Conference  order  above  mentioned,  and  five  years  before  the  sub- 
ject was  taken  np  by  any  other  body  of  Christians  in  America — Bishop 
Asbnry  established  the  first  Sunday-school  in  the  Xew  "World,  in 
Hanover  County,  Virginia,  at  the  house  of  Thomas  Crenshaw.  Thus 
the  Sunday-school  movement,  which  has  grown  up  to  be  one  of  the 
most  efficient  and  popular  means  of  grace,  may  rightly  be  said  to  be 
one  of  the  products — both  in  England  and  America — of  the  great 
Methodist  revival.* 

The  Church  Extension  Society. — The  Board  of  Church 
Extension  is  located  at  Philadelphia.  It  was  organized  in  1864.  Its 
object  is  to  aid  feeble  Societies  in  the  erection  of  houses  of  worship. 
During  the  fifteen  years  of  its  existence  it  has  received,  $370,968  93, 
and  its  loan  fund  amounts  to  about  $300,000  more.  It  is  one  of  the 
most  successful  charities  of  the  Church,  and  its  influence  is  widely  ex- 
tending. The  Secretary  and  moving  spirit  of  this  noble  Society  is  the 
Rev.  Alpha  J.  Kynett,  D.D.,  a  Pennsylvanian  by  birth,  and  a  member 
of  the  Iowa  Conference.  He  is  favored  in  having  as  his  efficient 
assistant  the  well  known  "  Chaplain  M'Cabe." 

The  Freednien*s  Aid  Society  was  organized  at  Cincinnati 
on  7th  of  August,  1S66.  To  it  the  ex-slaves  of  the  South  are  indebted 
for  the  establishment  and  chief  support  of  the  following  institutions : 
Central  Tennessee  College,  Xashville,  Tenn. ;  Shaw  University,  Holly 
Springs,  Miss. ;  Clafiin  University,  Orangeburgh,  S.  C.  ;  Clark  Uni- 
versity, Atlanta,  Ga. ;  Xew  Orleans  University,  ^ew  Orleans,  La. ; 
Wiley  University,  Marshall,  Tex. ;  Haven  Xormal  School,  Waynes- 
borough,  Ga. :  Eust  Biblical  and  JS'ormal  Institute,  Huntsville,  Ala. : 
La  Teche  Seminary,  Baldwin,  La. ;  Bennett  Seminary,  Greensborough, 
y.  C. ;  Cookman  Institute,  Jacksonville,  Fla. ;  Centenary  Biblical  In- 
stitute, Baltimore,  Md. ;  Orphan's  Home,  Baldwin,  La.  The  cash  re- 
ceipts of  the  Society  during  the  past  twelve  years  have  been  nearlj 
eight  hundred  thousand  dollars.  Secretary  Eust  is  a  Massachusetts 
man,  and  a  graduate  of  the  Wesley  an  University  in  the  class  of  1841 

*  See  Stbtejs'  "  History  of  the  M.  E.  Church,"  voL  ii,  page  504. 


JABF.Z  Bu^rrrs'G,  d.d. 


PAET   III. 

MODEEX  BEITISH  AM)  COLOXIAL  METHODISM. 


CHAPTER  XX\Tn. 
MODERN    BRITISH    METHODISM. 

After  John  ^IVesleVjWhat  ? — It  was  quite  confidently  pre- 
dicted that  the  death  of  "^eslev  wonld  be  followed  by  a  general  break- 
up among  his  people,  a  prophecy  which  had  a  very  narrow  escape 
from  fulfillment,  chiefiy  over  the  question  of  the  relations  of  Method- 
ism to  the  Established  Church  of  England. 

Methodism  was  now  over  fifty  years  of  age,  and  a  lai^  proportion 
of  its  members  had  been  bom  within  its  fold.  There  were  many  others 
who  had  never  been  Episcopalians  at  all,  but  were  brought  in  from 
the  outside  world ;  while  a  few.  usually  the  wealthier  and  more  ambi- 
tious class  of  members  of  the  Societies,  still  clung  with  great  tenacity 
to  the  Establishment.  From  among  this  latter  class  the  finanpiftl  offi- 
cers were  naturally  selected,  and  it  was  the  desire  of  these  would-be 
aristocrats  among  the  Methodists,  now  that  their  chief  was  dead,  to 
control  the  affairs  of  the  Connection  by  virtue  of  their  property  and 


732  Illustkated  Histoky  of  Methodism. 

social  distinction.  There  was  also  a  strife  over  the  question  of  sacra- 
ments ;  the  one  class,  called  by  their  opponents  the  "  High-church 
party,"  demanding  that  the  original  status  of  Methodism  as  a  society 
within,  and  subordinate  to,  the  Established  Church,  should  be  main- 
tained ;  the  other,  significantly  named  "  Dissenters,"  claiming  that 
Methodism  had  a  Kfe  and  mission  of  its  own.  The  former  desired  to 
keep  in  tlie  good  graces  of  the  Church  by  limiting  the  functions  of 
the  itinerant  preachers  to  the  work  of  lay  evangehsts ;  while  the 
masses  of  the  membership  could  not  see  why  their  ministers  were  not 
just  as  good  as  parish  parsons,  and  entitled  to  celebrate  the  sacraments 
as  well  as  to  preach  the  Gospel. 

In  the  midst  of  contentions  between  the  "  High-church  party  "  and 
tlie  "  Dissenters,"  the  forty-eighth  Conference,  being  the  first  after 
Wesley's  ■  death,  assembled  at  Manchester  on  the  26th  of  July,  1791. 
More  than  three  hundred  preachers  were  present,  and  all  who  were  in 
full  connection  were  allowed  the  privileges  of  membership,  according 
to  Wesley's  request.  William  Thompson,  of  Halifax,  was  chosen 
President,  and  Dr.  Thomas  Coke  was  made  Secretary. 

One  of  its  first  acts  was  to  establish  a  system  of  districts,  each  com- 
prising from  three  to  eight  circuits,  giving  to  England  seventeen  dis- 
tricts, to  Scotland  two,  to  Ireland  five,  and  to  Wales  one.  As  a  sub- 
stitute for  the  chief  episcopal  function  hitherto  exercised  by  ]\Ir. 
Wesley — that  of  stationing  the  preachers — it  was  determined  that  the 
ministers  in  full  connection  in  each  district  should  meet  at  the  call  and 
under  the  presidency  of  their  chairman,  and  should  elect  one  of  their 
number  to  represent  them  in  a  stationing  committee.  This  committee 
was  required  to  meet  at  the  place  appointed  for  the  session  of  the 
Conference  at  least  three  days  previous  to  its  opening,  to  prepare  and 
report  a  plan  for  stationing  the  preachers  in  England  and  Scotland ; 
and  a  similar  committee  was  appointed  for  the  Irish  Conference,  whose 
President  was  still  to  be  elected  from,  and  sent  over  by,  the  British 
Conference,  and  who  was  to  be  an  ex-officio  member  of  the  Irish  sta- 
tioning committee. 

This  arrangement  was  reached  with  so  much  unanimity  and  good 
feeling  that  the  troublesome  question  of  the  sacraments  was  by  com- 
mon consent  passed  over,  and  for  the  time  being  it  was  agreed  "  to 
follow  strictly  the  plan  which  Mr.  Wesley  left  us  at  his  death." 


Modern  British  Methodism.  733 

At  this  Conference  326  preachers  received  appointments.  Twelve 
candidates  were  admitted  on  trial,  and  fifteen  were  placed  on  the 
reserve  list  as  not  being  immediately  needed,  but  entitled  to  come  in 
on  trial  as  vacancies  might  occnr.  The  number  of  members  reported 
in  the  Societies  of  the  United  Kingdom  was  72,468,  besides  6,525  in 
the  mission  societies  in  British  America  and  the  West  Indies.  The 
increase  in  membership  during  the  year  was  reported  to  be  1,825. 

The  Episcopal  Party. — "  ^aperintendent "  Hatlier. 
— It  is  impossible  to  avoid  the  conclusion  that  Mr.  Wesley  intended 
\n  episcopal  form  of  organization  for  the  British  as  well  as  for  the 
American  Conference  after  his  death ;  for,  as  we  have  seen,  not  only 
did  he  ordain  Dr.  Coke  as  "superintendent"  for  America,  but  he  also 
ordained  Alexander  Mather  to  the  same  office,  and  with  tlie  same 
title,  fur  service  in  Great  Britain,  in  addition  to  the  considerable 
number  of  men  whom  he  ordained  as  elders  for  home  and  foreign 
fields. 

"  Superintendent "  Mather,  at  his  ordination  in  1788,  was  one  of  the 
fathers  of  the  Conference — a  man  who  is  described  in  the  official  notice 
inserted  in  the  Conference  Minutes  after  his  death  as  "  a  perfect 
master  of  all  the  viinutim  of  doctrine  and  discipline  of  Methodism.'* 
"  Hereby,"  says  the  record,  "he  was  enabled  to  afford  Mr.  Wesley 
very  considerable  assistance  in  the  su])erintendcnce  of-'  the  Scjciuties. 
His  wisdom  and  experience,  his  courage  and  j)erseverancc,  rendered 
lum  an  invaluable  friend  to  our  Connection  during  some  late  ti'oubles 
under  whicli  it  sulTcrud.  lie  was  never  intimidated  by  any  fear  of 
calumny  from  pursuing  those  plans  which  he  conceived  to  tend  toward 
the  peace  and  union  of  the  Societies.  His  noble  soul  was  elevated 
above  the  momentary  opinion  of  a  party.  He  looked  only  at  the 
interests  and  glory  of  the  Redeemer's  kingdom,  aiid  waited  for  his 
reward  in  a  better  world."  *  Such  was  the  bishop  chosen  and 
ordained  by  Wesley  to  succeed  liiinself,  whom  the  Conference  delib- 
ei-ately  rejected ;  and  Mather,  after  vaiidy  presenting  himself  to  his 
brethren  in  the  name  of  the  historic  and  apostolic  orders  conferred 
upon  him,  modestly  resumed  liis  i)lace  among  them,  and  finished  a 
godly  and  successful  ministry  as  an  itinei-ant  j)reacher,  of  forty-two 
years.     His  death  occurred  in  1800,  nine  years  after  that  of  Wesley. 

*  "  Minutes,"  vol.  ii,  p.  82. 


734  Illusteateb  History  of  Methodism. 

On  the  second  of  April,  1794,  "  Superintendents  "  Coke  and  Mather, 
Drs.  Pawson,  Taylor,  and  Moore,  and  Revs.  Messrs.  Richardson,  Brad 
burn,  and  Adam  Clarke  held  a  private  consultation  at  Lichfield,  and 
drafted  a  memorial  to  the  Conference  setting  forth  the  fact  that  Meth- 
odism possessed  an  episcopacy  in  the  persons  of  Drs.  Coke  and  Mather, 
whom  Mr.  Wesley  had  ordained  as  "  superintendents,"  and  proposed 
that  without  any  avowed  separation  from  the  Church  of  England 
"  there  be  an  order  of  superintendents  appointed  by  the  Conference, 
by  whom  lay  preachers  who  desired,  and  all  who  should  thereafter  be 
admitted  into  full  connection,  should  be  ordained."  It  was  also  pro- 
posed that  "Superintendents"  Coke  and  Mather  should  ordain  six 
other  superintendents,  who  should  preside  respectively  over  the  eight 
districts  into  which  the  Connection  should  be  divided ;  their  location 
being  subject  to  annual  change  at  the  pleasure  of  the  Conference. 

This  would  have  given  to  British  Methodism  a  form  more  in 
accordance  with  Mr.  Wesley's  idea  than  that  which  ultimately  pre- 
vailed, but  it  was  destined  to  fail  for  three  reasons :  first,  because  it 
would  have  set  up  an  order  of  aristocracy  among  the  preachers,  of 
which  thing  these  Englishmen  had  somewhat  too  much  already,  both 
in  Church  and  State ;  second,  the  plan  was  proposed  by  eight  men, 
seven  of  whom  announced  themselves  as  candidates  for  the  episcopal 
ofiice ;  and  third,  the  High-church  party  regarded  this  as  of  all  others 
the  most  schismatic  and  revolutionary  course  which  the  Methodists 
could  pursue,  and  therefore  rallied  all  their  forces  against  it. 

After  much  controversy  the  Conference,  at  its  session  in  1794,  re- 
afiirmed  its  statement  that  "  imposition  of  hands  is  not  essential  to 
ordination,  but  merely  a  circumstance,  although  generally  a  suitable 
and  significant  one ;  the  act  of  admission  into  the  ministry,  so  as  to  be 
devoted  wholly  to  it,  and  to  exercise  the  pastoral  charge,  being  tlie 
true  scriptural  ordination  both  to  preach  the  word  and  to  administer 
the  sacraments,"  thus  giving  an  official  status  to  the  regular  members 
of  the  Conference,  though  one  which  the  High-church  party  would 
not  recognize. 

"  Alarming  Progress  of  Hethodism  I " — The  Wesleyan 
movement  having  now  safely  weathered  the  point  where  its  enemies 
had  hoped  to  see  it  wrecked,  certain  of  them  set  themselves  to  work 
to  write  it  down.     Under  the  labors  of  such  men  as  Benson,  Bramwell, 


"  Alarming  Progress  of  Methodism  ! '  735 

and  Olivers,  in  England  ;  Ouseley  and  Graham,  in  Ireland  ;  Jones  and 
Davis,  in  Wales,  the  three  kingdoms  were,  during  the  fifteen  years 
immediately  succeeding  the  death  of  Mr.  Wesley,  lighted  up  with 
glorious  revivals  of  rehgion ;  while  Dr.  Coke,  who  was  a  whole  mis- 
sionary society  in  himself,  was  extending  liis  outposts  through  desti- 
tute regions  at  home  and  abroad,  collecting  money  or  giving  his  own, 
finding  out  suitable  men,  and  keeping  the  whole  body  astir  by  the 
brilliancy  of   his  efforts  and  the  splendor  of  his  success.      Some  of 


RICHARD   WATSON,   D.D., 

Author  of  "Watson's  Theological  Institutes,  the  standard  work  in  Methodist 
Systematic  Theology.  He  was  born  in  Lincolnshire,  England,  1781;  was 
ordained  in  the  Wesleyan  Conference  in  1800;  published  his  "Institutes"  in 
182S-28;  and  died  in  London  in  1833, 

the  fathers  were  falling,  but  their  sons  were  rising  to  take  their  places. 
Already  Jabez  Bunting  and  Kichard  Watson  were  beginning  to  show 
great  promise  of  power,  while  Dr.  Adam  Clarke,  by  means  of  his 
almost  unequaled  scholarship,  was  bringing  great  honor  to  the  Wes- 
leyan body,  of  which,  after  the  Wesleys  and  Dr.  Coke,  he  must  be 
counted  the  brightest  ornament. 

Tlie  partisans  of  the  State  Church  had  tried  to  stamp  out  this 
Methodist  fire,  but  they  only  succeeded  in  spreading  it  more  widely ; 
tlicn  they  tried  letting  it  alone ;  but  still  it  went  on  increasing,  till  in 


736  Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 

the  year  1800  one  of  the  British  reviews  began  to  toll  the  alarm  bell. 
After  showing  that  the  Methodist  body  had  multiplied,  from  twenty- 
nine  thousand  four  hundred  and  six,  in  1770,  to  one  hundred  and  nine 
thousand  nine  hundred  and  sixty-one  in  1780,  and  that  it  was  increas- 
ing steadily  at  the  rate  of  seven  thousand  members  per  annum,  the 
writer  of  the  article  cries  out,  "  How  long  will  it  be  before  this  people 
beffins  to  count  hands  with  the  Establishment." 

At  the  Conference  of  1814  the  working  of  the  "  Deed  of  Declara 
tion,"  which  was  fast  lifting  the  "  Legal  Hundred  "  into  a  clerical  aris- 
tocracy, was  so  far  modified  that  of  every  four  vacancies  occurring  m 
that  body  three  w^ere  to  be  filled  according  to  seniority,  as  before, 
while  one  was  to  be  filled  by  the  ballot  of  those  ministers  who  had 
been  for  fourteen  years  in  regular  service  in  the  itinerancy.  The  Presi- 
dent and  the  Secretaries  of  the  Conference  were  also  to  be  elected  by 
this  body  of  elders  instead  of  by  the  "  Legal  Hundred."  This  change, 
by  which  the  growth  of  an  oppressive  "order  of  the  ancients"  was 
checked,  was  a  measure  evidently  needed. 

Methodist  Ordination. — At  the  Conference  of  1834  another 
important  change  was  made,  namely,  that  of  ordaining  the  ministers 
who  were  received  into  full  connection.  The  thirty  young  men  who 
were  that  year  received  were  ordained  by  the  President  of  the  Con- 
ference, assisted  by  the  ex-President  and  Secretary ;  the  following 
formula  being  used  on  the  occasion : — 

"  Mayest  thou  receive  the  Holy  Gliost  for  the  oflice  and  work  of  a 
Christian  minister  now  committed  unto  thee  by  the  imposition  of  our 
hands,  and  be  thou  a  faithful  dispenser  of  the  word  of  God  and  of  his 
Holy  Sacraments,  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  the  Son,  and  the  Holy 
Ghost."  This  mode  of  ordination  is  still  in  use  by  the  "Wesleyan 
Methodists,  who,  though  steadily  refusing  to  be  called  "  Dissenters," 
hereby  continually  and  significantly  show  their  dissent. 

Bnntin^,  the  Prime  Iflinister  of  English  Hethod- 
isni. — The  list  of  preachers  on  trial  at  the  Conference  of  1799  con- 
tains two  names  destined  to  be  held  in  immortal  honor  :  Jabez  Bunt- 
ing and  Robert  Newton.  The  former  of  these,  next  to  Wesley,  was 
the  most  imperial  spirit  which  ever  ruled  the  Wesleyan  Connection, 
and  right  worthily  did  he  continue  the  magisterial  succession. 

He  was  born  in  the  village  of  Moneyash,  in  Derbyshire,  in  the  year 


Robert  Newton.  737 

1779.  His  mother,  a  devoted  Methodist,  gave  him  to  God  in  his  in- 
fancy, trained  him  up  to  attend  all  the  means  of  grace,  and  at  the  age 
of  tifteen  had  the  blessed  satisfaction  of  seeing  him  received  as  a  full 
member  of  the  Methodist  Society,  and  admitted  to  the  Conference 
at  twenty  years  of  age.  He  at  once  took  rank  as  a  brilliant  and  pow- 
erful preacher ;  indeed,  it  has  been  said  of  him  that  he  "  started  on 
his  course  of  preaching  at  an  elevation  which  precluded  the  reasonable 
Iiope  of  any  future  marked  improvement." 

In  view  of  tlie  rapid  advancement  of  this  young  man  it  was  some- 
times said  that  he  was  "  born  under  a  fortunate  star."  However  this 
may  have  been,  his  rare  endowments  and  his  sagacity  in  making  the 
most  of  his  opportunities  easily  kept  him  at  the  front.  For  many  years 
he  was  almost  the  autocrat  of  the  Conference,  a  position  which  he  held 
because  of  his  manifest  fitness  for  it,  but  one  which  could  not  fail  to 
call  out  some  very  sore  complaints  from  certain  men  who,  unlike  him, 
were  not  born  to  command,  but  who  still  did  not  Kke  to  obey.  One 
of  the  men  who  had  felt  the  weight  of  his  hand  as  an  administrator  of 
the  law,  and,  therefore,  could  not  have  been  prejudiced  in  his  favor, 
said  of  him  :  "  If  Jabez  Bunting  had  devoted  himself  to  politics  instead 
of  preaching,  he  might  have  been  Prime  Minister  of  England.'' 

Biiiitm^  and  Lay  Representation. — At  first  the  man- 
agement of  all  Connectional  interests  was  in  the  hands  of  ministerial 
committees.  This,  Dr.  Bunting  saw,  was  not  the  best  way  to  draw  out 
the  hearts  and  the  contributions  of  the  people,  and  he  proposed  to  add 
to  the  twenty-four  ministers  composing  the  missionary  committee  an 
equal  number  of  laymen  ;  which  measure,  in  spite  of  determined  cler- 
ical opposition,  he  finally  carried ;  and  this  policy  has  since  been  pur- 
sued in  the  organization  of  all  conference  committees  having  financial 
interests  in  charge ;  thus  giving  to  this  strictly  clerical,  aristocratic  body 
a  freedom  and  breadth  of  administration  which  comes  but  little  short 
of  coTioeding  what  the  reformers  under  the  lead  of  Dr.  Warren 
claimed  but  failed  to  secure,  and  which  leaves  an  ever-widening  gate 
by  which  they  may  at  any  time  return  with  honor  and  be  received 
witli  joy. 

Robert  Newton. — Glorious  Eobert  Newton!  One  of  the 
greatest  masters  of  the  art  of  preaching  the  Gospel  that  Methodism 
ever  jtroduccd,  and    like  his  friend  Bunting,  famous  chiefiy  for  his 


738  Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 

labors  in  the  cause  of  missions.  Bunting  was  next  to  Wesley  in  admin- 
istrative ability ;  his  intimate  friend,  Newton,  as  an  advocate  was 
almost  "Whitefield  over  again. 

He  was  born  at  Roxby,  a  little  sea-coast  village  in  Yorkshire,  on 
the  8th  of  September,  1780.  His  parents  were  zealous  Methodists ;  so 
were  all  their  eight  children,  and  from  among  the  sons  of  this  notable 
household  four  became  preachers  of  the  Gospel.  In  person  Robert 
Newton  was  tall  and  commanding;  his  voice  was  deep,  mellow,  and 
capable  of  expressing  all  shades  of  feehng  ;  his  manner  was  solemn  and 
impressive ;  he  spoke  as  one  having  a  message  from  heaven,  and  there 
was  about  him  an  atmosphere  of  sanctity  which  told  of  his  absolute 
devotion  to,  and  constant  communion  with,  the  Lord.  It  was  during 
his  first  appointment  in  London,  at  a  meeting  of  the  British  and  For- 
eign Bible  Society,  that  his  power  as  a  platform  orator  was  first  discov- 
ered. While  in  the  metropolis  he  also  co-operated  with  Dr.  Coke  in  mis- 
sionary work,  caught  the  infectious  zeal  of  that  tireless  man,  and  during 
the  rest  of  his  life  Robert  Newton  was  the  most  popular  advocate  of 
missions  in  England.  He  disclaimed  any  talent  for  the  details  of  busi- 
ness, but  abroad  among  the  people  he  was  without  a  compeer  in  the 
great  cause.  When  he  commenced  his  public  labors  for  the  missionary 
society  there  were  but  fifty  Wesleyan  missionaries  with  about  seven- 
teen thousand  communicants  under  their  care ;  he  hved  to  see  them 
increased  to  more  than  three  hundred  and  fifty  missionaries  and  one 
hundred  thousand  communicants. 

Of  the  other  great  names  in  what  Dr.  Smith  calls  "The  Middle 
Age  of  Methodism,"  as  well  as  of  the  other  branches  of  British  Meth- 
odism, the  limits  of  this  volume  forbid  further  notice. 

Centenary  oritritiii^h  Methodism. — The  Centennial  Con- 
ference of  1839  appointed  Friday,  the  25th  of  October,  to  be  observed 
throughout  the  Connection  as  the  festival  day,  with  prayer-meeting 
early  in  the  morning,  sermons  in  the  forenoon  and  evening,  as  on  the 
Sabbath,  and  jubilees  for  the  poor,  and  for  the  children  of  the  Sunday- 
schools  and  day-schools  in  the  afternoon. 

When  this  great  day  arrived  the  whole  Methodist  world  united  in 
a  celebration  which  was  never  equaled  by  any  Protestant  religious 
body  either  in  its  magnificence  or  its  liberality.  The  aggregate  sum 
contributed  by  the  various  Methodist  bodies  in  England  and  America 


The  Wesley  an  Theological  Institutiox. 


739 


was  more  than  seventeen  hundred  thousand  dollars,  and  that,  too, 
without  interfering  with  their  stated  collections ;  and  during  a  year  of 
almost  unparalleled  commercial  depression. 

At  the  Centenary  Conference,  which  met  at  Liverpool  July  31st, 
1839,  there  were  one  hundred  and  eighteen  candidates  for  admission 
to  the  itinerant  ministry,  and  the  increase  of  membership  of  the  Socie- 
ties for  the  closing  year  of  the  first  Methodist  century  was  over  sixteen 
thousand  souls.  The  entire  British  Wesleyan  membership  was  as  fol- 
lows: Great  Britain,  307,068;  Ireland,  26,383;  Mission  Stations, 
72,727 ;  total,  406,178. 


WESLETAK   THEOLOGICAL   INSTITUTION   AT   BICHMOND,    NEAR   LONDON. 

''The  Wesleyan    Theological    Institntion,   for   the 

improvement  of  the  junior  preachers,"  was  established  in  1834,  in  a 
dingy  little  building  at  Hoxton,  about  half  a  mile  from  City  Road 
Chapel,  and  Jabez  Bunting,  in  addition  to  all  his  other  duties  and 
nonors,  was  elected  its  first  President. 

As  its  name  indicates,  tlie  institution  was  for  the  further  training 
of  the  young  men  who  had  passed  their  preliminary  local  examina 
tions  and  had  been  placed  on  the  Reserve  List  of  the  Conference. 
The  school  was  so  great  a  success  that  larger  accommodations  were 
required,  and  at  length  the  elegant  Theological  Hall  at  Richmond  Ilill, 
near  London,  was  erected  out  of  the  avails  of  the  Centenary  Fund, 


740 


Illustkated  History  of  Methodism. 


and  opened  as  the  southern  branch  of  the  Wesleyan  Theological  Insti- 
tution, on  the  15th  of  September,  1843.  In  1863  it  was  purchased  by 
the  Wesleyan  Missionary  Society  out  of  the  avails  of  the  Jubilee  Fund, 
and  thus  the  Kichmond  Theological  School  becaine  a  missionary  col- 
lege, whose  existence  is  one  of  the  chief  glories  of  English  Method- 
ism, and  where  a  large  class  of  young  men,  who  have  proved  their 
efficiency  by  four  years'  work  on  some  home  circuit,  are  constantly  in 
training  for  foreign  fields  of  labor,  by  a  thorough  missionary  course 
of  instruction,  including  the  language  of  the  country  to  which  they 


REV.    WM.    U.    POPE,   D.D. 

liave  been  assigned,  and  other  practical  branches  of  learning  which 
the  experience  of  the  Society  has  found  to  be  of  service.  The  Presi- 
dent of  the  institution  is  the  Rev.  George  Osborn,  D.D.,  an  eminent 
tlieologian,  and  one  of  the  ex-Presidents  of  the  British  Conference, 

Tlie  Didsbury  Branch. — A  branch  of  the  Wesleyan  Theolog- 
ical Institution  was  opened  at  Didsbury,  near  Manchester,  Septembei 
22,  1842.  Of  this  school  of  the  Methodist  prophets  the  Rev.  WiUiam 
B.  Pope,  D.D.,  was  appointed  Theological  Tutor  in  1867,  which 
position  he  still  retains.     Dr.  Pope  is  personally  known  in  America, 


The  Wesleyans  of  To-Day. 


741 


he  having  been  tlie  fraternal  delegate  of  the  British  Conference  to 
the  General  Conference  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  1876, 
on  which  occasion  his  scholarly  bearing  and  Christian  graces  greatly 
endeared  him  to  his  American  brethren. 

The  "  Systematic  Theology,"  of  which  Dr.  Pope  is  the  author,  is 
much  admired  on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic,  and  its  author  ranks 
among  the  first  masters  of  this  chief  department  of  learning,  lie  was 
l;onored  by  an  election  to  the  presidency  of  the  British  Conference 
in  1877. 

The  Rev.  Dr.  Ri^§^,  who,  as  Principal  of  the  Westminster 
Normal  Schools,  is  the  official  head  of  the  Wesleyan  day  school 
system,  is   one   of   the   most  eminent  men  of  the  connection.     He 


REV.   JAMES    H.    RIGG,   D.D. 

was  bom  in  1821 ;  was  one  of  the  best  of  the  Kingswood  boye, 
in  which  school  he  excelled,  especially  in  mathematics ;  entered  the 
"Wesleyan  Conference  in  1845,  in  which  he  at  once  took  high  rank  as 
a  writer  on  educational  subjects. 

In  1868  Dr.  Rigg  was  placed  at  the  head  of  the  Westminster  Nor 
mal  and  Training  Schools,  which  position  ho  has  since  filled  with  very 


742  Illustrated  History  of  Metiiodisji. 

distinguished  success.  Ten  years  afterward  he  was  honored  witli  an 
election  to  the  chair  of  the  British  Conference. 

The  presidency  of  Dr.  Rigg  is  memorable  by  his  comprehensive 
scheme  for  relieving  the  various  Wesleyan  institutions  from  the  debts 
which  had  for  some  time  been  accumulating.  The  plan,  which  has 
been  successfully  carried  out,  was  to  raise  a  "  Wesleyan  Methodist 
Thanksgiving  Fund,"  by  a  system  of  operations  not  unhke  that  so 
effectively  used  in  raising  the  Centennial  and  Jubilee  Missionary  Funds. 
The  report  of  the  General  Committee  on  the  Thanksgiving  Fund 
rendered  July  17,  1879,  showed  cash  and  pledges  to  the  amount  of 
£171,479,  45.  %d.  This  large  collection,  in  addition  to  all  the  regular 
aimual  collections  of  the  body,  has  been  divided  between  Home  and 
Foreign  Missions,  the  Ministerial  Education  Fund,  the  Schools  Fund, 
the  Auxiliary  Fund,  the  Children's  Home,  the  Invalid  Ministers'  Rest 
Fund,  and  the  North  and  South  Wales  Chapel  Loan  Fimds.  By  this 
gift  Connectional  debts  to  the  amount  of  £58,000  have  been  paM,  and 
the  large  sui-plus  goes  to  the  extension  and  strengthening  of  the  work 
at  the  vital  points  above-mentioned. 

Wesleyan  Hissioiis. — Nothing  is  more  characteristic  of 
Methodism  than  missions.  True  to  its  traditions  and  its  inspiration, 
the  British  Conference  has  maintained  the  advanced  position  captured 
for  it  by  Coke ;  added  to  the  range  of  work  laid  out  by  Newton,  Wat- 
son, and  Bunting,  and  kept  alive  the  heroic  spirit  of  its  people  by 
ceaseless  active  operations  .igainst  barbarism  at  home  and  paganism 
abroad.  The  scheme  of  Dr.  Coke,  which  at  first  to  his  cautious  breth- 
ren seemed  chimerical,  and  which  was  even  denounced  by  some  as  a 
monstrous  folly  wliose  inevitable  failure  would  bring  disaster  and  dis- 
grace on  the  Methodist  Connection,  has  been  worked  out  and  extended 
from  year  to  year  until,  in  the  year  of  grace  1879,  the  British  Wes- 
leyan Conference  has  missionary  stations  in  France,  Wiirtemburer, 
Baden,  Bavaria,  Silesia,  Austria,  Rome,  Naples,  Spain,  Portugal,  Gib- 
raltar, Ceylon,  Continental  India,  China,  South  Africa,  Western 
Africa,  and  the  British  West  Indies. 

"  Behold  liow  great  a  matter  a  httle  fire  kindleth  !  "  The  mission 
in  India,  which  Coke  projected  but  did  not  live  to  plant,  has  now 
increased  to  40  mission  stations,  the  Ceylon  Mission  to  76  stations,  and 
the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  Mission  to  no  less  than  81  stations.     Many  of 


The  Wesleyans  of  To-Day. 


743 


these  197  missions  are  wide  circuits,  on  which,  in  addition  to  the  mis- 
sionary from  the  British  Conference  in  charge  of  the  work,  from  one 
to  eight  native  "  evangehsts "  and  "  catechists "  are  employed ;  for 
whom  literary  and  theological  training  schools  have  been  established 
at  Colombo  and  Galle  in  the  Singhalese  District,  Ceylon  ;  at  Banga- 
lore, in  the  Mysore  District,  India ;  and  at  Healdtown  and  Lesseytown 
in  the  Grahamstown  District,  Soutli  Africa. 


REV.    WILLIAM    MORLEY    PUXSHON^,    D.D. 

Rev.  William  3Iorley  Piinshoii,  D.D. —  The  chief 
Secretary  of  the  Wesleyan  Methodist  Missionary  Society  is  a  right 
worthy  successor  to  the  eminent  men  who  have  hitherto  guided  its 
affairs. 

Perhaps  there  is  no  living  man — certainly  there  is  but  one  other — 
whose  name  is  more  familiar  throughout  the  Methodist  world  than  that 
of  tliis  consummate  orator  and  master  of  affairs.  He  is  thoroughly  cos- 
mopolitan.    An  Englishman  by  birth — born  in  Doncaster,  in  1824 — he 


744  Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 

j>osscsscs  tlie  sturdincss  and  balance  of  tlie  English  nature ;  he  might 
he  mistaken  for  an  Irishman,  for  he  is  the  peer  of  Daniel  O'Connell  in 
rich  and  moving  eloquence  ;  and  during  his  presidency  of  the  Canada 
"Wesleyan  Conference,  from  1868  to  1873,  few  men  of  whatevei 
nation  ever  more  fully  realized  the  ideal  of  an  American  Methodisi 
Bishop. 

During  his  official  residence  in  Canada  Dr.  Punshon  paid  neigh- 
borly  visits  to  his  brethren  in  the  chief  cities  of  the  United  States, 
where,  on  the  tide  of  his  eloquence,  he  lifted  them  into  ecstasy,  and 
by  his  rare  personal  qualities  made  them  almost  regret  that  he  had  not 
been  born  in  the  republic.  In  1868,  and  again  in  1872,  he  represented 
the  British  Conference  at  the  General  Conference  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  being  the  companion  on  the  latter  occasion  of  the 
Rev.  Luke  Wiseman,  D.D. 

In  1875  he  was  i)romoted  to  a  secretaryship  of  the  "Wesleyan 
Missionary  Society.  In  the  previous  year  he  had  reached  the  highest 
earthly  honor  in  store  for  a  Wesleyan  preacher — the  chair  of  the 
British  Conference. 

The  general  secretaries  associated  with  Dr.  Punshon  in  the  Mission 
House  are  Revs.  Ebcnezer  E.  Jenkins,  M.A.,  and  Marmadukc  C. 
Osborn,  Secretary  of  the  Wesleyan  Conference  in  1878. 

Rev.  William  Arthur,  H.A.,  an  honorary  member  of  the 
staff  of  the  British  Wesleyan  Missionary  Society,  is  a  man  well-known 
in  America  both  as  a  minister  and  author.  He  was  born  in  London- 
derry, Ireland,  in  1819,  and  was  brought  up  as  a  Presbyterian.  When 
about  twelve  years  of  age  he  removed  with  his  parents  to  Westport,  a 
town  in  Galway,  on  the  shore  of  the  Atlantic,  and  was  put  to  business 
there  as  an  apprentice  to  one  of  the  local  traders,  where,  having  come 
into  connection  with  the  Wesleyans,  he  threw  himself  with  such  ardor 
into  all  their  ways  that  before  he  was  sixteen  he  had  begun  his  career  aa 
a  local  preacher,  and  in  1837  was  admitted  to  the  Irish  Conference,  be- 
ing then  only  eighteen  years  old.  After  two  years'  study  he  offered  him- 
self for  foreign  service,  was  accepted,  and  sent  to  the  Mysore  Country, 
in  India,  where  he  rapidly  acquired  the  Canarese  language,  and  would, 
without  doubt,  have  been  a  most  efficient  missionary  had  not  his  eyes 
failed  liira  and  his  health  so  completely  broken  down  as  to  compel  him 
to  retui-n  to  England  after  only  two  years.     His  personal  history,  with 


The  Wesleyans  of  To-Day. 


745 


the  storj  of  liis  perilous  voyage  back,  is  told  in  perhaps  the  best  of  his 
books,  the  "  Mission  to  the  Mysore." 

His  other  writings  are  well-known.  His  "  Successful  Merchant " 
has  gone  through  edition  after  edition.  IJe  has  also  published  a  book 
on  Italy ;  and  his  ''  Tongue  of  Fire  "  has  been  very  widely  popular 
and  useful.  During  the  American  Civil  War  his  tongue  and  pen 
were  vigorously  used  on  the  side  of  the  ]!^orth ;  his  articles  in  the 
"  London  Quarterly,"  especially,  attracting  much  notice  for  their 
ability  and  fervor. 


EEV.    WILLIAM    ARTHUR,   M.A. 

In  1866  he  was  elected  President  of  the  Conference,  being  then  in 
his  forty-seventh  year,  the  youngest  man,  w^ith  one  excejition,  ever 
chosen  for  that  honorable  post. 

The  Metropolitan  Chapel  Fund  is  one  of  the  recent 
additions  to  the  workins:  force  of  British  Methodism.  This  noble 
charity  was  projected  by  Sir  Francis  Lycett,  one  of  the  merchant 
princes  of  London,  who,  being  deeply  interested  in  the  spiritual  desti- 
tution of  the  metropolis  and  its  environs,  gave  £50,000  toward  the 
47 


746 


Illusteated  Histoky  of  Methodism. 


erection  of  fifty  "Wesleyan  chapels,  each  to  hold  one  thousand  hearere^ 
on  condition  that  a  similar  sum  was  raised  to  meet  it.  This  has  been 
done.  Another  pledge  on  the  same  terms,  of  £10,000  toward  the 
extension  of  Methodism  in  country  villages,  has  been  made,  the  con 
ditions  of  which  have  also  been  fulfilled. 

This  munificent  gift  of  Sir  Francis  has  awakened  great  interest 
among  the  Wesleyan  Connection  in  the  evangelization  of  the  me- 
tropoHs.  An  annual  collection  is  made  in  all  the  London  chapels,  and 
subscriptions  are  also  received  from  a  distance.  One  notable  one  of 
a  hundred  guineas  is  mentioned  in  the  report  of  the  treasurer  for 
1878  from  "the  converted  heathens  of  the  Friendly  Islands,  with 
King  George  at  their  head." 


EEV.    GERVASE    SMITH,  D.D. 

Rev.  GerTase  8mith,  D.D.,  the  General  Secretary  of  this 
Fund,  to  which  office  he  was  appointed  in  1875,  is  one  of  the  chief 
British  Methodists,  and  personally  known  in  America.  He  is  now  in 
his  fifty-eighth  year,  and  has  been  since  1845  a  minister  of  the  Wes- 
leyan  Conference,  of  which  in  1873  he  was  made  Secretary ;  and  of 


The  Wesleyans  of  To-Day. 


747 


vvhicli  in  1875,  on  the  retirement  of  his  life-long  friend,  Dr.  Punshon, 
he  was  elected  President. 

Dr.  Smith  has  some  of  the  best  blood  of  British  Methodism  in 
him ;  a  temperament  happj  in  its  blending  of  the  most  substantial 
abilities  with  genial  spirits  and  kindly  manners ;  and  is,  withal,  a 
goodly  specimen  of  the  manly  Christian  scholarship  produced  in  the 
Wesleyan  Colleges  of  Sheffield  and  Didsbury.  Like  every  true  En- 
glishman, he  knows  the  meaning  of  the  word  "  friend ; "  and  the  de- 


EEV.    FBEDEBIC    JOBSON,    D.D. 


lightful  brotherhood  so  long  existing  between  him  and  his  old  school- 
fellow in  the  Derbyshire  village  of  Marlpool,  now  the  Eev.  Dr. 
Punshon,  is  rightly  held  by  the  "Wesleyan  ministry  as  one  of  the  not- 
able, helpful,  and  honorable  facts  in  the  history  of  the  British  Con 
ference. 

ReT.  Frederic  Jobson,  D.D. — This  able,  eminent,  catholic- 
hearted  Christian  gentleman,  one  of  the  ex-Presidents  of  the  British 


748  Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 

Wesleyan  Conference  and  "  Book  Steward  "  of  the  Wesleyan  Book 
Room  in  London,  was  born  in  the  cathedral  city  of  Lincoln  in  1812. 
In  early  life  he  was  brought  to  a  saving  knowledge  of  Jesus  Christ ; 
and  although  he  had  already  entered  upon  what  promised  to  be  a  high 
career  in  the  art  of  architecture,  for  which  he  possessed  great  natural 
talent,  lie  resigned  the  advantages  which  that  profession  promised  to 
become  an  itinei-ant  Wesleyan  preacher — a  career  less  profitable  as  the 
world  counts  profits,  but  second  in  honor,  helpfulness  and  enjoyment 
to  none  on  earth — and  entered  the  Wesleyan  ministry  in  1834.  In 
his  pastoral  work,  which  occupied  him  for  thirty  years,  he  had  the 
unusual  compliment  of  being  returned  again  and  again  to  the  same 
circuits.  In  1856  he  was  selected  to  accompany  Dr.  Ilannah,  as  repre- 
sentative of  the  Conference  to  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  of 
America,  in  which  countiy  he  established  a  reputation  as  an  earnest 
and  powerful  preacher  and  speaker. 

In  1864  he  was  appointed  to  the  oflSce  of  "  Book  Steward,"  in 
which  capacity  he  has  done  much  to  elevate  the  character  and  extend 
the  circulation  of  Wesleyan  hterature.  In  1869  he  was  elected  Pres- 
ident of  the  Conference,  and  while  in  that  oflice  he  was  chiefly  in- 
strumental in  securing  the  Wesleyan  Memorial,  wliich  has  since  been 
placed  in  Westminster  Abbey,  (see  Chapter  XII.)  Dr.  Jobson  still 
preaches  as  earnestly  and  powerfully  as  ever,  not  only  in  Methodist 
pulpits,  but  occasionally  in  others ;  an  act  common  enough  in  America, 
but  one  which  in  Great  Britain  is  counted  worthy  of  special  notice, 
as  indicating  the  broad  catholicity  of  the  man.* 

The  Editor — Rev.  Dr.  Greg-ory. — The  Wesleyan  Book 
and  Tract  Estabhshment  is  under  the  editorial  direction  of  an  ofiicer 
annually  appointed  by  the  Conference  to  have  the  supervision  of  the 
entire  system  of  Wesleyan  publications ;  including  the  editorship  of 
the  "Wesleyan  Methodist  Magazine,"  the  successor  of  the  "  Arminian 
Magazine,"  established  by  Mr.  Wesley.  His  term  of  service  is  limited 
to  six  years,  but  for  special  reasons,  on  recommendation  of  the  Book 
Committee,  he  may  be  continued  for  six  additional  years.  In  the  list 
of  Book-room  Editors  occur  the  names  of  Joseph  Benson,  from  1804 

*  The  author  hereby  gratefully  acknowledges  the  kindness  and  courtesy  of  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Jobson,  in  furnishing  material  for  this  volume  from  the  rich  treasury  of  Methodist  historr 
under  his  charge. 


TnE  Wesleyans  of  To-Day. 


74i^ 


to  1820;  Jabez  Bunting,  from  1821  to  1823;  William  L.  Thornton, 
from  1849  to  1864,  and  Benjamin  Frankland,  from  1864  to  1872. 

The  present  Editor  is  the  Rev.  Benjamin  Gregory,  an  eminent 
scholar  and  divine,  who  commenced  his  ministry  in  1840.  In  1868 
he  became  one  of  the  Connectional  editors  in  conjunction  with  the 
late  Rev.  B.  Frankland,  on  whose  death,  in  1876,  he  was  appointed 
to  the  sole  charge  of  the  Enghsh  Wesleyan  Connectional  literature, 
and  is  winning  a  wide-spread  reputation  for  culture  and  taste.  In 
1879  he  was  chosen  President  of  the  Conference. 


'f/-^^/ 


WILLIAM    CARVOSSO, 

A  Cornish  fisherman  and  farmer,  born  in  the  County  of  Cornwall,  1760,  and 
for  over  fifty  years  a  lay  helper  in  the  south  of  England.  lie  is  famous  in 
Methodist  history  as  "the  model  class-leader." 


VIEW   AMONG  THE  THOUSAND   ISLANDS. 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 

COLONI.AL  METHODISM.* 

METHODISM  has  existed  in  the  territory  now  included  in  the 
Dominion  of  Canada  in  widely  different  forms.  At  one  time 
it  has  been  a  mission,  at  another  a  full-fledged  Church ;  in  one  part 
of  the  country  it  has  taken  on  a  Presbyterian  form,  in  another  the 
Episcopal  form ;  dividing  and  crystallizing  at  last  into  both  the  prom- 
inent  orders  of  Methodist  Church  government. 

The  British  Provinces  of  ISTorth  America,  including  Newfound, 
land,  Prince  Edward's  Island,  Nova  Scotia,  New  Brunswick,  Quebec, 
Ontario,  Manitoba,  and  British  Colombia,  extend  from  the  Atlantic 
to  the  Pacihc — a  distance  of  three  thousand  five  hundred  miles — and 

*  The  thanks  of  the  author  are  due  to  the  Rev.  Drs.  Carroll,  Rose,  Dewart,  and  Withrow 
for  materials  used  in  this  chapter. 


Colonial  Methodism.  751 

from  the  great  lakes  to  the  frozen  ocean — a  distance  of  about  one 
thousand  four  hundred  miles.  This  area  comprises  nearly  one  third  of 
the  North  American  continent,  and  possesses  a  population  of  about 
four  milKons  of  souls. 

The  Hission  in  IVewrouiidland. — Methodism  was  first 
established  in  this  oldest  and  easternmost  of  the  British  colonies  in 
1765,  and  thence  made  its  way  westward  and  northward. 

For  years  this  island  was  kept  as  a  sort  of  royal  preserve,  for  the 
sake  of  its  game  and  its  fisheries,  and  what  few  population  settled 
there  were  chiefly  "  squatters,"  among  whom  poverty,  ignorance,  and 
irreligion  prevailed. 

In  1764  Laurence  Coughlan,  one  of  Wesley's  Irish  itinerants, 
along  with  some  others,  was  ordained  by  the  Syrian  Bishop  Erasmus ; 
from  whom  it  is  in  some  quarters  asserted  that  Wesley  himseK 
received  episcopal  consecration.  In  consequence  of  this,  he  was  put 
away  from  the  Methodist  Connection.  He  the  following  year  left 
England  without  any  especial  authority,  and  went  over  to  preach 
among  the  little  fishing  hamlets  on  the  shores  of  Newfoundland. 

Nova  Scotia  and  JVew  Brunswick.— The  first  Method- 
ists in  the  province  of  Nova  Scotia  emigrated  from  Yorkshire,  England, 
in  1771.  They  settled,  some  in  Cumberland  and  some  in  Halifax, 
where  they  held  the  little  meetings  to  which  they  had  been  accus- 
tomed at  home.  In  1779  these  little  meetings  resulted  in  the  conver- 
sion of  William  Black,  before  mentioned;  an  English  youth  from 
Huddersfield,  who  at  the  age  of  nineteen  commenced  his  ministry  in 
Nova  Scotia,  and  out  of  the  fruits  of  a  great  revival  which  attended 
his  preaching  organized  several  large  Societies. 

Black  soon  became  one  of  the  most  successful  heralds  of  the  Gospel. 
From  Nova  Scotia  he  extended  his  labors  into  the  adjacent  province  of 
New  Brunswick,  in  which  there  were  a  few  scattered  villages  along  the 
shores  of  the  Bay  of  Fundy ;  and  in  1784,  feeling  the  necessity  of 
assistance  in  his  wide  circuit,  he  made  a  journey  to  Baltimore  on  the 
occasion  of  the  famous  Christmas  Conference  ;  passing  through  Boston 
on  his  route,  where  he  stopped  and  preached  several  times  with  excel- 
lent effect.  At  the  Christmas  Conference  Freeborn  Garrettson,  a 
famous  organizer  and  preacher,  the  first  Presiding  Elder  of  the  New 
York  District,  and  James  O.  Cromwell,  were  appointed  to  return  with 


752  Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 

Black  and  assist  him  on  his  distant  field,  which  the  next  year  wa5 
extended  Avestward  as  far  as  to  the  river  St.  John,  in  New  Brunswick, 

For  years  after  the  first  Conference  in  British  America,  in  1786^ 
the  titles  and  usages  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  prevailed  in 
the  Colonial  Societies ;  but  the  war  of  the  Kevolution  wrought  an 
estrangement  between  these  brethren,  and  after  the  superannuation  of 
William  Black,  some  time  about  1792,  the  fashions  of  British  Meth- 
odism began  to  prevail,  and  after  the  year  1800  the  eastern  Provinces 
were  principally  supplied  with  preachers  from  England,  this  territory 
eing  organized  under  the  name  of  the  Conference  of  Eastern  British 
America,  in  which  relation  it  continued  until  1874. 

Methodijsiii  in  Western  Canada  was  of  American  origin. 
There  were,  it  is  said,  some  Methodist  soldiers  in  the  army  of  Gen. 
Wolfe,  at  Quebec,  who  held  meetings  in  their  camps  and  barracks  as 
early  as  the  year  1763,  thus  antedating  by  about  three  years  the  plant- 
ing of  Methodism  by  Embury  in  New  York.  In  1774  Embury,  Paul 
Heck,  and  other  Palatine  emigrants,  with  their  families,  exchanged 
their  home  in  New  York  for  one  in  Upper  Canada,  or  what  is  now  the 
Province  of  Quebec ;  but  after  a  residence  of  four  years  in  the  vicinity 
of  Montreal  they  removed  to  Canada  West  —  now  Ontario  —  and 
kittled  in  the  township  of  Augusta,  where  they  established  a  Methodist 
settled  in  the  township  of  Augusta,  where  they  established  a  Methodist 
class.  From  time  to  time  these  classes  in  the  various  British  provinces 
were  re-enforced  by  parties  of  Loyalists,  or  Tories,  who,  in  spite  of  the 
Declaration  of  Independence,  still  maintained  their  allegiance  to  the 
British  Crown.  Quite  a  colony  of  these  emigrants  settled  in  the  Bay 
of  Quinte  country ;  and  in  1787  George  Neal,  a  local  preacher  from 
the  Southern  States,  sought  a  home  on  the  Canada  side  of  the  Niagara 
River,  where  he  preached  with  great  efficiency  and  gathered  another 
class. 

At  first  the  Methodist  Societies  in  Upper  Canada  formed  a  part  of 
the  New  York  Conference,  which,  after  the  fashion  of  those  early 
times,  had  a  boundary  on  the  south,  but  extended  indefinitely  north- 
ward just  as  far  as  the  preacher  chose  to  travel.  In  1790  William 
Losee  received  an  appointment  as  Conference  Missionary  "  to  range  at 
large,"  and,  being  of  Tory  proclivities  and  having  friends  in  Canada,  he 
ranged  off  to  the  north-east,  performing  his  journey  on  foot,  with  the 
occasional  help  of  a  canoe,  and  preached  along  the  settlements  of  the 


Colonial  Methodism. 


758 


Upper  St.  Lawrence  Eiver  with  such  good  effect  that  when  he  returned 
to  his  Conference,  which  sat  in  New  York,  in  October,  1791,  it  waa 
with  a  numerously  signed  petition  asking  for  his  regular  appointment 
to  that  region  ;  and  for  the  years  1791-92  the  name  of  Losee  appears  in 
the  "  Minutes "  in  connection  with  Kingston.  He  was  a  powerful 
man,  especially  in  exhortation,  and  his  zeal  and  activity  knew  no 
bounds.  During  this  year  on  the  Kingston  Circuit  he  organized  five 
classes  and  gathered  one  hundred  and  sixty-five  members,  which  suc- 


LOSEE  TRAVELING   HIS   CANADA   CIRCUIT. 

cess  led  to  his  re-appointment,  accompanied  by  the  Kev.  Darius 
Dunham,  who  traveled  the  western  and  Losee  the  eastern  of  the 
two  circuits  which  then  comprised  the  whole  of  Upper  Canada. 

In  1791  the  Methodist  membership  in  Canada  was  reported  at 
two  thousand  seven  himdred  and  ninety-five,  with  thirteen  preachers ; 
and  for  about  twenty  years  this  territory  was  included  either  in  the 
New  York,  the  Philadelphia,  the  New  England,  or  the  Genesee 
Conference. 

Henry  Ryan  and  the  Ryanites.— The  Presiding  Elder 
appointed  to  the  Upper  Canada  District  in  1805  was  Henry  Ryan,  a 
Scotch-Irishman  by  descent,  but  born  in  Connecticut.    He  was  a  man  of 


754  Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 

splendid  powers  both  physical  and  spiritual — who  had  entered  the  itin- 
erant ministry  five  years  before,  in  the  prime  of  his  youth,  being  then 
about  twenty-five  years  of  age.  He  was  prodigiously  strong,  and  his 
quickness  and  courage  were  equal  to  his  strength,  for  all  of  which 
endowments  his  itinerant  life  on  the  frontiers  gave  him  ample  use. 
His  voice  is  described  as  flexible,  musical,  and  of  fabulous  compass. 
His  conversational  tone  would  reach  the  outskirts  of  any  ordinary  con- 
gregation, though  it  was  pleasant,  and  not  over  loud ;  but  when  he 
"  lifted  up  his  voice  "  it  was  like  the  roar  of  a  lion. 

Elijah  Hedding — afterward  Bishop — with  whom  he  was  a  junior 
preacher  in  1802,  describes  him  as  "  a  very  pious  man,  a  man  of  great 
love  for  the  cause  of  Christ,  of  great  zeal  in  his  work  as  a  minister,  a 
brave  Irishman,  and  a  man  who  labored  as  if  the  judgment  thunders 
were  to  follow  each  sermon.  He  was  sometimes  overbearing  in  the 
administration  of  discipline,  but  with  that  exception  he  performed  his 
duties  in  every  part  of  his  work  as  a  minister  of  Christ  as  faithfully  as 
any  man  I  ever  knew." 

The  period  of  Ryan's  Presiding  Eldership  on  the  Upper  Canada 
District,  like  that  of  Black  in  Nova  Scotia,  was  of  quite  unusual 
length,  covering  a  period  of  about  fourteen  years,  till  the  organization 
of  the  Canada  Annual  Conference  in  1824.  Ryan  remained  in  Canada 
through  the  War  of  1812,  being  a  Briton  by  ancestry  and  by  pref- 
erence, though  by  birth  he  was  a  citizen  of  the  Republic,  and  during 
those  troublous  times  he  was  the  recognized  head  of  Methodism  in 
Upper  Canada.  He  traveled  the  whole  range  of  country  from  Mon- 
treal indefinitely  northward,  called  out  Canadian  preachers  to  supply 
the  work,  and  held  at  least  three  Annual  Conferences  on  his  own 
authority,  at  which  he  occupied  the  chair  of  the  Bishop. 

For  some  years  after  the  war  there  was  a  strenuous  movement  in 
Canada  to  bring  about  a  separation  from  the  American  Church,  which, 
in  1824,  led  to  the  organization  of  the  Canada  Conference,  and  four 
years  afterward  to  the  establishment  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
of  Canada.  To  this  movement  Elder  Ryan  lent  himself  with  charac- 
teristic vehemence ;  but  its  progress  was  too  slow  to  suit  his  impetuous 
nature,  and,  having  no  great  love  for  the  brethren  across  the  border, 
he  withdrew  from  their  fellowship  in  1827,  only  a  year  before  the 
separation  which  he  sought  was  accomplished.      In  1829  he  and  a  few 


Colonial  Methodism. 


755 


like-minded  agitators  organized  what  was  called  the  Canadian  Wesley  an 
Church,  whose  chief  difEerences  from  the  parent  body  were  lay  delega- 
tion and  the  right  of  local  preachers  to  a  seat  in  Conference.  This 
organization  held  together  for  ten  years,  when  a  minority  returned 
to  the  old  Church,  and  the  others  formed  a  union  with  the  Methodist 
New  Connection  of  England,  and  ultimately  with  the  Methodis^t 
Church  of  Canada,  in  1874. 

William  Case,  the  Father  or  Canadian   jflissionsi. 
— The  colleague  of   Henry  Ryan  on  the  Bay  of  Quinte  Circuit  in 


WILLIAM    CASE. 


Canada  in  1805  was  Wilham  Case,  then  a  young  man  of  twenty-five, 
a  native  of  Massachusetts,  a  man  of  deep  piety,  and  destined  to  a  mem- 
orable career.  He  was  ordained  by  Bishop  Asbury,  and  the  first  six 
years  of  his  ministry  were  spent  under  the  direction  of  the  New  York 
Conference  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  Thereafter  for  a 
period  of  seventeen  years — from  1810  to  1828 — he  held  the  post  of 
Presiding  Elder  in  Canada ;  he  and  liyan  being  the  two  chief  adminis- 
trators of  Upper  Canadian  Methodism.     In  the  latter  year  Case  was 


756  Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 

appointed  Superintendent  of  Indian  Missions  and  Schools,  which 
ecJiools  and  missions  largely  owed  their  existence  to  his  labors  in  the 
time  which  he  had  saved  from  his  work  among  the  whites. 

He  had  a  fatherly  way  of  talking  about  "  my  boys,"  and  the  young 
preachers  thus  designated  responded  by  calling  him  "  Father  Case." 
Little  children  loved  him,  which  is  the  same  as  saying  that  every  body 
loved  him.  Even  the  little  Indians  were  glad  to  see  him,  and  would 
literally  "  pluck  his  gown  to  share  the  good  man's  smile :"  nor  did 
they  fail  of  their  object,  for  he  treated  them  with  the  same  kindness 
and  affection  as  if  they  had  been  of  a  ligliter  hue.  Before  devoting 
himseK  to  tlie  Indian  missions  he  was  a  popular  preacher.  He  did 
not  excel  in  exposition  or  in  doctrine,  but  he  had  a  way  of  his  own  in 
treating  historical  subjects  and  portraying  domestic  scenes,  by  which 
he  would  make  his  oratorical  pictures  seem  almost  real ;  and  he  pos- 
sessed a  pathetic  style  and  a  musical  voice  not  unlike  the  softer  tones 
of  the  Indians  themselves,  which  gave  his  addresses  a  peculiar  persua- 
siveness with  them.  He  was  also  a  sweet  singer,  and  by  means  of  his 
delightful  songs  he  greatly  promoted  the  progress  of  his  ministry.  By 
liis  singing  he  even  found  liis  way  into  the  families  of  some  intelligent 
Romanists,  some  members  whereof  were  brought  to  a  sa\ing  knowledge 
of  Christ. 

His  career  among  the  Indians  seemed  to  be  a  providential  one,  and 
his  pursuit  of  it  was  for  years  the  gi-eat  inspiration  and  passion  of  his 
life.  The  aboriginal  tribes  which  hung  on  the  outskirts  of  civilization 
in  the  British  provinces,  especially  the  Chippeway  tribe,  were  a  most 
degraded  and  besotted  race — ignorant,  indolent,  improvident,  filthy, 
drunken,  and  licentious  to  the  last  degree.  No  one  hoped  for  their 
improvement,  or  even  thought  it  to  be  possible ;  but  Case,  in  his  fre- 
quent journeys  through  the  land,  had  often  revolved  their  wretched 
condition  in  his  mind ;  and  when  one  Peter  Jones,  a  haK-breed  Indian 
youth,  was  converted  at  a  camp-meeting  in  1823,  Case  broke  out  with 
the  exclamation,  "  Bless  God,  the  door  is  now  open  to  the  Indian 
tribes ! " 

"With  Peter  Jones  for  an  interpreter.  Case  opened  his  labors  among 
the  i-ed  men  at  Belleville,  Rice  Lake,  Mud  Lake,  St.  Clair,  etc. ;  and 
soon  a  revival  of  religion  swept  throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of 
the  Indian  settlements,  in  which   hundreds   of  red  men  and  women 


Colonial  Methodism.  757 

were  brought  to  Christ.  Thenceforth  Case  cut  loose  from  the  whites, 
and  hecame  a  devotee  to  his  Indian  work. 

A  pleasant  story  is  told  of  an  interview  between  him  and  Bishop 
George  in  the  United  States,  whither  Case  had  gone  to  beg  money  for 
his  Indian  Mission.  At  the  close  of  his  call  the  Bishop  invited  Case 
to  offer  prayer,  and  he  at  once  began  to  pray  for  the  "  poor  Indian  " 
until  he  literally  broke  down  with  emotion.  Recovering  himself,  he 
began  to  pray  for  the  Indians  again,  and  kept  on  in  that  strain,  till  the 
Bishop  said,  "  I  thought  he  had  forgotten  that  white  men  had  souls 
at  all."  Like  Dr.  Coke,  liis  great  missionary  exemplar,  Case  solic- 
Hed  missionary  money  from  house  to  house  both  in  the  United  States 
and  Canada.  There  were  no  missionary  meetings  in  those  days ;  the 
whole  matter  being  left  to  fitful,  spontaneous  effort ;  and  the  financial 
part  of  his  labors  consumed  a  large  proportion  of  his  time. 

Father  Case  and  his  missionaries  rightfully  eai-ned  the  name  of 
"laborers"  in  the  Lord's  v-ineyard,  for  one  part  of  their  task  consisted 
in  working  with  their  hands  to  teach  the  Indians  agriculture  and  the 
mechanic  arts,  as  well  as  to  raise  food  for  themselves  and  families,  and 
to  build  mission  houses  and  chapels.  They  very  soon  acquired  the  In- 
dian independence  of  civiHzation,  and  learned  how  to  forage  for  them- 
selves in  their  long  journeys  on  foot  or  through  the  wilderness.  A 
pack  inclosed  in  a  blanket  slung  on  the  back,  and  a  gun  with  a  small 
store  of  powder  and  shot,  and  a  small  Bible,  constituted  the  Indian 
preacher's  outfit ;  and,  thus  entering  into  the  hves  of  the  people  for 
whom  they  were  laboring,  they  were  all  the  more  successful  in  bring- 
ing them  to  a  knowledge  of  the  truth. 

Case's  Jubilee  Sermon,  preached  by  the  request  of  the 
Canada  Wesleyan  Conference,  at  London,  C.  W.,  on  the  6th  of  June, 
1855,  mentions  the  names  of  Seth  Crawford,  Thomas  Whitehead, 
Edmond  Stone,  and  Ahnn  Torry,  as  his  early  fellow-laborers  of  his 
own  race,  with  Thomas  Davis,  Peter  Jones,  and  John  Simday  as  their 
chief  Indian  assistants. 

"  The  first  Canadian  Missionary  Society,"  he  says,  "  was  formed  on 
the  Niagara  District,  in  1822,  and  soon  these  societies  were  multiplied 
and  extended  throughout  the  province ;  their  first  enterprise  being  the 
support  of  the  missionaries  at  the  head  of  Lake  Ontario ;  afterward 
among  the  six  nations  of  Indians  on  the  Grand  River ;  and  thence  to 


758  Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 

the  scattered  tribes  of  the  Ojibways,  who  lived  along  the  lakes  and 
rivers  in  the  wilderness  of  Upper  Canada.  At  first  the  prejudices 
of  the  Indians  were  very  strong  against  the  missionaries,  but  kindness 
and  honesty  at  length  prevailed  over  their  surly  and  suspicious  natures ; 
the  good  Spirit  also  accompanied  their  work,  and  the  Indians  were 
brought  to  believe  the  '  good  book,'  to  allow  the  missionaries  the  priv- 
ilege  of  teaching  their  children,  and  ultimately  to  accept  not  only  the 
Gospel  of  Christ,  but  the  civiKzation  which  its  progress  implies.?' 

Peter  Jones,  the  Indian  preacher,  gives  the  following  account  of 
the  introduction  of  Christianity  among  the  Ojibways,  at  Kice  Lake  : — 

"  During  the  Methodist  Conference  at  Hamilton,  near  Coburg,  in 
September,  1827,  several  o^  the  converted  Indians  from  Grape  Island, 
and  others  of  us  from  River  Credit,  met  at  the  Conference  by  direc- 
tion of  Father  Case.  The  Indians  pitched  their  wigwams  in  a  grove. 
Here  rehgious  services  were  held.  During  this  time  Chief  Sawyer, 
Big  Jacob,  and  others  were  sent  to  Rice  Lake  to  invite  the  Indians  to 
come  down  to  our  encampment.  Next  morning  they  returned,  accom- 
panied by  Captain  Paudaush  and  Peter  Rice-Lake,  the  two  chiefs,  and 
thirty  or  forty  others.  After  refreshments  we  commenced  religious 
'  talk  ; '  we  told  them  what  great  things  the  Great  Spirit  had  done  for 
us  at  the  Credit  and  Grape  Island,  to  which  they  all  paid  great  atten- 
tion and  seemed  much  impressed.  During  the  same  day  Bishop 
Hedding,  Father  Case,  Dr.  Bangs,  and  other  ministers,  visited  and  ad- 
dressed the  Indians,  and  prayers  and  religious  instruction  were  con- 
tinued till  toward  evening,  the  Indians  becoming  more  and  more 
deeply  impressed. 

"  At  length  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  was  poured  out  in  great  power 
on  the  minds  of  the  Indians,  and  many  cried  aloud,  '  What  shall  I  do  to 
be  saved  V  That  we  might  have  more  convenience  for  giving  them 
instruction  an  altar  was  formed  by  placing  a  pole  against  two  trees. 
To  this  place  the  mourning  penitents  were  invited  to  come  and  kneel 
for  instruction  and  prayer,  and  instruction  was  given  them  as  their 
several  cases  seemed  to  require.  It  was  not  long  when  Chiefs  Rice- 
Lake  and  Paudaush  arose  and  expressed  their  joyful  feelings,  saying 
they  had  found  peace  to  their  souls ;  and  they  gave  glory  to  God  for 
his  mercy.  Then  another  and  another  gave  the  same  testimony,  and 
ere  the  meeting  closed  every  adult  Indian  was  made  happy  in  the  par- 


Colonial  Methodism.  759 

doning  love  of  God.  O  what  a  joyful  time  !  The  wilderness  re- 
sounded with  the  voice  of  joy  and  gladness. 

"  On  the  return  of  the  Rice-Lake  converts  to  their  home,  Captain 
Beaver  and  others  from  Grape  Island  were  requested  to  accompany 
them,  for  the  purpose  of  further  instruction  and  edification  in  the 
Christian  faith. 

"  The  following  occurrence  will  show  the  nature  of  the  temptations 
the  Indians  had  now  to  encounter,  the  device  of  the  white  pagcms  to 
ensnare  them,  and  the  firm  resistance  they  showed  against  their  two 
grand  enemies,  the  drunka/rd  and  rum. 

"  One  of  these  disciples  of  whisky  was  '  sure  he  could  induce 
the  Indians  again  to  drink,'  and,  providing  himself  with  ardent  spirits, 
he  moved  in  his  canoe  over  to  the  island  where  the  Indians  were 
encamped.  Leaving  aU  at  the  shore,  he  went  up  to  the  camp,  and,  in- 
viting the  Indians  down,  brought  forth  his  bottle.  '  Come,'  said  he, 
'  we  always  good  friends ;  we  once  more  take  a  good  drink  in  friend- 
ship.' 

" '  No,'  said  Captain  Paudaush,  '  we  drink  no  more  of  the  fire- 
waters.' 

" '  O,  but  you  wiU  drink  with  me  ;  we  always  good  friends.'  But 
while  this  son  of  Belial  was  urging  them  to  drink,  the  Indians  struck 
up  in  the  tune  of  Walsal  the  new  hymn  they  had  lately  learned  to 
sing: 

"  O  uh  pa-gi8li  ke  che  ingo'  dwok, 
Neej  uh  ne  she  nah  baig:" 

"  O  for  a  thousand  tongues,  to  sing 
My  great  Redeemer's  praise:" 

and  while  they  were  singing,  this  bacchanalian,  defeated  in  his 
wicked  device,  and  looking  like  a/oo?,  paddled  away  from  the  island, 
leaving  the  Indians  to  their  temperance  and  their  religious  devotions." 
In  summing  up  the  results  of  his  thirty  years'  missionary  work 
Father  Case  exclaims:  "Since  our  remembrance  tribes  and  nations 
have  been  converted,  increasing  the  ranks  of  the  Church  by  thousands, 
and  strengthening  her  for  further  warfare  and  certain  conquest.  Dur- 
ing the  thirty  years  of  our  missionary  labors  among  the  wild  men  of 
our  forests  fourteen  bands  of  wandering  pagans  have  been  converted ; 
people  degraded  in  ignorance,  and  besotted  by  strong  drink,  without 


7(30  Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 

either  house  or  domestic  animals.  These  have  been  instructed  in  the 
Christian  religion,  gatliercd  into  villages,  provided  with  dwellings  of 
comfort,  and  taught  the  duties  of  domestic  life.  Two  noble  institutions 
have  been  erected  and  are  now  in  operation,  the  one  at  Alnwick,  near 
Coburg,  the  other  at  Mount  Elgin,  near  London,  on  the  Kiver  Thames, 
in  which  the  Indian  youth  are  taught  the  common  branches  of  En- 
glish education,  as  well  as  agricultm*e  on  the  farms  attached  to  the 
schools.  At  each  of  these  establishments  provision  is  made  for  the 
board  and  clothing  of  fifty  young  Indians.  Our  Church  has  now  (1855) 
in  the  mission  field  twenty-one  missionaries  to  the  Indians,  seventy- 
nine  ministers  to  the  domestic  missions,  sixteen  day-school  teachers, 
fifteen  day-schools,  two  of  which  are  large  industrial  institutions,  and 
10,624  members  ;  1,142  of  that  number  are  Indians." 

The  death  of  Wilham  Case  occurred  on  the  19th  of  October,  1855. 

War  and  Peace — Declension  and  Revival. — In  1812, 
before  the  breaking  out  of  the  war  between  England  and  the  United 
States,  the  number  of  Methodist  members  in  Canada  was  2,250.  At 
the  close  of  the  war,  three  years  afterward,  there  was  found  to  have 
been  a  decrease  of  785  in  Canada,  and  also  a  decrease  in  the  Church 
of  the  United  States  of  more  than  ten  thousand.  With  the  return  of 
peace  the  Societies  again  began  to  prosper,  and  in  June  1816,  at  the 
session  of  the  Genesee  Annual  Conference,  which  was  held  at  Eliz- 
abethtown,  a  great  awakening  commenced  nnder  a  sermon  by  Bishop 
George,  and  before  the  close  of  the  session  it  is  believed  that  over  a 
hundred  souls  were  awakened.  This  revival  spread  in  waves  of  power 
and  blessing  until  the  shores  of  Lake  Ontario,  the  Niagara,  and  the 
St.  Lawrence  became  vocal  with  prayer  and  praise.  There  were  not 
ministers  enough  to  conduct  all  the  services,  but  hundreds  of  people 
would  assemble  for  prayer-meeting,  sometimes  on  one  side  of  the 
lake  or  rivers  and  sometimes  on  the  other ;  the  people  croesing  in  boat- 
loads to  be  the  helpers  of  each  others'  joy,  and  making  the  woods  and 
waters  echo  with  the  music  of  theii'  hynms  as  they  rowt-d  from  shore 
to  shore.  In  this  revival  a  new  impetus  was  given  to  the  work  in 
Canada  which  has  continued  to  prosper  since  that  day. 

British  Wesleyanisiu  in  Canada. — During  the  war, 
while  hostihties  were  raging  on  the  lakes  and  frontiers,  it  was  no  easy 
matter  for  the  New  York,  the  New  England,  or  the  Genesee  Confer- 


48 


METROPOLITAN  WBSLEYAIT  CHUECH,    TOEONTO. 


762  Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 

ences  to  find  among  their  numbers  men  suited  to  the  Canadian 
circuits,  since  politics  were  sure  to  creep  more  or  less  into  the  spirit,  if 
not  into  the  forms,  of  prayers  and  sermons.  Thus  it  was  that  in  1814 
the  Society  at  Quebec  sent  to  England  for  a  minister,  and  in  response 
to  their  call  the  Kev.  John  Strong  arrived  in  Quebec  in  June  of  that 
same  year.  The  Montreal  Society  was  divided,  but  the  majority  went 
over  to  British  Wesleyanism,  which  sent  out  the  Eev.  Eichard  Will- 
iams to  the  Montreal  Circuit,  and  the  Rev.  Mr.  Burch,  the  American 
preacher,  who  had  stayed  at  his  post  during  the  war,  took  his  departure 
just  as  the  "Wesleyan  "  missionaries  "  arrived. 

Wilhams  and  Strong  commenced  operations  on  the  St.  Francis 
River  and  in  other  parts  of  Lower  Canada,  in  the  fields  hitherto  occu- 
pied by  the  American  preachers,  and  they  insisted  upon  holding  the 
chapel  in  Montreal  in  view  of  the  fact  that  the  money  which  built  it 
had  been  mostly  collected  in  England.  They  also  extended  their  oper- 
ations up  into  Western  or  Upper  Canada,  where  the  American  party 
prevailed,  and  located  at  Cornwall,  Kingston,  York,  Niagara,  and  about 
the  Bay  of  Quinte.  Thus,  instead  of  maintaining  their  character  as 
missionaries,  they  entered  into  the  choicest  portions  of  the  work  ah*eady 
laid  out,  with  the  evident  purpose  of  dispossessing  the  Americans 
of  the  entire  Canadian  field.  This  was  the  occasion  of  no  little  con- 
croversy,  and  in  order  to  adjust  the  difficulties  which  were  continually 
arising,  and  to  make  an  end  of  strife,  an  agreement  was  entered  into 
between  the  British  and  American  Conferences  in  1820,  to  the  effect 
that  the  EngHsh  missionaries  should  withdraw  from  Upper  Canada, 
and  the  American  preachers  from  Lower  Canada ;  thus,  like  Lot  and 
Abraham,  dividing  the  country  between  them. 

Methoclii^t  Episcopal  Church  of  Canada. — But  this 
compact  was  destined  to  a  short  life.  There  were  many  Methodists  in 
Upper  Canada  who  did  not  desire  to  remain  under  the  American  juris- 
diction, and  to  meet  their  views  the  expedient  of  a  Canadian  Annual 
Conference  was  tried ;  but  after  four  years  this  was  found  to  be  too 
close  a  bond  with  their  republican  neighbors,  and  in  1828  the  Method- 
ist Episcopal  Church  of  Canada  was  organized.  This  new  Church 
could  hardly  be  called  a  secession,  since  Canadian  Methodism  had 
never  held  other  than  a  voluntary  connection  with  the  Methodism 
of  the  States,  and  all  the  preachers  who  had  been  sent  across  the  line 


Colonial  Meti[odis:m.  763 

had  been  sent  as  volnnteci-s.  There  was,  therefore,  no  obstacle  in  the 
way  of  tlie  organization  of  this  new  Church,  and  no  theological  root 
of  bitterness  underneath  which  might  afterward  spring  up  to  trouble 
them.^  The  Conference  at  which  this  peaceful  separation  was  arranged 
was  presided  over  by  Bishop  Iledding,  who,  when  the  resolutions  of 
division  had  been  passed,  proposed  to  vacate  the  chair,  as  he  was  no 
longer  in  fact  their  chairman,  by  virtue  of  his  office  as  Bishop  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  the  United  States ;  but  so  fraternal 
was  the  spirit  of  the  assembly  that  he  was  urged  to  continue  in  the 
chair  during  the  remainder  of  the  session  ;  and,  in  place  of  a  Bishop, 
William  Case  was  elected  as  "  General  Superintendent  ^5^0  temP  Thus 
amicably  was  severed  the  connection  between  the  two  bodies,  and  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  of  Canada  started  out  alone. 

State  Cliurcliism  in  Canada. — The  Canadas  now  had  a 
legislature  of  their  own,  but  their  Governors  were  sent  out  to  them 
from  England.  As  a  matter  of  course,  these  Governors,  with  their 
families  and  followers.  Were  all  members  of  the  EstabKshed  Church, 
no  other  communion  in  England  being  thought  either  able  or  worthy 
to  furnish' the  public  service  with  any  high  functionary;  and  this  fact 
was  eagerly  taken  advantage  of  by  the  Episcopalians  in  Canada  to 
secure  for  tliemselves  a  pre-eminence  similar  to  that  enjoyed  by  the 
State  Church  in  England.  The  High-church  colonists,  with  the  Gov- 
ernor at  their  head,  set  up  tlie  pretense  that  the  Church  of  England 
was  the  legally  estabhshed  religion  in  Canada,  by  virtue  of  the  fact 
that  Canada  was  a  British  province — a  claim  which  the  Methodists, 
Baptists,  Presbyterians,  and  Lutherans  all  united  to  oppose.  The  laws 
of  the  province  did  not  permit  any  except  a  Church  of  England  min- 
ister to  solemnize  matrimony,  and  there  were  various  other  restraints 
thrown  around  the  "  Dissenters,"  against  which  they  were  continually 
protesting. 

The  exigencies  of  poHtics  led  the  Colonial  Government  to  court 
the  influence  of  the  Methodists,  who  were  the  strongest  and  foremost 
enemies  of  Colonial  State-Churchism ;  but,  unfortunately,  there  was  a 
division  among  the  Methodists  themselves  ;  some  of  them  being  loyal 
in  their  devotion  to  every  thing  British,  including  British  Wesleyan- 
ism,  while  others  were  more  progressive  in  their  views,  and  were 
inclined  to  follow  certain  American  examples.     The  managers  of  the 


764  Illusteated  Histoky  of  Methodism. 

conservative,  or  British  party,  wliicli  still  had  control  of  the  Govern- 
ment, were  quick  to  take  advantage  of  this  division,  and  an  effort  was 
made  to  win  over  the  conservative  wing  of  the  Methodists  to  their 
support.  It  was  suggested  to  them,  that  as  loyal  Methodists  they 
were  in  reality  neither  more  nor  less  than  a  branch  of  the  Chui-cli  of 
England,  both  at  home  and  abroad,  and  it  was  hinted,  that  as  such  they 
mio-ht  expect  a  share  of  the  funds  reserved  by  the  Provincial  Govern- 
ment for  the  support  of  the  regular  clergy  in  case  they  should  make 
common  cause  with  the  Church-and-State  party. 

In  1828  the  Lieutenant-Governor,  Sir  Peregrine  Maitland,  sent 
home  a  dispatch  requesting  that  English  Methodist  preachers  might 
again  be  sent  to  Upper  Canada,  and  reconnnending  that  aid  should  be 
given  to  their  Indian  missions  out  of  tlie  public,  funds.  The  British 
Wcsleyan  Conference,  before  which  this  proposal  was  laid,  had  always 
been  a  thoroughly  loyal  body,  and  it  was  quite  tlie  thing  to  l)e  looked 
for  that  they  should  accede  to  the  Governor's  pro]X)sal.  They  were 
not  well  pleased  that  Methodism  in  Canada  sliould  have  an  American 
instead  of  a  British  form  of  organization,  though  hitlici'to  they  had 
no  opportunity  of  protesting  against  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
of  Canada:  now,  however,  they  called  to  mind  that  the  compact  of 
1820,  by  which  Canada  East  was  given  to  the  English  ami  Canada 
West  to  the  American  Methodists,  had  not  been  made  with  the  ]\Ietli- 
odist  Episcopal  Church  of  Canada,  this  being  a  subsequent  organiza- 
tion ;  hence  they  assumed  the  nullity  of  the  cunq)act,  tlie  more  readily, 
perhaps,  as  on  their  part  it  had  been  otily  partly  fultilled.* 

Meanwhile  the  Upper  Canada  Episcopal  Methodists  were  without 
a  Bishop  of  their  own  :  such  ordinations  as  were  had,  of  elders  and 
deacons,  being  performed  by  Bishop  Hedding,  who  visited  their  Con- 
ference in  1830.  Three  men  had  been  elected  to  their  vacant  bish- 
opric, but  had  dechned  the  place.  The  first  of  these  was  Nathan 
Bangs,  a  member  of  the  New  York  Conference,  who  from  1802  till 
1808  had  traveled  a  Canada  circuit  and  laid  the  foundation  of  his 
future  fame.  He  was  a  native  of  Connecticut,  converted  in  the  great 
revival  of  1800 ;  and  after  his  return  from  Caiiada,  whei-e  his  quality 
had  been  abundantly  tested,  he  entered  upon  a  career  of  leadership  in 
the  Church  which  embraced  some  of  the  chief  offices  in  its  gift.     To 

•See  Webster's  "History  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Chincli  of  Canada,"  p.  250. 


•^^^^J/'&n  ^  \ 


2.3  H 


"  »  a 


zr^:-:? 


o  3  JS 


s  :^ 


'^  "■  n 


<  o 

?^5 


CD   00 
Jl   00 


3   -* 

re  3 
o  -» 


766  Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 

become  the  Bishop  of  the  Canada  Church  implied  the  surrender  of 
his  nationahty,  and  Bangs,  who  doubtless  already  felt  within  him  the 
prophecy  of  large  success  among  his  own  people,  put  aside  the  honor 
which  his  Canadian  brethren  proffered  liim.  They  next  elected  Wil- 
bur Fisk,  who  was  at  that  time  tlie  Principal  of  the  Wcsleyan  Acad- 
emy, Wilbraham,  Massachusetts,  an  eminent  preacher  and  scholar,  iind 
one  of  the  most  saintly  men  ever  produced  in  America. 

The  judgment  of  the  Canadians  was  excellent,  but  their  efforts 
were  not  successful.  A  tliird  candidate  was  tlien  brought  forward; 
the  Rev.  Mr.  Stratton,  one  of  their  own  preachers,  who,  following  the 
example  of  Bangs  and  Fisk,  still  left  the  Canadian  episcopacy  vacant ; 
BO  Father  Case,  their  patriarch  and  favorite,  continued  to  preside  over 
them  with  the  modest  title  of  "  Superintendent  j^z-o  tern.'''' 

The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  of  Csniiada  a^ain. 
— The  changes  brought  about  in  1833,  by  certain  "  Articles  of  Union" 
arranged  between  the  British  Conference  and  the  Rev,  Mr.  Ryerson, 
on  behalf  of  the  Wesleyan  Methodist  Churcli  in  Britisli  Nortli  Amer- 
ica, soon  produced  an  outbreak,  partly  because  local  preachers  were  by 
its  operation  denied  ordination,  on  the  ground  tliat  it  was  not  only 
contrary  to  Methodism,  but  to  Christian  wisdom  in  general,  that  persons 
continuing  in  secular  life  should  carry  ministerial  orders  and  titles,  and 
partly  because  the  ministry  had  assumed  the  privilege  of  forming  the 
union  without  proper  consultation  with  the  Societies.  In  one  or  two 
instances  the  preachers  sent  by  the  newly  re-organized  Conference  were 
rejected  by  the  Churches  to  which  they  were  appointed,  on  the  ground 
that  the  puljjits  were  the  property  of  "  The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
in  Canada,"  while  these  ministers  appeared  in  the  name  of  a  body 
which  they  did  not  recognize,  namely,  "  The  Wesleyan  Methodist 
Church  in  British  North  America."  For  the  most  part,  however, 
the  laity  quietly  accepted  the  action  of  their  ministers ;  many,  indeed, 
enthusiastically  supported  it ;  thus  the  chapels  and  "  Mission-Houses," 
or  parsonages,  after  several  suits  in  the  courts  of  law,  were  retained 
by  the  old  Church  under  its  new  name,  and  the  financial  outlook  for 
the  adherents  of  episcopacy  was  any  thing  but  hopeful. 

In  order  to  maintain  the  legal  life  of  the  organization  which  had 
been  voted  out  of  existence,  the  episcopal  party  determined  to  hold 
the  Annual  Conference  as  usual  for  the  year  1834,  which  body,  claim- 


Colonial  Methodism.  767 

ing  to  be  tlie  rightful  Conference  of  tlie  "  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
of  Canada,"  assembled  on  the  25th  of  June,  at  Cummer's  Churcli, 
near  Toronto,  whereat  there  appeared  only  three  regularly  ordained 
elders,  to  wit,  Joseph  Gatchell,  David  Culp,  and  Daniel  Pickett,  and 
J.  W.  Byam,  deacon.  These,  with  a  number  of  local  preachers  who 
were  in  attendance,  re-organized  the  Conference  ;  elected  the  Kev. 
John  Tleynolds  "  Superintendent  pro  tem.^''  in  the  room  of  Father 
Case;  received  several  ministerial  candidates  from  the  ranks  of  the 
loc  al  preachers ;  re-arranged  the  circuits,  on  which,  however,  almost 
every  place  of  worship  had  passed  out  of  their  hands ;  and  thus,  with 
a  courage  that  was  admirable,  whatever  may  be  said  of  their  wis- 
dom, set  themselves  to  the  almost  hopeless  task  of  contending,  on 
British  territory,  and  in  spite  of  British  power  and  prestige,  for  a 
form  of  Church  government  widely  different  from  all  the  rest  of 
British  Methodism,  but  which  was,  doubtless,  the  form  contemplated  by 
the  great  leader  wliose  name  their  EngHsh  brethren  continued  to  bear. 

The  next  step  was  to  elect  a  Bishop.  For  this  purpose  a  special 
session  of  what  was  called  "  The '  General  Conference  of  the  Metli- 
odist  Episcopal  Church  of  Canada "  was  held  at  Trafalgar  Meeting 
house,  on  the  25th  of  June,  1835 ;  which  General  Conference  consisted 
of  five  men,  to  wit :  tlie  Rev.  John  Reynolds,  General  Superintendent 
pro  tem.^  David  Culp,  Joseph  Gatchell,  Daniel  Pickett,  and  John  H. 
Huston,  the  last-named  being  a  traveling  deacon,  and  the  others  local 
preachers  in  elders'  orders.  The  election  of  Bishop  resulted  in  the 
choice  of  the  Rev.  John  Reynolds,  who,  on  Sunday,  June  28th,  1835, 
was  ordained  to  the  episcopal  office  by  the  other  four  ministei-s  com- 
prising the  Conference.  The  Church  over  which  he  was  to  preside 
at  this  time  reported  21  preachers,  including  those  on  trial,  and  a 
membership  of  1,243,  being  about  one  twelfth  of  the  original  body 
whose  successors  they  claimed  to  be. 

At  the  General  Conference  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  of 
the  United  States  held  in  Cincinnati,  in  1836,  fraternal  delegates 
appeared  from  both  the  Canada  Churches,  and  a  stormy  debate  ensued 
as  to  which  of  the  two  should  be  recognized  as  the  rightful  heirs  of 
the  original  Canadian  Methodist  body ;  but  the  General  Conference, 
taking  into  account  the  excitement  under  which  they  spoke,  treated 
them  with  all  couiiesy,  referred  the  whole  question  to  a  committee. 


768 


Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 


which  reported  in  favor  of  recognizing  the  body  then  in  connection 
with  the  Britisli  Wesleyan  Conference. 

Then  followed  litigation  over  Church  property,  which  failed  not  of 
its  usual  effects ;  for  whatever  might  be  the  merits  of  any  particular 


ALBERT    COLLEGE. 


cause,  both  the  plaintiff  and  defendant  were  certain  to  come  out  of  the 
ti-ial  with  a  very  poor  opinion  of  one  another.  These  trials  resulted  in 
the  confirmation  of  the  title  of  the  "Wesleyan  Cliurch  to  the  propertji 
which  they  claimed,  and  the  Episcopal  body,  being  now  literally  out  of 
doors,  were  compelled  to  begin  their  Church  enterprises  over  again.  In 
spite  of  their  poverty,  however,  they  had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing 
their  numbers  increase,  for  at  the  Conference  of  the  ensuing  year  they 
reported  24  preachers  and  a  membership  of  2,390 — an  increase  of  1,14-7 
members  in  a  single  year.  In  1838  the  body  comprised  32  preachers 
and  4,177  members,  and  from  that  time  to  the  present  they  have 
advanced  in  numbers  and  wealth  until  at  the  Conference  of  1878  they 
reported  3  Annual  Conferences,  namely :  Niagara,  Ontario,  and  Bay 
of  Quinte,  comprising  2G7  ministers,  a  membership  of  27,285,  516 
churches,  128  parsonages,  and  2  collegiate  institutions — the  Albert 
University,  at  Belleville,  of  which  the  Rev.  J.  R.  Jacques,  D.D.,  Ph.D  , 
is  President,  and  Professor  of  Ancient  Languages ;  and  Alma  College, 
at  St.  Thomas,  a  new  enterprise  not  yet  fully  in  operation.  They 
have  also  a  Church  paper,  "  The  Canada  Christian  Advocate,"  pub- 
lislied  at  Hamilton,  Ontario,  a  paper  of  deservedly  high  reputation; 
where  the  Book  Room  of  the  denomination  is  also  located ;  the  Rev. 


Colonial  Methodism.  769 

S.  G.  Stone,  D.D.,  holding  the  very  honorable  positions  both  of  Editor 
and  Book  Agent. 

Thus  the  little  band  which  in  1835  started  out  in  ecclesiastical  life 
with  nothing  but  their  theories,  their  courage,  and  their  faith,  has 
become  a  strongly-established  body,  with  an  active  and  increasing 
membership,  and  Church  property  estimated  to  be  worth  nearly  a 
million  and  a  quarter  of  dollars. 

The  Canadian  Episcopacy. — The  Eev.  John  Reynolds,  the 
first  ]]ishop  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  Canada,  was  born 
near  Hudson,  N.  Y.,  in  1786,  and  removed  to  Canada  with  his  parents 
when  only  ten  years  old.  He  was  converted  in  1803  under  the  labors 
of  Nathan  Bangs,  and  five  years  afterward  was  admitted  on  trial  in 
the  New  York  Conference,  which,  as  has  been  seen,  comprised  at  that 
time  the  whole  of  Western  Canadian  Methodism.  He  was  one  of 
Elder  Ryan's  assistants  during  the  War  of  1812,  at  the  close  of  which, 
on  account  of  failing  health,  he  returned  to  secular  life. 

At  the  Hallowell  Conference,  in  1824,  he  was  ordained  elder  by 
Bishop  George,  and  being  from  the  first  opposed  to  the  plan  of  union 
with  the  British  Wesleyans,  he  naturally  became  the  leader  of  the 
little  company  who  established  the  present  Canadian  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church  in  1835.  His  di'dination  as  Bishop,  though  not  by 
regular  succession,  was  performed  in  the  manner  indicated  in  the 
Discipline  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  which  provides  for 
the  consecration  of  a  Bishop  by  three  elders  in  case  the  regular 
Episcopal  succession  should  ever  fail.  Bishop  Reynolds  died  in 
1857,  and  the  Rev.  John  Alley,  who  had  been  elected  in  1845, 
became  the  senior  Bishop.  In  1847  the  Rev.  Philander  Smith  was 
elected  to  the  Episcopacy,  and  he  in  turn  was  succeeded  in  1856  by 
the  Rev.  James  Richardson,  D.D. 

Bishop  Richardson,  at  the  time  of  the  last  Methodist  revo- 
lution, was  one  of  the  leading  ministers.  He  was  born  in  Kingston, 
Upper  Canada,  January  29,  1791,  and  spent  his  youth  as  a  sailor  on 
the  lakes,  in  which  capacity  he  served  in  the  British  navy  in  1812. 
He  was  converted  in  1817,  entered  the  Canadian  itinerancy  in  1825, 
and  went  over  to  British  Wesleyanism  with  the  great  body  of  his 
Church  in  1833  ;  but  subsequently  becoming  dissatisfied,  he  removed 
to  the  United  States,  from  whence  he  at  length  returned  to  Canada 


770  Illustkated  History  of  Miithodism. 

in  the  capacity  of  Agent  of  the  Canada  Bible  Society,  which  office 
he  held  for  eleven  years,  being  meanwhile  a  local  minister  in  the 
Canada  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  In  1858  this  body  elected 
and  consecrated  him  to  the  office  of  Bishop,  in  which  he  died,  in  the 
year  1875,  at  the  advanced  age  of  eighty-four  years. 


BISHOP    CARMAN. 


Bishop  Cariiiaii. — After  Bishop  Eichardson's  retirement  from 
labor,  in  1874,  tlie  Kev.  J.  Morrison  Eeid,  D.D-.,  then  Missionary  Sec- 
retary of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  was  elected  to  succeed  him, 
but  on  his  declination  of  the  office,  the  Kev.  Albert  Carman,  D.D., 
the  present  Bishop  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  of  Canada,  was 
elected,  after  hnving  served  in  its  ministry  for  eighteen  years.  He 
is  a  native  of  Canada,  a  graduate  of  Victoria  College,  ex-professor 
of  mathematics  in  Belleville  Seminary,  and  ex-President  of  Albert  Col- 
lege, from  which  institution,  after  long  and  successful  service  as 
professor,  principal,  and  president,  he  was  promoted  to  the  highest 
office  in  the  gift  of  his  Church.  In  1860  he  received  the  degree  of 
Master  of  Arts,  and  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Divinity  in  1874.  He  is 
now  in  the  full  prime  of  his  life,  having  been  born  in  1833. 


Colonial  Methodism. 


771 


Rev.  Eg^erton  Ryerson.— This  Methodist  statesman  and 
divine,  whose  name  will  be  held  in  grateful  remembrance  both  by  his 
own  Church  and  by  all  lovers  of  free  education,  was  born  in  the  town 
of  Woodhouse,  Upper  Canada,  in  1803.  He  was  converted  in  early 
life,  and  followed  two  of  his  elder  brothers  into  the  ministry  of  the 
Methodist  Church.  His  name  has  already  been  mentioned  in  connec- 
tion with  Indian  missions,  in  which  he  rendered  good  service  during  a 
part  of  his  early  ministry,  and  also  in  connection  with  the  delicate  and 
responsible  post  of  Commissioner  to  the  British  Conference  to  arrange 


REV.    EGEETON  RYERSON,   D.D.,    LL.D. 

the  terms  of  union  therewith.  During  his  first  years  of  service  as  an 
itinerant  preacher  he  developed  remarkable  talents  for  writing,  espe- 
cially controversial  writing,  and  for  many  year:  his  pen  found  active 
service  in  defending  the  Methodists  against  High-church  pretensions, 
and  vindicating  the  cause  of  popular  education  against  its  Eomish 
assailants.  He  was  the  first  editor  of  "  The  Christian  Guardian  "—the 
organ  of  the  Canada  Conference— which  was  commenced  in  1829.  In 
1842  he  was  appointed  the  first  President  of  Yictoria  College.     From 


772  Illusteated  History  of  Methodism. 

this  position  he  was  called,  in  1845,  to  accept  the  office  of  chief  Super- 
intendent of  Education  for  Upper  Canada,  which  post  he  has  held  for 
a  period  of  over  thirty  years,  with  tlie  approval  of  all  the  diverse 
governments  and  parties,  greatly  to  the  advancement  of  the  cause  of 
popular  education,  and  to  tlie  lionor  of  liimself  and  liis  Church. 

In  1874  the  General  Conference  of  tlic  Methodist  Churcli  of  Can- 
ada, the  latest  form  of  Methodism  in  British  America,  elected  Dr. 
Ryerson  as  its  first  President.  In  his  inaugural  speecli  on  tlie  occasion 
he  makes  mention  of  the  fact  that  his  long  life  has  heen  also  a  stormy 
one.  His  office  brought  him  into  almost  constant  conllict  with  Romish  ' 
priests,  who  set  themselves  against  his  theory  uf  common  school  edu- 
cation with  all  the  rhetoric  and  all  the  votes  at  theii-  coniiiinnd,  and  his 
controversial  writings  on  this  subject  alone  covei-  thoiisaiids  of  ])i-inted 
pages,  and  furnish  some  of  the  strongest  and  most  clcariy-statcd  argu- 
ments to  be  found  in  the  whole  range  uf  educational  literature  in 
defense  of  the  education  of  all  the  children  of  the  State  under  the 
direction  of  the  State  and  at  the  expense  of  the  State. ''^ 

Dr.  Ryerson  has  twice  i'ei)resented  the  Canadian  Wesleyans  in  the 
General  Conference  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  tirst  in  1844, 
second  in  1S6S.  Besides  his  voluminous  controversial  writing  he  has 
published  several  works  for  the  use  of  ])ublic  schools,  including  a 
"Manual  of  Agricultural  Chemistry,"  "  Elements  of  Political  Econ- 
omy," etc. 

In  consideration  of  his  long  and  valuable  services  Dr.  Ryerson 
was  recently  retired  by  the  Government  on  full  j)ay,  retaining  also  his 
title  as  Minister  oi  Public  Instruction,  and  the  privilege  of  exercising 
his  functions  at  pleasure.  His  office  and  desk  in  the  Dc])artment  of 
Pul)lic  Instruction  at  Toronto  are  still  reserved  for  his  occasional  use, 
and  the  grand  old  hero  of  so  many  combats  and  victories  in  the  name 
of  free  religion  and  free  education  is  one  of  the  most  beloved  as  well 
as  honored  men  in  the  whole  Canadian  Dominion. 

*The  author  gratefully  acknowledges  his  indebtedness  to  the  lion.  J.  (Jeorge  Hodgins, 
LL.D.,  Deputy  Minister  of  Public  Instruction  at  Toronto,  the  associate  and  successor  of  Dr. 
Ryerson,  for  copies  of  [lamphlets  in  which  the  above-mentioned  memorable  controvei'sies 
have  been  published;  as  well  us  for  his  special  report  on  tlie  "Ontaiio  Edacational  Exhibit" 
at  the  Centennial  Exhibition  at  Phihulelphia.  The  uilucational  head-quarters  at  Toronto, 
|)rojected  by  Dr.  Ryerson  and  brought  to  their  present  state  of  efficiency  by  Dr.  Hodgins, 
indicate  the  completeness  and  thoroughness  of  the  plans  of  these  educational  administrators, 
which  entitle  them  to  the  foremost  rank  in  that  important  line  of  public  service. 


CoLO]sriAL  Methodism.  773 

Conference  of  Eastern  British  Anieriesi. — The  labors 
of  Coughlan  in  Newfoundland,  and  of  William  Black — "  Bishop 
Black,"  as  he  was  sometimes  called — in  Nova  Scotia  and  New  Bruns- 
wick, have  already  been  mentioned.  Previous  to  the  year  1800  a 
majority  of  the  Methodist  circuits  in  the  Lower  Provinces  were  sup- 
plied from  the  New  York  and  New  England  Conferences,  but  aftci' 
that  date  most  of  the  preachers  were  sent  out  by  the  British  "Wesleyan 
Missionary  Society.  After  the  division  of  Canadian  Methodism  into 
the  two  sections,  the  Eastern  and  Western,  an  agreement  was  entered 
into  between  these  bodies  and  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  that 
neither  should  send  its  preachers  across  the  line  which  separated 
the  two  nations  without  the  consent  of  the  other;  a  compact  which 
was  essential  to  the  peace  and  quietness  of  the  Canadian  Societies,  but 
which  built  up  a  wall  of  separation  between  the  two  portions  of 
American  Methodism  that  had  been  blessed  with  a  common  history. 

The  Conference  of  Eastern  British  Amei'ica  liad  fewer  bonds  of 
union  with  the  Church  in  the  United  States  tlian  that  of  Upper  or 
Western  Canada,  and  was,  perhaps,  more  thoroughly  Bi'itisli  in  its 
method  and  spirit.  It,  however,  was  borne  along  with  the  mai-ch  ol 
events,  and  in  1874  entered  the  Methodist  Confederation,  which  no\\ 
comprises  the  majority  of  British  American   Methodism. 

The  Methodist  Church  of  Csinacla  received  its  present 
name  and  form  in  1874-,  on  the  occasion  of  the  union  of  the  Wesley- 
ans,  the  New  Connection,  and  the  Wesleyan  Conferences  of  Eastern 
British  America. 

Essential  changes  had  been  going  on  in  the  country.  Instead  of 
separate  provinces  they  had  become  a  Confederation,  with  less  of 
British  authority  over  tliem  ;  and  this  political  union  naturally  sug- 
gested a  union  of  difTerent  sections  of  Canada  Methodists  and  a  largei' 
independence  of  Britisli  controL  The  discipline  of  tliis  body,  so  far 
as  it  relates  to  the  internal  affairs  of  the  Societies,  -emains  unchano-ed. 
The  six  Annual  Conferences  into  which  the  whole  work  has  been 
divided,  namely :  the  Toronto,  London,  Montreal,  Nova  Scotia,  New 
Brunswick,  and  Prince  Edward's  Island  and  Newfoundland  Con- 
ferences are  composed  exclusively  of  ministers.  There  is  also  a 
quadi'ennial  General  Conference  aftei-  the  manner  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  composed   of    an  equal   number  of    ministei's  and 


774  Illustrated  History  or  Methodism. 

laymen,  and  its  president,  whose  term  of  office  covers  the  entire  four 
years  from  one  Conference  to  anotlier,  is  the  highest  officer  in  the 
Connection.  The  manner  of  stationing  and  ordaining  preachers  is 
copied  from  the  British  AVesleyan  Conference,  but  there  is,  as  might 
be  expected,  a  much  larger  degree  of  elasticity  and  freedom  in  the 
general  management  of  affairs. 

Statistics.  —  At  the  time  the  above-mentioned  union  was 
effected,  the  membership  of  the  United  Church  was  102,178,  with  733 
ministers,  since  which  time  its  progress  has  been  rapid,  the  statistics 
of  1878  showing  a  membership  of  122,605  ;  1,165  itinerant  ministers ; 
3,589  local  preachers  ;  and  1,783  Sunday-schools.  The  annual  income 
of  the  Canadian  Missionary  Society  is  over  $140,000,  being  an  average 
of  considerably  more  than  a  dollar  per  member;  a  showing  which  is 
greatly  to  the  credit  of  the  Canadians,  wdio  in  this  respect  outshine 
their  neighbors  in  the  States. 

The  IVIissionary  Society  of  this  Missionary  Church  has  already 
planted  409  stations,  dotting  the  whole  country  from  the  Atlantic  to 
the  Pacific,  and  stretching  far  up  into  the  great  Hudson  Bay  Territory 
toward  the  frozen  north.  There  are  at  present  about  40,000  mission- 
ary Church  members  under  the  care  of  430  missionary  pastors,  a  con- 
siderable proportion  of  which  work  is  among  the  Indians  and  half- 
breeds  ;  that  class  of  people  with  whom  the  Republic  has  had  so  much 
trouble,  but  who,  having  from  the  first  been  regarded  by  the  Canadi- 
ans as  human  beings,  with  souls  to  be  saved,  have  steadily  improved 
in  the  arts  of  civilization  as  well  as  in  peace  and  piety.  This  Society 
has  also  extended  its  missions  to  the  West  Indies  and  Japan,  though 
the  enormous  extent  of  its  home  territory  would  seem  to  give  sufficient 
exercise  for  its  evangelizing  work. 

The  total  value  of  the  Church  property  of  this  body,  as  reported 
at  the  General  Conference  of  1878,  was  $5,922,207  ;  the  value  of 
property  in  educational  institutions  and  endowments  was  $315,000. 

Colleges  and  Schools.— The  principal  educational  institution 
of  the  Methodist  Church  in  Canada  is  the  Victoria  University,  at 
Cobin-g,  0/itario,  under  the  presidency  of  B,ev.  S.  S.  Nelles,  D.D., 
LL.D.,  who  also  occupies  the  Chair  of  Mental  and  Moral  riiilosophy. 
Dr.  Nelles  is  a  native  Canadian,  a  graduate  of  the  Wesleyan  Univer- 
sity at  Middletown,  Conn.,  in  the  class  of  1846,  a  man  of  delightful 


Colonial  Methodism.  775 

personal  qualities  and  a  deeply  read  classical  scholar.  The  faculty  of 
the  University  comprises  eight  professors  in  the  Collegiate  Department, 
four  in  its  Law  Faculty,  and  four  in  its  School  of  Theology,  besides 
the  president,  whose  abundant  labors  extend  to  this  department  also. 
It  has  an  affiliated  relation  with  the  Medical  Colleges  in  Montreal  and 
Toronto ;  thus  covering  all  the  great  fields  of  professional  education. 

Since  the  organization  of  the  School  of  Theology,  in  1871,  it  has 
trained  162  students  for  the  Christian  ministry,  112  of  whom  have 
entered  the  Methodist  ministry  in  Canada.  The  number  of  graduates 
in  all  departments  up  to  1879  was  205,  and  the  whole  nmnber  of 
graduates  in  all  departments  was  1,195. 

The  Wesleyan  Theolog'ical  Colle§^e,  at  Montreal,  was 
founded  in  1873,  as  a  training  school  for  ministers  among  the  French- 
speaking  population,  especially  in  the  Province  of  Quebec.  It  has 
about  twenty  students,  and  property  to  the  value  of  $30,000. 

Mt.  Allison  Wesleyan  College  and  Academies.— 
Mt.  Allison,  in  Sackville,  New  Brunswick,  is  the  seat  of  a  system  of 
Methodist  schools  which  have  grown  up  around  the  Wesleyan  Male 
Academy,  established  by  the  late  Charles  T.  Allison,  Esq.,  in  1843, 
who,  under  a  distinct  impression  of  duty,  set  apart  tlie  sum  of  $20,000, 
on  condition  that  a  like  amount  should  be  raised  by  the  Church  at 
large,  for  the  education  of  the  children  of  Methodist  parents. 

The  first  principal  of  the  Academy,  under  whose  administration  it 
grew  to  a  college,  was  the  Rev.  Humphrey  Pickard,  D.D.,  a  native  of 
Fredericton,  New  Brunswick,  and  a  graduate  of  Wesleyan  University 
of  the  class  of  1839.  To  liis  courage,  persistence,  administrative 
ability,  and  fervent  piety,  this  now  flourishing  institution  owes  its 
safe  passage  through  the  long  period  of  its  financial  struggle  for  life. 
It  now  comprises  the  Mount  Allison  Wesleyan  College,  a  male  and 
female  academy,  and  is  affihated  with  the  University  of  HaKfax, 
through  which  institution  its  scholastic  degrees  are  conferred.  The 
President  of  the  College  is  Rev.  J.  R.  Inch,  LL.D.,  who  is  assisted  in 
the  literary  and  theological  department  by  a  corps  of  six  professors. 
Its  trustees  are  appointed  by  the  General  Conference  of  the  Methodist 
Church  of  Canada. 

The  Staff  of  Canada  Methodism.— The  Rev.  George 
Douglas,  LL.D.,  Principal  of   the  Wesleyan  Theological  College  of 


76 


Illusteated  History  of  Methodism. 


Montreal,  and  now  (1879)  tlie  President  of  the  Canada  General  Con- 
fercncoj  was  born  in  Scotland  in  1826,  and  was  converted  in  Mon- 
treal, to  winch  place  his  family  removed  while  he  was  a  youth.  At 
the  age  of  twenty-two  he  was  admitted  into  the  Canadian  Wesleyan 
ministry,  in  which  he  filled  the  important  stations  at  Kingston,  Toronto, 
Hamilton,  and  Montreal.  At  the  iirst  session  of  the  Genei*al  Confer- 
ence, in  ISY'i,  Dr.  Ryerson  was  elected  President   and   Dr.  Douglas 


REV.    GEORGE   DOUGLAS,  LL.D. 

Vice-president ;  his  present  office  is,  therefore,  in  some  sense  a  regular 
official  succession.  Its  functions,  however,  are  limited  to  what  may 
be  called  honorary  services,  the  actual  working  powers  of  the  Church 
being  chiefly  wielded  ])y  Conference  Secretaries  and  Committees. 

Rev.  Alexander  8iitherlaiicl,  D.D.,  the  Secretary  of  the 
General    Conference,   is   a  leading  spirit    of    Canadian    Methodism. 


Colonial  Metiiodisji.  777 

lie  is  a  man  in  the  full  prime  of  his  ample  powers,  liaving  licon  horri 
of  Scottish  parents  in  tlie  town  of  Guelph,  Upper  Canada,  in  1833. 
Soon  after  his  conversion  he  began  to  exercise  his  gifts  as  a  preaclier, 
and  in  1855  was  received  as  a  candidate  for  tlie  ministi-j  of  tlie  Wes- 
leyan  Church.  As  a  student  in  Victoria  College,  wliicli  lie  entered  in 
1858,  he  gave  promise  of  future  usefulness;  and  after  tilling  some  of 
the  chief  pulpits  of  his  denomination  in  Hamilton,  Toronto,  and  Mon- 
treal, he  was,  in  1871,  elected  Secretary  of  his  Confei'cnce,  which  then 
embraced  the  western  portion  of  Canada.  In  1872,  in  conjunction  with 
the  Rev.  Dr.  Sanderson,  he  represented  his  Church  at  the  General 
Conference  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  at  Brooklyn ;  and  in 
1874,  at  the  first  General  Conference  of  the  Methodist  Church  of 
Canada,  he  was  elected  Missionary  Secretary,  as  the  associate  of  the 
venerable  Dr.  Enoch  Wood,  which  position  he  still  holds. 

Dr.  Sutherland  is  an  eloquent  platform  speaker,  a  vigorous  writer, 
a  leader  in  debate,  and  an  efficient  man  of  business.  In  1879  the 
Victoria  University  conferred  upon  hiin  the  degree  of  Doctor  of 
Divinity. 

The  Rev.  Enoch  Wood,  D.D. — Among  the  early  Englisli 
missionaries  sent  out  to  Eastern  British  America  was  the  Rev.  Enoch 
Wood.  He  was  born  in  Lincolnshire,  England,  in  1804,  and  entered 
the  service  of  the  Wesleyan  Missionary  Society  in  1826.  After  serv- 
ing for  three  years  in  the  West  India  Missions  he  was  transferred  to 
the  province  of  New  Brunswick,  where  he  labored  for  nineteen  years. 
At  the  close  of  this  term  of  service  he  was  appointed  by  the  British 
Conference  Superintendent  of  Missions  in  Canada,  whereupon  he 
removed  his  residence  to  Toronto. 

The  older  Methodists  of  j^ew  Brunswick  still  treasure  the  memory 

of  his  long  and  successful  labors  among  them  with  emotions  of  almost 

filial  gratitude,  and  recall  his  gentle  and  lovable  manner  and  charactei- 

with  ever-fresh  delight.     It  is  chiefly  through  his  faith  and  sagacity 

that   the   Canadian  Wesleyan  Missions   have   reached   their   present 

efficiency  and  extent;   and,  although  now  bending  under  the  weight 

of  years  and  labors,  he  is  still   to  be  found  at  the  Missionary  Rooms 

in  Toronto,  where,  as  Honorary  Secretary,  he  still  devotes  himself  to 

the  lighter  portions  of  the  work,  which  he  is  apparently  only  willing 

to  lay  down  with  his  life.      In   1851  Dr.  AVood  was  :i|)puinted  Prosi- 
49 


778 


Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 


dent  of  the  Canada  Conference,  as  then  organized,  which  office  he 
held  for  seven  consecutive  years.  In  1862  he  was  again  placed  in 
the  President's  chair,  and  at  the  re-organization,  in  1874,  he  was 
elected  the  first  President  of  the  Toronto  Annual  Conference  of  the 
Methodist  Church  in  Canada. 


EXOCH    WOOD,    D.D. 


The  Rev.  Edward  Hartley  Dewart,  1>.D.,  editor  of 
"  The  Christian  Guardian,"  the  western  organ  of  Canada  Methodism, 
is,  as  his  position  implies,  one  of  the  chiefs  of  the  Canadian  ministry ; 
the  "  Guardian  "  having  for  fifty  years  been  one  of  the  boldest  and 
most  vigorous  religious  newspapers  published  on  this  continent,  and 
its  editorial  chair  having  been  filled  by  the  strongest  available  men. 

Dr.  Dewart  is  an  Irishman  by  birth,  but  a  Canadian  by  early  adop- 
tion and  hearty  sympathy.  He  was  converted  at  the  age  of  fifteen,  and 
after  a  sound  training  in  the  Normal  School  at  Toronto,  he  entered 
the  Wesleyan  ministry  in  1851,  and  served  as  an  itinerant  for  eighteen 
years,  until  1869,  when  he  was  elected  to  the  position  which  he  now 
fills.  He  is  an  editor  born,  and  under  his  management  the  "  Guardian  " 


Colonial  Methodism.  779 

has  increased  its  circulation  and  influence ;  it  being  now  recognized  as 
the  leading  religious  paper  in  the  Dominion,  and  certain  to  be  fore- 
most in  the  advocacy  of  every  good  cause.  In  the  department  of 
education,  social  science,  and  theology,  Dr.  Dewart  has  published  some 
admirable  tracts  and  pamphlets ;  and  especially  is  he  a  recognized 
leader  in  the  temperance  reform,  which  has  recently  claimed  so  much 
attention  in  the  Church. 

It  is  too  early  yet  to  apply  any  measuring  lines  to  this  vigorous, 
progressive,  growing  Methodist  editor.  He  has  already  held  his  pres- 
ent position  longer  than  any  of  his  predecessors,  and  has  received  other 
lionors  at  the  hands  of  his  brethren  ;  having  been  appointed  senior 
representative  to  the  British  Wesleyan  Conference  in  1873,  and  made 
a  Doctor  of  Divinity  by  the  Victoria  University  in  1879. 

One  of  his  friends  thus  cordially  praises  him :  "  Dr.  Dewart  is  a 
man  of  sturdy  independence  and  strong  convictions.  Too  frank  for 
diplomacy,  and  too  honest  for  sophistry,  he  never  assumfes  an  equivocal 
position.  In  the  discussion  of  great  questions  you  always  know  where 
he  is.  He  has  his  convictions,  and  he  stands  by  them  in  the  face  ol 
any  opposition.  To  his  advocacy,  perhaps,  more  than  to  any  other,  is 
due  the  recent  union  of  Canadian  Methodism." 

The  Rev.  W.  H.  Withrow,  M.A.,  the  editor  of  the  Cana- 
dian "Methodist  Magazine,"  and  of  the  Sunday-school  publications  of 
the  Methodist  Church  of  Canada,  is  the  product  of  the  best  advan- 
tages supplied  by  his  Church.  He  was  a  student  both  at  Victoria 
College  and  Toronto  University ;  traveled  for  some  years  in  the  Meth- 
odist New  Connection,  from  which  he  was  received  by  the  Wesleyans ; 
.  and  in  1874  the  lirst  General  Conference  of  the  United  Churches 
elected  him  Assistant  Editor  of  the  "  Christian  Guardian,"  with  special 
charge  of  Sunday-school  publications.  On  the  establishment  of  the 
"  Methodist  Magazine,"  in  1875,  he  was  intrusted  with  its  manage- 
ment, to  which  place  he  was  re-elected  by  the  General  Conference  of 
1878.  Among  his  published  writings  is  a  "  History  of  Canada,"  and 
an  elaborate  work  on  "  The  Catacombs  of  Rome,"  which  is  circulated 
extensively  in  Europe  as  weU  as  in  the  United  States  and  Canada. 

Rev.  William  If  rig-g's,  who  has  recently  succeeded  the  Rev. 
Dr.  Rose  as  Book  Steward  of  the  Wesleyan  Methodist  Book  Room  at 
Toronto,  was  born  in  the  North  of  Ireland,  educated  in  the  CoUe- 


780 


Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 


giate  Institute  of  Liverpool,  of  which  the  celebrated  Dean  Howson 
was  Head  Master,  and  after  some  years  of  mercantile  life,  in  which  he 
received  a  thorough  business  training,  he  removed  to  Canada,  and 
entered  the  ministry  of  the  Wesleyan  Methodist  Church  in  1859. 

He  is  still  a  young  man,  scarcely  more  than  forty,  though  he  has 
already  filled  some  of  the  most  important  pulpits  in  the  Connection ; 
the  last  being  that  of  the  Metropolitan  Church  of  Toronto,*  w^hose 
magnificent  house  of  worship  is,  perhaps,  the  equal  of  any  Methodist 
sanctuary  in  the  world.     The  removal  of  Mr.  Briggs  from  the  pastor- 


KEV,    HUMPHREY    PICKAED,    D.D. 


ate  to  his  present  position  has  been  criticised  on  account  of  his  emi- 
nent abilities  as  a  preacher,  but  as  Book  Steward  he  becomes  the 
servant  of  the  whole  Connection  instead  of  a  single  Society,  and  it  is 
surely  no  disqualification  for  his  office  that  in  addition  to- business 
abilities  he  has  also  the  gift  of  speech. 

Rev.  Humphrey  Pickard,  D.D.,  already  mentioned  as  the 
veteran  educator  at  Mt.  Allison,  is  the  Book  Steward  of  the  Eastern 

•  See  cut,  page  761. 


Colonial  Methodism. 


781 


section  of  the  Ohnrcli,  ^vith  head-quarters  at  Halifax.  At  the  close  of 
his  terms  of  service  as  Principal  and  President  at  Mt.  Allison,  in  1869, 
Dr.  Pickard  was  appointed  editor  of  the  "■  Provincial  Wesleyan,"  and 
Book  Steward  of  the  AVesleyan  Conference,  at  Halifax,  Nova  Scotia. 
He  was  twice  elected  President  of  the  Wesleyan  Conference  of  East- 
ern British  America,  and  in  1878  was,  by  the  General  Conference  of 
the  United  Methodist  Church  of  Canada,  again  placed  in  charge  of 
the  publishing  interests  at  Halifax. 

Dr.  Pickard,  though  one  of  tlie  fathers  in  the  Church,  having  been 
born  in  1813,  is  still  able  to  keep  step  in  his  line  of  duty  with  the 
younger  men,  while  as  a  preceptor,  a  gentleman,  and  a  Christian,  his 
junior  brethren  delight  to  do  him  honor ;  many  of  them  gratefully 
remembering  the  years  sjDcnt  under  his  guidance  and  instruction. 

The  Rev.  Diineaii  Diiubar  Ciirrie,  D.D.,  the  editor 
of  the  "  Provincial  Wesleyan,"  the  eastern  official  organ  of  Method- 
ism, published  at  Halifax,  Nova  Scotia,  is  a  native  of  Fredericton, 
New  Brunswick.  He  entered  the  ministry  as  a  member  of  the  Con- 
ference of  Eastern  British  America  in  1853,  of  which  he  held  the 
secretaryship  for  several  years,  and  in  which  his  labors  were  blessed 
with  extensive  revivals  of  religion.  His  name  indicates  a  Scotch 
descent,  and  his  position  points  him  out  as  one  of  the  chief  scholars 
and  writers  of  his  Church. 


KEV.    JOHN    WATSFORD. 

President  of  tlie  First  General  Conference  of  the  "Wesleyan  Church  in  Australia. 

CHAPTER  XXX. 

METHODISM  IN  AUSTRALIA,  NEW  ZEALAND,  AND  POLYNESIA. 

HE  island  continent  of  Australia  is  six  times  larger  than  British 
India,  twenty-six  times  larger  than  Great  Britain,  and  only  one 
lifth  smaller  than  the  European  continent. 

It  is  a  remarkable  fact  in  the  history  of  the  providence  of  God 
that  a  coiiiitrv  like  Australia,  witli  a  climate  so  varied  that  the  fauna  and 


T 


Methodism  in  Australia,  Etc.  783 

flora  of  the  whole  world  can  be  acclimatized  there,  should  have  re- 
mained (so  near  such  densely  peopled  countries  as  India  and  China) 
comparatively  unpeopled,  awaiting  the  advent  of  the  English-speak- 
ing race.  A  new  nation,  mainly  Protestant,  is  growing  up  underneath 
the  Southern  Cross.  The  Australians  may  be  said  to  be  the  latest  born 
of  the  nations,  and  should  prolit  by  the  experience  and  mistakes  of 
older  nations. 

The  Portuguese  claim  to  have  discovered  Australia  early  in  the 
sixteenth  century,  .Old  manuscript  maps  dated  1531  and  1542  have 
marked  on  them  an  extensive  country  south  of  the  Molucca,  under 
the  name  of  Java  Le  Gi'ande,  (Great  Java.)  Early  in  the  seventeenth 
century  Dutch  navigators  voyaging  to  Java,  driven,  in  some  cases,  by 
stress  of  weather,  out  of  their  course,  sighted  different  parts  of  the 
Australian  coast,  and  gave  it  the  name  of  N^ew  Holland.  In  1770  the 
greatest  of  English  circumnavigators.  Captain  Cook,  sighted  the  south- 
eastern shore  of  Australia,  and  landing  at  "  Botany  Bay,"  he  took  pos- 
session c»f  the  country  for  the  English  Crown,  giving  it  the  name  of 
l!^ew  South  Wales. 

Kearly  twenty  years  later  the  British  Government  selected  Xew 
South  Wales  as  a  comdct  settlement.  Some  of  the  worst  of  the  crim- 
inals of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland  were  transported,  and  with  a  popu- 
lation consistins:  of  soldiers  and  officials  and  hardened  criminals  of  both 
sexes,  the  moral  condition  of  '-Botany  Bay  "  was  a  dark  one. 

Methodism  was  not  established  in  Sydney  until  1812.  In  the 
*'  English  Wesleyan  Methodist  Magazine "  for  that  year,  an  apjieal 
was  published  from  the  Methodists  in  the  colony  asking  for  a  mission- 
ary. Two  years  later  an  appeal  was  sent  to  England  from  Messrs. 
Bowden  and  Hosking,  who  had  established  society  classes  in  Sydney. 
Those  gentlemen  have  been  called  "the  lay  fathers  of  Australasian 
Methodism." 

The  first  Methodist  minister  who  preached  in  Australia  was  the 
Eev.  Samuel  Leigh.  (See  "  Kemarkable  Incidents  in  the  Life  of  the 
Ptev.  S.  Leigh,"  by  Rev.  Alexander  Strachan.  Wesleyan  Conference 
office  :  London.)  He  landed  in  Sydney  on  August  10,  1815,  after  a 
voyage  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  days.  The  day  after  his  arrival  he 
waited  on  the  governor  of  the  colony  : 

"  Who  sent  you  here  in  the  capacity  of  a  Wesleyan  missionary  ? " 


'84 


Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 


asked  the  governor.  Mr.  Leigh  answered,  "  Tlie  Committee  of  that 
Society,  at  the  request  of  several  British  settlers,  and  as  I  understand, 
with  the  concurrence  of  his  majesty's  government."  The  governor 
replied,  "  I  regret  you  have  come  here  as  a  missionary,  and  feel  sorry 
that  I  cannot  give  you  any  encouragement  in  that  capacity." 


REV.    JAMES    WATKIN. 


Mr.  Leigh  produced  his  credentials.  Governor  Macquarie  looked  at 
them  and  then  said,  "Well,  you  have  come  to  a  strange  country. 
These  documents  are  of  no  value  here.  It  is  necessary  that  we  should 
be  jealous  and  cautious,  for  a  few  years  since  we  had  a  religious  rebel- 
lion, aggravated  by  the  bitter  hostility  of  botli  papists  and  Protestants. 


Methodism  in  Australia,  Etc.  785 

If  you  will  take  office  under  government,  1  will  find  you  a  situation 
in  which  you  may  become  rich,  one  in  which  you  will  be  much  more 
comfortable  than  in  going  about  preaching  in  such  a  colony  as  this." 

Samuel  Leigh's  reply  was  that  lie  had  come  to  the  colony  as  a  Wes- 
leyan  missionary  to  preach  the  Gos]3el  to  the  people,  and  to  teach  the 
rising  generation  the  fear  of  God.  To  attend  to  these  duties  was  his 
only  calling.  The  governor's  tone  altered,  and  he  said  that  he  wished 
Mr.  Leigh  all  success  in  his  work. 

He  commenced  his  mission  in  Sydney,  in  a  very  low  neighborhood 
known  as  "  The  Rocks."  A  small  place  was  rented,  a  Sabbath-school 
established,  and  the  hand  of  God  was  with  his  servant.  Before  long 
he  reported  to  the  Committee  in  London  that  he  had  14  preaching- 
places,  6  classes,  4  Sunday-schools,  and  58  communicants. 

Nearly  three  years  after  landing  in  Sydney,  Mr.  Leigh  was  cheered 
by  the  arrival  of  a  fellow-laborer,  the  Eev.  Walter  Lawry.  The 
next  Wesleyan  missionary  to  arrive  was  Benjamin  Carvosso,  son  of 
the  celebrated  William  Carvosso,  the  Cornish  class-leader.  Other  mis- 
sionaries followed,  and  the  work  of  God  raj^idly  extended. 

The  beautiful  island  of  Tasmania,  formerly  called  Yan  Dieman's 
Land,  was  settled  in  1803,  as  a  penal  colony.  In  1820  the  Rev.  Sam- 
uel Leigh  brought  its  spiritual  destitution  under  the  notice  of  the 
Wesleyan  Missionary  Committee  in  London.  The  shiiD  in  which  Ben- 
jamin Carvosso  voyaged  to  Sydney  called  in  at  Hobert  Town,  and,  like 
a  true  Methodist  preacher,  Mr,  Carvosso  tried  to  do  good.  He  asked 
the  police  magistrate  for  permission  to  preach  in  the  street.  His 
request  was  acceded  to.  Encouraged  by  the  attendance  he  preached 
again  the  following  evening.  The  next  day  he  preached  in  the  jail 
from  the  parable  of  the  "  Prodigal  Son."  The  sight  of  so  many  per- 
sons before  him  in  double  irons  was,  to  the  preacher,  very  strange  and 
affecting.  The  Rev.  Ralph  Mansfield,  on  his  way  to  Sydney,  preached 
at  Hobart  Town  also.  Christian  soldiers  have  been  useful  in  spread- 
ing Methodism  in  different  parts  of  the  world,  for  example.  Captain 
Webb  in  America.  The  first  Methodist  chapel  built  in  Sydney  owed 
its  erection  mainly  to  the  efforts  of  a  pious  soldier  named  Scott,  and 
Methodism  in  Tasmania  was  first  organized  into  a  society  by  another 
soldier,  Corporal  Waddy.  The  little  band  of  Methodists  had  to  suffer 
persecution,  but  the -work  spread.     From  a  private  house  the  congre- 


786 


Illustrated  History  of  Methodis^l 


gatiou  moved  to  a  carpenter's  shop.  It  had  to  be  enlarged  to  meet 
the  requirements  of  the  increasing  congregation,  and  ere  long  three 
hundred  persons  assembled  daily  to  hear  the  Word  j^reached.  The 
first  resident  minister  was  the  Rev.  William  Horton.  The  first 
fruit   of   his  ministry   was  a  woman   named   ''  Mary  Down."      She 


REV.    GKUKGE    MAKTIX. 

had  been  a  very  bad  woman— a  terrible  drunkard— brought  up  in  the 
Roman  Catholic  faith.  Scarcely  a  week  passed  away  without  her 
being  brought  up  before  the  police  magistrate  for  disorderly  conduct. 
The  worst  criminals  in  Tasmania  were  sent  to  Macquane  Harl)or. 
Governor  Arthur  recommended  the  British  Government  to  arrange 


Mktjiodis.-\[  in  Australia,  Etc.  7S7 

for  tlie  a})pointment  of  a  Wesleyan  missionary  to  preach  to  these  most 
,  liardened  criminals.  Governor  Arthur  had  seen  the  operations  of  the 
Methodist  Cliurch  in  the  West  Indies,  and  was  convinced  that  a  Meth- 
odist preaclier  woukl  be  likely  to  be  more  effective  in  dealing  with 
criminals  of  the  worst  type  than  a  minister  of  any  other  Church. 
The  Rev.  William  Schotield  was  the  iirst  missionary  appointed  to  Mac- 
quarie  Harbor.  Mr.  Ijackhouse,  an  eminent  Quaker,  bore  this  testi- 
mony:  "The  lal)or  of  William  Schotield,  the  first  missionary  who 
became  resident  here,  was,  through  the  Divine  blessing,  crowned  with 
encouraging  success."  Tie  found  a  difficulty  in  prevailing  upon  the 
men  to  cherish  liope ;  but  when  this  was  once  effected,  they  began  to 
lay  hold  of  the  offers  of  mercy  through  a  crucified  Redeemer,  and 
some  remarkable  changes  of  character  ensued.  But  while  Methodism 
won  converts  for  Christ  among  the  criminal  j^opulation  of  Australia 
and  Tasmania,  it  made  still  greater  progress  among  the  immigrants 
wdio  arrived  in  all  the  colonies  from  Great  Britain  and  Ireland. 

In  New  South  Wales  and  Tasmania,  Victoria  and  South  Australia, 
churches  were  built.  Sabbath-schools  organized,  societies  foi'med. 
Among  the  ministers  who  laid  the  foundations  of  Methodism  in  the 
colonies,  w^ere  Samuel  Leigh,  Walter  Lawry,  Benjamin  Carvosso, 
Ralph  Mansfield,  Nathaniel  Turner,  John  Waterhouse,  William  B. 
Boyce,  James  Watkin,  John  Hobbs,  Thomas  Buddie,  John  A.  Man- 
ton,  John  Eggleston,  William  Butters,  Daniel  J.  Draper,  William 
Longbottora,  Joseph  Orton,  Samuel  Wilkinson,  Francis  Tuckfield, 
Benjamin  Hurst,  Edward  Sweetman.  Most  of  these  have  passed 
away  to  their  reward.  Some  still  remain,  honored  and  respected  by 
the  Australasian  Wesleyan  Methodist  Church. 

Discovery  of  Crold. — The  discovery  of  gold  in  1851,  in  dif- 
ferent parts  of  Australia,  may  be  said  to  have  revolutionized  Australia. 
Tlie  names  of  places  where  gold  was  discovered,  such  as  Bathurst,  the 
Turon,  Ballarat,  Bendigo,  Mount  Alexander,  and  Forest  Creek, 
became  known  throughout  the  world.  Attracted  by  the  magnetic 
influence  of  gold,  men  of  all  nationalities  and  creeds  voyaged  to  Aus- 
tralia. The  Methodist  Churches  rose  to  the  level  of  their  responsibili- 
ties. The  Methodist  church  was  almost  invariably  the  first  sanctuary 
erected  in  the  towns  which  sprang  up  so  rapidly  on  the  gold  fields.  The 
first  religious  services  in  nine  cases  out  of  ten  were  conducted  either  by 


788  Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 

tlie  Methodist  local  preacher  or  itinei-ant  preacher.  Appeals  were 
made  to  England  to  send  out  more  ministers,  and  a  number  of  men 
eminently  adapted  for  the  ministry  in  a  new  and  rising  country  left 
for  Australia. 

In  1853   the  Rev.  Robert  Young  was  sent  by  the  Wesleyan  Mis- 


REV.   J.    S.    WAUGH,    D.D. 
President  of  the  Australian  General  Conference  of  1S81. 

sionary  Committee  in  London,  to  consult  Avith  the  ministers  and  lay 
representatives  of  the  Methodist  Churches  in  Austraha,  and  the  result 
of  his  visit  was,  that  at  the  Birmingham  Conference  of  1854,  a  plan 
was  adopted  for  forming  the  Wesleyan  Missionary  Society's  Australian 


Methodism  in  Australia,   Etc.  789 

and  Polynesian  Mission  into  a  distinct  and  affiliated  connection  of  the 
Parent  Conference  in  England."  The  iirst  Australasian  Conference 
was  held  in  Sydney,  in  January,  1855,  the  Rev.  W.  B.  Boyce  being 
the  president.  The  Conference  for  some  years  was  held  alternately  in 
the  four  capital  cities  of  the  principal  Australasian  colonies. 

In  1872  the  Australasian  Conference  was  divided,  after  the  Ameri- 
can Methodist  Episcopal  model,  into  four  Annual  Conferences: 

1.  The  ISTew  South  Wales  and  Queensland  Conference.  2.  The 
Yictoria  and  Tasmania  Conference.  3.  The  South  Austraha  Confer- 
ence. 4.  The  New  Zealand  Conference.  These  Annual  Conferences 
are  merely  administrative.  The  work  of  legislation  being  left  to  a 
General  Conference  composed  of  ministerial  and  lay  re])resentatives. 
The  General  Conference  meets  every  three  years.  The  Iirst,  in  1875, 
met  in  Melbourne  ;  the  second,  in  1878,  in  Sydney;  the  third  in  Ade- 
laide, in  1881.  The  first  General  Conference  was  presided  over  by 
the  presidents  of  the  Annual  Conferences.  The  Ptev.  John  AVatsford 
was  elected  President  of  the  General  Conference  in  1878,  and  the  Rev, 
J.  S.  Waugh,  D.D.,  President  of  the  General  Conference  in  1881. 

Statistics. — The  statistics  submitted  to  the  General  Conference 
of  1881,  give  the  following  particulars: 

I^ew  South  Wales  and  Queensland  Conference — 339  churches,  401 
other  preaching  places,  109  ministers,  1  college,  2,438  Sabbath-school 
teachers,  392  local  preachei-s,  356  class-leaders,  6,601  church  members, 
309  Sabbath-schools,  20,814  Sabbath  scholars,  52,925  attendants  on 
public  worship. 

Victoria  and  Tasmania  Conference — 502  churches,  114  ministers,  2 
colleges,  4,622  Sabbath-school  teachers,  721  local  preachers,  780  class- 
leaders,  12,245  church  members,  479  Sunday-schools,  41,712  Sabbath 
scholars,  93,444  attendants  on  public  worship. 

South  Australia  Conference — 231  churches,  51  ministers,  1  college, 
2,164  Sabbath-school  teachers,  228  local  preachers,  344  class-leaders, 
5,078  church  members,  198  Sunday-schools,  16,446  Sabbath  scholars, 
43,446  attendants  on  public  worship. 

New  Zealand  Conference — 167  churches,  79  ministers,  1  college. 
1,558  Sabbath-school  teachers,  289  local  preachers,  206  class-leaders, 
3,981  church  members,  182  Sunday-schools,  14,064  Sabbath  scholars, 
38,623  attendants  on  public  worship. 


'90 


Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 


The  Wesleyan  Methodist  Church  in  Aiistraha,  Tasmania,  and  New 
Zealand,  is  second  to  none  in  providing  for  the  religious  wants  of  the 
rapidly  increasing  populations.  Among  its  ministers  there  have  been, 
and  are,  wise  administrators,  eloquent,  and  useful  preachers. 

Wesley  College,  in  Melbourne,  Victoria ;  Horton  College,  in  Tas- 


REV.    W.    KELYNACK,    D.D. 


mania ;  Prince  Alfred  College,  in  Adelaide ;  South  Australia  and 
Newington  College,  New  South  Wales,  stand  in  the  front  rank  among 
the  educational  institutions  of  the  colonies. 

The  "  Weekly  Advocate,"  (Sydney,)  the  "  Spectator,"  (Melbourne,) 


Methodis.^i  iiN-  Australia,  Etc.  791 

the  "  Christian  Weekly  and  Methodist  Journal,"  (Adelaide,)  and  the 
"  Weslejan,"  (New  Zealand,)  are  the  Church  papers. 

A  grand  future  is  before  Australia,  and  the  Methodist  Church  is 
doing  its  full  share  to  promote  that  "  righteousness  which  exalteth  a 
nation.'' 

The  Primitive  Methodist,  the  United  Methodist  Free  Churches, 
the  Bible  Christians,  and  the  New  Connection  branches  of  the  Meth- 
odist Church,  are  all  represented  in  the  Australian  colonies.  Their 
numbers  are  small  when  compared  with  the  Wesleyan  Methodists,  but 
they  are  all  doing  valuable  work  in  the  localities  in  which  they  have 
established  themselves. 

Wew  Zealand.— When  Captain  Cook,  the  great  English  cir- 
cumnavigator, was  in  New  Zealand  he  expressed  the  opinion  that  it 
would  one  day  be  an  important  British  colony.  Events  have  justilied 
his  opinion.  The  population  of  British  origin  in-  1881  numbered 
nearly  half  a  million.  Early  in  the  present  century  there  was  consid- 
erable trade  between  the  recently  formed  settlements  in  Australia  and 
New  Zealand.  The  Maories,  as  the  aboriginals  called  themselves, 
were  j)hysically  and  mentally  a  noble  race  of  men,  deserving  the  name 
wliicli  has  been  given  them  of  the  "  dark-skinned  Scandinavians  of  the 
South."     But  they  were  Avarlike,  cruel,  and  caimiljaL 

To  the  Rev.  Samuel  Marsden,  of  the  Church  of  England  Mission- 
ary Society,  belongs  the  honor  of  having  established  the  first  mission 
in  New  Zealand  in  181-i.  The  Wesleyan  Missionary  Society  com- 
menced its  Avork  there  in  1818.  Samuel  Leigh,  the  first  Wesleyan 
minister  to  Australia,  was  the  pioneer  missionary  to  New  Zealand. 
In  1819  he  returned  to  England  and  caused  great  interest  by  advocat- 
ing the  claims  of  the  mission  on  the  sujDport  of  the  Wesleyan  Meth- 
odist Church. 

He  returned  to  New  Zealand  in  1820.  Eighteen  months  later  lie 
had  to  retire  from  the  mission  field  through  ill  health.  The  Rev.  W. 
White,  N.  Turner,  J.  Hobbs,  and  Mrs.  Turner  had  however  been  sent 
out  by  the  Missionary  Society  before  Mr.  Leigh  left  New  Zealand. 

The  missionaries  were  in  "  perils  among  the  heathen."  The  war 
club  was  often  lifted  over  their  heads  by  angry  savages,  who  threat- 
ened to  kill  them.  Their  goods  were  often  stolen.  War  breakins;  out 
between  the  natives  the  mission  station  was  plundered,  the  premises 


792  Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 

burnt  to  the  ground,  and  the  mission  party  barely  escaped  with  their 
hves.  For  a  short  time  the  mission  was  suspended.  But  there  came 
at  length  "  the  joys  of  harvest." 

Throughout  New  Zealand  the  inquirers  after  truth  were  numbered 
by  the  thousand.  On  a  Sunday  in  jSiovember,  1S3S,  Mr.  Ilobbs 
preached  to  a  congregation  of  a  thousand  Maories,  and  bajjtized  one 
hundred  and  thirty-eight  adults  and  forty-eight  children.  Gray- 
haired  men  and  women,  as  well  as  youths  and  maidens  and  little  chil- 
dren, thronged  the  mission  schools  in  order  to  learn  to  read.  In  the 
history  of  modern  missions  there  is  no  record  of  more  wonderful 
results.  Nathaniel  Turner,  John  Hobbs,  James  Wallis,  Thomas  Bud- 
die, James  Buller,  Charles  Creed,  John  Warren,  Samuel  Ironside, 
John  Whiteley,  John  Aldred  were  as  Wesleyan  missionaries  in  ''  la- 
bors more  abundant." 

The  Wesleyan  Missionary  Notices,  which  contain  the  letters  and 
reports  of  these  missionaries,  tell  of  the  conversions,  the  consistent 
lives,  and  the  triumphant  deaths  of  many  of  the  Maories.  In  1S40 
New  Zealand  was  proclaimed,  a  British  colony.  But  a  dark  cloud 
came  over  this  sunshine.  For  ten  years,  between  1860  and  1870, 
there  was  war  between  the  Maories  and  the  British.  Under  tlie  de- 
moralizing  influence  of  war,  a  number  of  the  natives  renounced  Chris- 
tianity, and  adoi)ted  a  new  religion,  which  was  a  compound  of  their 
old  heathenism,  some  Jewish  customs,  Avith  a  little  borrowed  from 
Christianity. 

There  are,  however,  among  the  Maories  a  number  of  earnest,  con- 
sistent Christians.  The  Maories  are  a  rapidly  declining  race.  Like 
the  aborigines  of  Tasmania  and  Australia,  they  seem  destined  to  melt 
away  before  the  Anglo-Saxon.  A  Maori  has  thus  expressed  the  opin- 
ion of  his  own  countrymen  on  this  subject  :  "  The  white  man's  rat  has 
killed  the  native  rat.  Tlie  fly  which  came  with  the  Englishman  has 
driven  our  fly  away.  The  clover  which  he  has  sown  in  our  fields  is 
killing  the  ferns  which  covered  our  hills,  and  the  Maori  will  disap- 
[)ear  before  the  Pakeha,  (angelic  white  man.)" 

But  although  the  Maories  seem  doomed  to  national  extinction, 
among  the  great  multitude  which  no  man  can  number  in  heaven, 
there  will  be  found  many  Maories  who  were  lifted  out  of  cannibals 
into  Christians  through  the  efforts  of  the  AVesleyan  missionaries. 


Methodism  in  Australia,  Etc.  793 

Polynesia. — There  is  no  page  in  the  history  of  Christian  mis- 
sions which  furnishes  a  more  thrilling  narrative  than  tliat  which 
records  the  triumphs  of  the  Gospel  in  connection  with  the  Weslevau 
Methodist  Missions  in  the  Friendly  Islands  and  Fiji,  The  London 
Missionary  Society  established  a  mission  in  the  Friendly  Islands,  which 
resulted  in  failure. 

In  1822  the  Eev.  Walter  Lawry  landed  in  Tonga,  but  after  four- 
teen months'  labor  the  delicate  state  of  Mrs.-  Lawry's  health  rendered 
it  necessary  that  the  Friendly  Islands  should  a  second  time  be  aban- 
doned as  a  mission  station.  In  1826  the  Eevs.  John  Thomas  and  John 
Hutchinson  landed  in  Tongatabu.  For  months  the  missionaries  were 
in  "  perils  among  the  heathen,"  but  at  length  their  labors  began  to 
bear  fruit.  Conversions  took  place.  Tubou,  the  most  powerful  chief- 
tain, was  baptized.  Tanfaliau,  now  known  as  King  George,  renounced 
heathenism  in  1830.  In  1834  a  great  revival  swept  over  the  islands. 
A  native  local  preacher  was  speaking  on  July  23,  1834-,  about  Christ's 
compassion  toward  Jerusalem.  The  word  came  with  power  to  the 
hearts  of  the  congregation.  Scores  cried  aloud  for  mercy.  The 
service  was  continued  nearly  all  night.  The  work  spread  from  village 
to  village,  and  from  island  to  island.  On  one  day  it  is  estimated  more 
than  a  thousand  persons  were  converted.  Since  1834  great  revivals 
have  been  vouchsafed  to  the  Friendly  Islanders. 

There  is  no  nation  under  heaven  better  deseiwing  the  name  of  Chris- 
tian than  the  Friendly  Islanders.  King  George  is  a  Christian  monarch. 
In  no  country  is  the  Sabbath  better  observed,  or  life  more  sacred,  or 
property  more  secure,  than  in  the'  Friendly  Islands.  The  Churches 
are  self-supporting ;  a  few  years  ago,  in  addition  to  paying  all  the 
expenses  of  their  own  Church  work,,  the  Friendly  Islanders  contrib- 
uted more  than  $3,000  per  annum  to  send  the  Gospel  to  Fiji  and 
Samoa.  Converted  Tongans  have  been  the  most  successful  native 
missionaries  in  the  South  Seas, 

Among  the  earlier  missionaries  to  the  Friendly  Islands  may  be 
mentioned,  in  addition  to  the  names  already  given,  John  Thomas, 
William  Cross,  David  CargiU,  Peter  Turner,  James  Watkin,  William 
Woon,  Stephen  Eabone,  Matthew  Wilson,  George  Kevern,  Eichard 
Amos,  William  Webb,  Thomas  Adams,  George  Daniel. 

Fiji. — The  mission  to  cannibal  Fiji  was  connnenced  in  the  year 
50 


794 


Illustrated  Histoey  of  Methodism. 


1835,  wlien  tlie  Revs.  Messrs.  Cargill  and  Cross  landed  tliere,  having 
been  sent  on  by  tlie  Friendly  Islands  District  Meeting.  Fiji  at  that 
time  was  a  land  of  cruelty  and  cannibalism.  The  sun  shone  down  on 
no  darker  deeds  anywhere  than  those  in  blood-stained  Fiji.  The  sym- 
pathies of  British  Methodists  were  greatly  stirred  by  an  appeal  called, 


REV.   E.   I,   AVATKIN. 

Editor  of  the  "Spectator  and  Methodist  Chronicle,"  Melbourne,  Victoria. 

^'  Pity  Poor  Fiji,"  written  by  the  Rev.  James  Watkin,  one  of  the 
missionaries  in  the  Friendly  Islands. 

Noble  men  like  James   Calvert,   John   Hnnt,  Thomas  Williams, 
Richard  B.  Lyth,  and  others,  were  sent  from  England.     They  labored 


Methodism  in  Austealia,  Etc.  795 

on  amid  many  a  disconragment,  but  God  crowned  their  labors  with 
success.  Many  a  savage  was  lifted  into  a  man,  and  the  man  elevated 
through  Divine  grace  into  the  saint.  Young  missionaries  who  had 
grown  up  in  the  Australian  colonies,  such  as  John  Watsford,  William 
Moore,  David  Hazlewood,  Joseph  Waterliouse,  and  Samuel  Water- 
house,  showed  themselves  worthy  colleagues  of  the  missionaries  from 
England. 

In  1857  Thakombau,  the  most  powerful  chieftain  in  Fiji,  became 
a  Christian,  and  was  publicly  baptized  before  a  congregation  consist- 
ing of  "husbands  whose  wives  he  had  dishonored,  widows  whose 
husbands  he  had  slain,  sisters  whose  relatives  had  been  strangled  by 
his  orders,  relatives  whose  friends  he  had  eaten,  and  children,  the 
descendants  of  those  he  had  murdered,  and  who  had  vowed  to  avenge 
the  wrongs  inflicted  on  their  fathers." 

Tlie  Kev.  Josepli  Waterhouse,  from  w^liose  M-ork  on  "  The  King 
and  People  of  Fiji"  we  are  quoting,  says:  "A  thousand  stony 
heai-ts  heaved  with  fear  and  astonishment  as  Thakombau  said,  '  I  have 
been  a  bad  man,  I  disturbed  the  country.  The  missionaries  came 
and  invited  me  to  embrace  Christianity,  but  I  said  to  them,  I  will 
continue  to  fight,  God  has  singularly  preserved  my  life.  At  one 
time  I  thought  that  I  had  myself  been  the  instrument  of  my  own 
preservation,  but  now  I  know  that  it  was  the  Lord's  doing.  I  desire 
to  acknowdedge  him  as  the  only  and  the  true  God.  I  have  scourged 
the  world.' " 

Fiji  is  now  one  of  the  colonies  of  the  British  Crown.  Sir  Arthur 
Gordon,  late  Governor  of  Fiji,  speaking  at  the  anniversary  meeting 
of  the  Wesleyan  Missionary  Society  in  Exeter  Hall,  London,  bore  a 
grand  testimony  to  the  work  done  by  the  Wesleyan  Mission  in  Fiji 
for  the  Christianization,  civilization,  and  education  of  the  natives. 

There  are  also  missions  of  the  Australasian  Wesleyan  Methodist 
Church  in  the  Navigator's  Tslands.  A  few  years  ago  a  new  mission 
was  established  in  ISTew  Britain  and  the  adjacent  islands.  The  latest 
reports  are  very  encouraging.  The  mission  agents  are  principally 
native  missionaries  from  the  older  missions  in  the  Friendly  and  Fiji 
Islands.  The  statistics  for  the  South  Sea  Missions  for  the  year  1881, 
showed  that  there  were  connected  with  them  16  Eui'ojDean  mission- 
aries and  79  native  assistant  missionaries,  968  churches,  33,033  church 


796  Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 

members,  1,573  Sabbath-scliools,  46,970  Sabbath  scholars,  and  129,107 
attendants  on  pnblic  worship. 

The  Rev.  George  Martin. — Mr.  Martin  was  born  in  Gains- 
borough-by-the-Trent.  And  there  he  was  educated  in  private  schools. 
At  the  ao-e  of  fifteen  he  entered  on  a  commercial  career,  first  in  Hull, 
and  then  in  London.  To  one  of  his  imaginative  temperament,  the 
•attractions  of  London  fast  life,  and  of  eager  pulses  of  London,  skep- 
tical thoughts  were  very  fascinating.  And  in  spite  of  early  religious 
training,  and  of  very  powerful  religions  impressions,  he  became  an 
unbeliever,  and,  at  last,  quite  rejected  the  Christian  revelation.  He 
persuaded  himself  that  if  there  was  a  God  at  all  he  was  too  merciful 
to  send  men  to  hell,  and  deliberately  resolved  that  if  there  was  such 
a  i)lace  he  would  l)rave  its  punishment.  But  he  •  became  the  subject 
of  what  is  called,  in  Methodist  circles,  "  conversion."  So  .clear  was 
the  light  that  came  into  his  soul,  so  irresistible  the  evidence  which  he 
now  derived  from  experience,  that  he  was  forced  to  cry  out,  "  Thank 
God,  Christianity  is  true  !  "  He  at  once  became  a  worker  in  the  great 
harvest-field  as  a  tract  distributer,  then  as  a  Sunday-scliQGl  teacher, 
and  then  as  a  local  preacher;  and  in  a  short  time  he  was  induced  to 
offer  himself  as  a  candidate  for  the  WesJeyan  ministry.  After  pass- 
ing the  usual  examinations  he  was  received  by  the  British  Conference 
of  1858,  and  was  sent  out  to  labor  under  the  directions  of  the  Aus- 
tralasian Conference.  He  arrived  in  Sydney  during  the  sittings  of 
the  Conference  of  1859,  of  which  the  late  Rev.  Steplien  Rabone  was 
president,  and  was  appointed  to  the  Xewtown  Circuit  as  president's 
assistant.  Since  then  Mr.  Martin  has  itinerated  in  the  Gonll)nrn, 
Adelong,  Manning  River,  Waverly,  Kiama,  Morpeth,  Bonrke-street, 
Newtown,  York-street,  and  Parramatta  Circuits.  Nine  years  ago  he 
became  editor  of  the  "  Advocate,"  the  organ  of  the  Wesley  an  Church 
in  this  colony.  In  this  position  he  has  exerted  a  stimulating  and 
wholesome  influence  over  a  very  wide  constituency. 

As  a  preacher,  Mr.  Martin  holds  a  high  position.  An  omnivorous 
reader,  he  lays  every  field  of  literature  under  tribute.  Poetry,  philos- 
ophy, science,  history,  and  classic  story,  all  furnish  illustrations  of  his 
theme.  A  thinking  mind,  a  daring  imagination,  an  impressive  deliv- 
ery, and  a  catching  earnestness,  make  him  a  popular  and  successful 
preacher  in  all  pulpits  of  the  denomination. 


Methouism  IX  Australia,  Etc.  797 

Mr.  Martin  is  a  born  stndent.  But  for  years  past  he  has  given 
special  attention  to  scientific  studies.  Through  the  telescope  and 
througli  tlie  microscope  he  has  intelligently  and  patiently  and  rever- 
ently examined  the  works  of  God.  He  is,  therefore,  specially  qual- 
ified to  deal  with  the  burning  questions  of  this  age — the  supposed 
conflict  between  religion  and  science.  The  result  is,  that  in  these 
much  debated  fields  of  inquiry,  Mr.  Martin  has. an  unhesitating  tread, 
and  firmly  holds  the  great  doctrines  of  the  Christian  revelation. 

Rev.  James  IVatkin  is  the  oldest  Wesleyan  minister  in 
Austraha.  Fifty-two  years  have  passed  away  since,  with  two  other 
Wesleyan  missionaries,  he  left  England  in  a  South  Sea  whaling  ship 
for  the  Friendly  Islands,  He  was  privileged  with  his  colleagues  to 
see  there  one  of  the  most  remarkable  revivals  of  religion  that  the 
Christian  Church  has  ever  known.  Leaving  the  Friendly  Islands  he 
was  for  a  few  years  in  Sydney,  where  he  labored  very  effectively. 
He  was  for  a  number  of  years  in  Kew  Zealand.  He  was  an  original 
and  popular  j^reacher  in  the  active  years  of  his  ministry.  A  few  years 
ago,  in  company  with  the  Rev.  Stephen  Eabone,  he  went  as  a  deputa- 
cion  from  the  Australasian  Wesleyan  Conference  to  the  missions  in 
Polynesia.  It  was  intensely  interesting  for  him  to  revisit  the  Friendly 
Islands.  When  he  went  to  them  first  of  all,  in  1830,  their  inhabitants 
were  almost  entirely  heathen.  When  he  returned  to  them,  in  1869, 
the  idols  had  been  "  utterly  abolished."  Three  of  his  sons  are  in  the 
ministry  of  the  Australasian  AYesleyan  Methodist  Church.  One  of 
them,  the  Rev.  E.  I.  Watkin,  is  one  of  the  leading  ministers  of  the 
Victoria  and  Tasmania  Conference,  and  editor  of  the  "  Melbourne 
Spectator." 

Rev.  DsiGBiel  J.  Draper.— Mr.  Draper's  name  is  widely 
known  among  those  who  read  the  English  language.  He  has  become 
known  through  having  been  drowned  in  the  Bay  of  Biscay  by  the 
foundering  of  the  steamship  London  on  her  voyage  to  Australia. 
The  few  survivors  tell  how  he  preached  Christ  to  the  passengers  and 
crew  of  the  sinking  ship,  and  his  conduct  has  often  been  refen-ed  to  as 
a  noble  illustration  of  Christian  heroism.  He  labored  in  'New  South 
Wales,  Victoria,  and  South  Australia.  He  was  a  wise  administrator, 
and  in  the  transition  state  in  Victoria  after  the  discovery  of  gold, 
when  as  many  as  ten  thousand  immigrants  arrived  in  one  week  in 


798  Illusteated  History  of  Methodism. 

Melbourne,  he  managed  the  affairs  of  the  Church  with  great  discre- 
tion and  forethought. 

Rev.  Nathaniel  Twrner  was  a  i^ioneer  missionary  both  in 
New  Zealand  and  the  Friendly  Islands.  In  New  Zealand  he  and  his 
devoted  wife  were  in  "perils  among  the  heathen."  They  had  to 
fly  for  their  lives.  They  were  robbed  by  the  natives,  who,  not 
content  with  despoiling  the  living,  exhumed  the  dead  body  of  the 
missionary's  child  to  take  from  it  the  shroud.  After  successful  toil  in 
the  two  mission  fields,  he  had  charge  successively  of  some  of  the  most 
important  circuits  in  Tasmania  and  New  South  Wales.  "  He  was  a 
good  man,  full  of  the  Holy  Ghost  and  of  faith,  and  much  people 
through  him  were  added  unto  the  Lord." 

Rev.  John  Whiteley  was  a  missionary  in  New  Zealand  for 
thirty-eight  years,  and  labored  indefatigably.  He  possessed  great 
influence  with  the  Maories,  and  often  exposed  himself  to  great  danger 
while  endeavoring  to  make  peace  between  hostile  tribes.  He  was 
often  consulted  by  the  British  authorities  in  their  efforts  to  adjust  the 
diffrences  which  had  arisen  between  the  two  races. 

He  met  his  death  under  sad  circumstances  during  the  war  at  Tara- 
naki.  Riding  out  on  Saturday  to  the  ]^lace  where  he  intended  to 
preach  on  the  Sunday  morning,  he  was  fired  at  by  a  party  of  Maories 
and  killed. 

Rev.  Stephen  Rahone  was  one  of  the  earliest  missionaries  to 
the  Friendly  Islands.  He  rendered  valuable  services  there  by  trans- 
lating portions  of  the  Scriptures  and  other  books  into  the  Tonguese 
language.  Leaving  the  Friendly  Islands,  he  was  engaged  in  the  work 
of  the  ministry  for  more  than  twenty  years  in  New  South  "Wales. 
His  power  in  prayer  was  often  remarkable.  His  preaching  presented 
the  fruits  of  various  reading,  extensive  observation,  and  of  much  com- 
mvmion  with  God.  He  literally  died  in  his  work;  while  walking 
from  his  home  to  preach  at  Wesley  Church,  Chippendale,  Sydney,  on 
a  Sunday  evening,  he  expired  in  the  street. 

The  Rev.  John  £^^lei^ton  was  bom  in  Newark,  Notting- 
ham, England.  Aftei-  preaching  four  years  in  England  and  Scotland 
he  went  to  Australasia.  In  Hobart  Town,  Sydney,  Melbourne,  and 
Adelaide  he  preached  the  Gospel  with  great  earnestness,  eloquence, 
and  power.     Numbers  through  him  were  turned  to  the  Lord.     In  the 


Methodism  m  AustralIx^,  Etc.  799 

earlier  years  of  his  ministry  he  was  a  Boanerges.     His  sermons  were 
vigorous  expositions  of  the  trnth. 

For  a  number  of  years  he  was  General  Secretary  of  the  Australasian 
Wesleyan  Missionary  Society.  He  retired  from  the  active  work  of 
the  ministry  in  1878,  and  it  was  hoped  that  he  would  long  be  spared 
to  beneht  the  Church  with  his  ripened  wisdom.  God  had  ordered  it 
otherwise.  lie  presided  at  a  foreign  missionary  meeting  one  evening, 
and  early  next  morning  was  smitten  with  unconsciousness,  which  con- 
tinued until  he  died  the  following  day.  No  dying  testimony  was 
needed  from  hnn.  He  had  been  for  half  a  century  a  living  witness  of 
the  power  and  sufficiency  of  divine  grace. 

Rev.  J.  ^.  ^Wails'!!,  D.l>.— Dr.  Waugh  is  the  son  of  an  Irish 
Wesleyan  minister.  He  studied  at  Trinity  College,  Dublin.  He 
entered  the  ministry  at  an  early  age,  and  traveled  for  a  few  years  on 
circuits  in  Ireland.  He  went  to  Australia  in  1854,  and  was  in  the 
itinerant  work  for  several  years.  In  1868  he  was  appointed  president 
of  Weslev  College,  Melbourne,  Victoria.  That  office  he  still  retains. 
He  is  an  able  preacher,  a  sound,  and  widely-read  theologian.  For 
many  years  he  has  been  the  Theological  Tutor  or  Professor  of  Di 
vinity  of  the  Theological  Institution  at  Wesley  College,  Melbourne, 
for  training  students  for  the  ministry.  Two  American  universities— 
the  Indiana  Asbury  and  the  University  of  Michigan— conferred  on 
him  the  title  of  Doctor  of  Divinity.  Doctor  Cocker,  of  the  Univer- 
sity of  Michigan,  was  many  years  ago  a  local  preacher  in  an  Austra- 
lian circuit  of  which  Dr.  Waugh  was  the  superintendent. 

Rev.  John  Watsforcl.— There  is  no  man  in  Australasian  Meth- 
odism m.re  widely  known,  or  who  has  been  more  extensively  useful, 
than  the  Rev.  John  Watsford.  He  is  a  native  of  Parramatta,  Is^ew 
South  Wales,  and  was  the  first  Australian-born  Methodist  who  entered 
the  ministry.  For  a  few  years  he  was  a  missionary  in  Fiji,  where  he 
was  the  colleague  of  John  Hunt.  Wherever  he  has  labored  the  hand 
of  the  Lord  has  been  with  him. 

God  has  made  him  wise  to  win  souls.  Few  men  have  ever  made 
more  stirring  missionary  speeches  than  he  has  done.  The  story  which 
he  has  told  of  cannibal  Fiji,  and  of  what  he  saw  there  of  the  triumphs 
of  the  Gospel,  has  thrilled  many  a  congregation.  He  was  chosen  as 
one  of  the  representatives  of  the  Australasian  Wesleyan  Methodist 


800  Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 

Church  to  tlic  (Ecumenical  Council,  in  London.  For  several  years  he 
has  been  the  General  Secretary  of  the  Wesleyan  Home  Missionary  So- 
ciety in  Victoria,  His  powerful  preaching  and  fervent  and  eloquent 
platform  addresses  admirably  lit  him  for  that  position. 

Rev.  W,  Kelyiiaek,  H.l^. — Dr.  Kelynack  is  a  native  of 
Cornwall.  He  was  received  as  a  probationer  by  the  British  Wesleyan 
Conference,  and  was  appointed  to  Australia.  His  stated  ministry  has 
been  confined  to  New  South  Wales.  In  any  country  he  would  have 
taken  a  front  rank  position  among  pulpit  orators.  He  is  a  brilliant 
rhetorician  and  a  finished  elocutionist.  Had  he  remained  in  England 
he  would  have  been  worthy  to  stand  by  the  side  of  William  Morley 
Punshon.  He  has  a  very  high  reputation  as  a  lecturer.  He  is  now 
the  General  Secretary  of  the  Australasian  We'sleyan  Foreign  Mission- 
ary Society.  In  addition  to  his  brilliancy  as  a  preacher,  platform 
speaker,  and  lecturer,  he  is  a  very  able  administrator.  The  University 
of  New  Orleans  conferred  on  him  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Divinity. 

Rev.  Joseph  H.  Fleteher. — Mr.  Fletcher  is  the  son  of  a 
Wesleyan  missionary  who  was  for  a  number  of  years  in  the  West 
Indies.  He  was  educated  at  Kingswood  School.  Entering  tlie  Wes- 
leyan ministry  he  was  appointed  to  the  presidency  of  Wesley  College, 
Aukland,  New  Zealand.  After  being  in  that  position  for  some  years 
he  labored  in  New  Zealand  and  Queensland  as  a  circuit  minister.  His 
sermons  are  remarkable  for  their  high  intellectual  character  and  their 
deep  spirituality.  For  some  years  he  has  been  President  of  Stanmore 
Wesleyan  College,  Sydney.  Stanmore  College  takes  the  firit  position 
amone  the  educational  institutions  of  New  South  Wa'es. 

Rev.  Joseph  Dare,  D.D. — Dr.  Dare  was  a  native  of  Dorset- 
shire, England.  He  emigrated  to  South  Australia  when  a  youth. 
Possessed  of  a  noble  presence,  and  favored  with  a  magnificent  voice, 
he  was  a  very  attractive  preacher.  He  was  as  useful  as  he  was  popular. 
H  is  health  failed,  and  his  friends  subscribed  the  cost  of  defraying  his 
expenses  for  a  visit  to  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain. 

While  in  the  United  States  he  preached  at  Round  Lake  camp- 
meeting  a  sermon  remarkable  for  its  eloquence,  and  for  the  unction 
wdiich  attended  it.  On  his  return  to  Australia  he  was  elected  Pi'esi- 
dent  of  the  Victoria  and  Tasmania  Conference.  His  health  gradually 
declined,  and  he  died  at  the  early  age  of  forty-nine. 


Metiiodisji  in  Australia,  Etc.  801 

Presidents  of  Australasian  Conferences. — The  follow- 
ini^  is  a  list  of  the  j)residents  of  the  Australasian  Conferences  prior  to 
1872 :  Kev.  W.  B.  Boyce,  1855,  1856 ;  Rev.  J.  A.  Manton,  1857 ; 
Eev.W.  Butters,  1858;  Rev.  D.  J.  Draper,  1859;  Rev.  J.  Eggleston, 
1860;  Rev.  S.  Rabone,  1861;  Rev.  J.  Watldn,  1862;  Rev.  T.  Bud- 
die, 1863;  Rev.  J.  Biiller,  1864;  Rev.  J.  S.  Waugh,  1865;  Rev.  W. 
A.  Quick,  1866 ;  Rev.  H.  H.  Gaud,  1867 ;  Rev.  J.  Bickford,  1868 ; 
Rev.  W.  L.  Binks,  1869  ;  Rev.  G.  Hurst,  1870 ;  Rev.  J.  Watsford, 
1871 ;  Rev.  B.  Chapman,  1872  ;  Rev.  T.  Williams,  1873. 

From  1874  to  1882  the  following  is  a  list  of  the  presidents  of  the 
Annual  Conferences : 

Mew  ^outli  Wales  and  Queensland.  — Revs.  J.  H. 
Fletcher,  S.  Wilkinson,  J.  B.  Waterhouse,  W.  Clarke,  G.  Hurst,  J. 
Oram,  W.  Kelynack,  D.D.,  G.  Woolnough,  M.A.,  G.  Marten,  W. 
Moore. 

Victoria  and  Tasmania. — Revs.  J.  Cope,  J.  Harcourt,  J. 
C.  Symons,  E.  King,  J.  Dare,  S.  Williams,  J.  D.  Dodgson,  G.  Daniel, 
J.  G.  Millard,  E.  I.  Watkin. 

Houtli  Australia.— Revs.  W.  L.  Binks,  J.  Bickford,  W.  P. 
Wells,  S.  Knight,  T.  Lloyd,  C.  H.  Goldsmith,  H.  T.  Burgess,  J.  B. 
Stephenson,  R.  S.  Casely. 

New  Zealand.— Revs.  T.  Buddie,  J.  Buller,  A.  Reid,  W.  Kirk, 
J.  Crump,  W.  Morley,  W.  Lee,  J.  B.  Richardson,  J.  A.  Taylor. 

The  Rev.  J.  B.  Richardson,  who  was  President  of  the  New  Zea- 
land Conference  in  1881,  did  not  live  to  complete  his  year  of  office. 
While  on  his  way  to  the  General  Conference,  held  in  Adelaide,  in 
May,  1881,  he  was  drowned  through  the  wreck  of  a  steamer  on  the 
New  Zealand  coast.  The  Rev.  Joseph  Waterhouse,  of  the  Victoria 
and  Tasmania  Conference,  who  had  been  a  very  successful  missionary 
in  Fiji,  and  was  the  author  of  several  works  bearing  upon  mission 
work  there,  was  drowned  at  the  same  time.  Another  minister  of  the 
New  Zealand  Conference,  the  Rev.  J.  Armitage,  with  two  lay  repre- 
sentatives of  that  Conference,  Messrs.  E.  Connell  and  E.  Mitchell, 
were  also  drowned. 


CHAPTER  XXXI. 

STATISTICS-CONCLUSION. 

THE  following  litliographic  chart,  reduced  from  "Walker's  "  Statis- 
tical Atlas,"  published  under  the  authority  of  the  United  States 
Government,  to  more  fully  illustrate  the  figures  of  the  census  of  1870, 
■vdll  be  found  very  suggestive.  Later  figures  are  given  in  the  tables 
than  those  to  which  the  proportions  of  the  colored  chart  are  made  to 
correspond,  and  they  strengthen  the  statement  in  favor  of  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Church. 

GENERAL  SUMMARY  OF  METHODISTS  THROUGHOUT  THE  WORLD.* 

I.  Episcopal  Methodists  in  United  States. 

Ituierant  Local  Lay- 
Ministers.  Preachers.  Members. 

(1891).. Methodist  Episcopal 12,572  12,106  1.725.641 

(1 882).. Methodist  Episcopal.  Soutii 6,604  5,099  S60.6ST 

(ISSl) . .  African  Methodist  Episcopal 1.S32  9,T60  391,044 

(1881) . .  African  Methodist  Episcopal,  Zion 1.650  3,750  300.000 

(1879) . .  Colored  Methodist  Episcopal 638  6S3  112,300 

(1881).. Evansrelical   Association 912  611  113.871 

(1881)) . .  United  Bi-ethren 2,196                157.835 

(18S1 )..  Union  American  Methodist  Episcopal 110  22  2,600 


26,514  82,031         3,670,978 


II.  Non-Episcopai.  Methodists  in  United  States. 


(18S2).. Methodist  Protestant 1,200  1,500  190,000 

(1879).. American  Wesleyan 252  200  25,0:i0 

(1881).. Free  Methodists 271  32S  12.642 

(1879).  Primitive  Methodists 196  162  3.210 

(1879).. Independent  Methodists 24                12,550 

1,943  2,170  173,402 

III.  Methodists  in  Canada. 

(1881).. The  Methodist  Church  of  Canada 1,183  1,468  125,.372 

(ISSl) . . Methodist  Episcopal  Church  of  Canada 272  255  27.402 

(1881).. Primitive  Methodist  Church 97  270  8.218 

(1881).. Bible  Christian  Church 75  197  7.67T 

(1881) . .  British  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  (Colored) 45  20  2,100 

1,667  2,037  170,720 


IV.  Methodists  in  Great  Britain  and  Missions. 

(1881).. British  Wesleyan  Methodist  Church  in  Great  Britain.       1,910  '    18,711  411.663 

(1881)..            ''              ••             "        Missions 556  5.600  99.976 

(1881)..Primitive  Methodist  Church 1,149  15.517  185.312 

(1881).  New  Connection  Methodist 183  1.149  31.652 

(1880).. Weslevan  Reform   [Inion 18  611  7.728 

(1881).. United  Free  Methodists 432  3,403  80.663 

(1881).. Bible  Christians  (Including  Australia) 306  1,903  33.370 

4,554  46,899  850,364 

•  The  author  aclinowledges  his  obligations  to  the  Rev.  W.  H.  De  Puy,  D.D.,  fur  this  and  several  of  the  following  tables. 


m 


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<^uS8K,-;^5(,,:.-,T-'y;w4a| 

Local 

Preachers. 

1,800 
4.480 

Lay 

Member?. 

25,148 

1,879 
69.217 

6,280 

96,244 

34.201 
2,03T 

46.899 
6.280 

8,844,380 
170,720 
850,364 
96,244 

Statistics.  '  803 

V.  Wksletan  Affiliating  Conferences.  itinerant 

Minis  tei-s, 

(1881).  .Irish  "Wesleyan  Conference 245 

(1881)   .  French  Weileyan  Coiil'ereiice 31 

(1881) . .  Australasian  Conference 476 

T52 

RECAPITULATION. 

Methodists  in  Churches  in  United  States 28,4^7 

'■                      '•               Dominion  of  Canada 1,607 

'•                       •'               Great  Britain  and  Mis.sions 4,554 

'••                      ••               AtfiUating  Conferences 752 

Grand  to;al  of  Methodists  in  1881- S2 35,4;30  89,417         4,961.708 

Growth  of  whole  Lay  Membership  compared  with  that  of  Population. — Here, 
also,  the  figures  show  largely  to  the  advantage  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  Insti- 
tuting a  comparison  b}'  taking  the.  decades  corresponding  with  those  of  the  United  States 
Census  Reports,  we  have  this  interesting  table : — 

Popiihitiou,  Increase.  Gain  per  ct.  Gain  per  et. 

in  Population.  in  M.  E.  Cli. 

1790 3,929,827  

1800 5,305.937  1,376,110  35.02  12.60 

1810 7,239,814  1,933,887  36.45  168.96 

1820 9,638,191  2.398.377  33.12  48.87 

1830 12,866,020  3,227.829  33.49  83.21 

1840 17,069.453  4.203,433  32.67  68.38 

1850 23,191.876  6,122.423'  35.87                    

1860 31.443.321  8,297.685  35.78  44.20 

1870 38,558.371  7,115.050  22.62  37.47 

1880 50,152,554  11,594,183  30.08  27.26 

The  figures  showing  the  progress  of  the  Church  for  the  decade  ending  with  1850  are 
omitted,  because,  as  previously  noted,  during  that  decade  nearly  half  a  million  of  members 
fell  out  of  our  count  by  the  separation  and  organization  of  the  Methodist  Kpiscopai  Church, 
South.  It  will  be  seen  that  the  Metliodist  Episcopal  Church  has  led  the  population  in  every 
decade  from  tlie  beginning  except  two.  Taking  all  the  decades  except  the  one  in  which  the 
Southern  separation  was  effected,  the  average  increase  in  population  for  each  decade  was 
32.40,  while  that  of  our  Church  lay  membership  has  been  61.62,  or  nearly  double  that  of  the 
population  ! 

The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  the  Southern  States.* — The  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Cb.urch  began  her  reorganization  in  the  Southern  States  at  Athens,  Tenn.,  June  1, 
1865,  New  Orleans,  La.,  Dec.  25-27,  1865,  and  at  Charleston,  S.  C,  April  23,  1866.  From 
these  three  centers  the  work  spread  until  on  what  was  slave  territory,  in  the  sixteen  South- 
ern States,  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  had  in  1877  twenty-eight  Annual  Conferences, 
2,126  traveling  preachers,  and  4.202  local  preaclier.s,  of  whom  947  travehng  and  2,378  local 
preacliers  are  colored.  In  these  Conferences  there  are  4,381  Sunday-scliools  with  240,671 
scholars,  of  whicii  2,022  schools  and  96,474  scholars  are  amon'j;-  the  colored  people.  There 
are  3,877  churches,  valued  at  $8,018,076,  and  i^arsonagos  valued  at  $714,640;  total  church 
and  parsonage  property,  $8,732,716.  Of  these  1.751  churches  and  162  parsonages,  valued 
at  $1,868,593,  are  among  the  colored  people. 

Of  these  twenty-eigiit  Annual  Conferences  fourteen  are  composed  principally  of  white 
people  and  located  in  Maryland,  Virginia,  West  Virginia,  Kentucky,  Tennessee,  Alabama, 
Georgia,  Missouri,  Arkansas,  and  "Western  Texas.  In  these  are  perhaps  7,0i'>0  colored  out 
of  a  membership  of  206,204.  Covering  largely  the  same  territory  and  extending  to  all  the 
remaining  Southern  States  there  were,  in  1877,  fourteen  Conferences  composed  almost 
wholly  of  colored  ministers  and  people.  About  6.000  in  these  Conferences  are  white  people 
out  of  a  meml:)ership  of  189.803. 

♦  For  th^se  fisnres,  iiii.t  other  valiwhle  matter,  the  antlior  is  inrt«Wefl  t/i  Rev.  Dr.  J.  C.  Hartzell,  of  ^  ew  Orleans.  And  since  tlie 
date  they  beaj  i,\»''i)  till  this  time  (IS-'J)  the  progress  in  this  part  of  the  work  has  kept  pace  with  that  of  the  Church  as  a  whole. 


804 


Illustrated  History  of  Methodism. 


The  following  table  gives  the  total  Church  Membership  and  Sunday-school  Mcmliors  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  the  Southern  States,  in  1877,  in  the  twenty-eight  AnnuaJ 
Conferences: — 


Membership. 

Member."  in  Full  Connection 332,536 

Members  on  Probation 57,123 

Traveling  Preachers 2,126 

Local  Preachers 4,202 


Sundayschooh. 

Number  of  Sunday-schools 4,381 

Officers  and  Teachers 32,084 

Scholars 240,671 


Total  Membership 396,007  Whole  number  enrolled 272,75ft 

THEOLOGICAL  INSTITUTIONS  OF  THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 


NAME  OF  INSTrrUTION. 


1847  Boston  University  School  of  Theology 

18fi6  Garrett  Bitiliral  Institute 

1864  German  Wallace  College  (Theo.  DepH) 

lS6T,Drew  Theolnpicnl  Seminary 

1870  Theological  Dep't  of  Shaw  University. 
1870  Theological  Dep't  of  Central  Tenn.  Cull. 

187'2'Cent«jnary  Bitilical  Institute 

1878iThompson  BiWical  Institute 

lS75lTheological  Dep't  of  Vanderbilt  Univ 
Baker  Institute 


Boston,  Mass 

Evanoton,  111 

Berea,  Ohio 

Madison,  N.  J 

Holly  Springs,  Miss. 

Nashville.  Tenn 

Baltimore,  Md 

New  Orleans,  La 

Nashville.  Tenn . .  . . . 
Orangeburgh,  S.  C. . . 


PRJSSIDKNT. 


Wm.  F.  Warren,  S.T.D,,  LL.D. 

Oliver  Marcy 

Wm.  Nasi,  O.D 

J.  F.  Ilursi,  D.n 

Rev.  W.  W.  Hooper,  A.M 

John  Br.ulen,  D.D 

Rev.  J.  E.  Round,  M. A 

W.  D.  Godman,  D.D 

L.  C.  Garland,  LL.D 

Edward  Cooke,  D.D 


lOS 
70 
19 

104 
14 
8>4 

u^ 
15 
.S9 
40 


ConolUKion. — If  the  overflow  of  Methodism  could  be  correctly  stated  the 
figures  would  he  still  more  impressive.  For  more  than  a  iiundred  years  there 
lias  Ijeen  a  steady  increase  in  tiie  memhcrship  of  other  Churches  from  people 
converted  in  Methodist  revivals.  Whatever  reasons,  social,  domestic,  or  other- 
wise, may  have  led  those  Methodist  converts  to  such  a  course  of  action,  thel' 
presence  has  been  one  means  among  several  of  modif3'ing  both  the  doctrines 
taught  and  the  methods  employed  in  those  Churches  with  which  they  ha/e 
united  ;  and  to  so  great  an  extent  has  this  change  taken  place  that,  whereas  foi 
the  first  fifty  years  the  itinerant  preachers  felt  obliged  to  opi>ose  the  prevailing 
theology  of  America,  and  es])ecially  of  New  England,  there  are  now  few  sermims 
heard  in  evangelical  pulpits  which  might  not  have  been  preached  by  Methodist 
divines.  In  Methodist  tiieology  there  lias  been  no  essential  change:  it  was 
biblical  at  the  outset,  and  ought  not  to  change;  tlierefore  the  grandly-increasing 
harmony  among  Cliristians  of  ail  denominations,  while  it  is  an  unspeakable  bless- 
ing to  the  whole  Church,  is  an  especial  occasion  of  rejoicing  to  that  body  of 
believers  whom  the  Head  of  the  Church  has  made  the  chief  instrument  in 
accomplishing  this  result. 

Thanks  be  to  God  for  his  unspeakable  goodness  1  May  he  still  find  use  lor 
U3  in  working  out  his  purposes  of  mercy,  and  may  he  give  us  grace  humbly  to 
remember,  that  "Except  the  Lord  build  the  house,  they  labor  in  vain  that  build 
it:  except  the  Lord  keep  the  city,  the  watchman  waketh  but  in  vain.'' 


THE    END. 


INDEX  TO  CHAPTER  XXX. 


PAGE 

Australia.  Continent  of. 782 

Australasian  Conference 789 

Australasian  Conference,  Presidenis  of. .  801 

Dare,  Rev.  Josepli.  D.D 801 

Draper,  Rev.  Daniel  J 798 

Eggleston,  Rev.  John 799 

Fiji 793 

Fletcher,  Rev.  Joseph  H 800 

Friendly  Islanders 793 

Gold,  Discovery  of. 787 

Kelynack,  Rev,  "W.,  D.D 800 

Leigh,  Samuel  , 783 

Maories,  The 791 


PAOE 

Martin,  Rev.  George 79G 

New  Zealand 791 

Polynesia 793 

Portuguese  Claim 783 

Rabone,  Rev.  Stephen 798 

South  Sea  Missions 795 

Statistics 789 

Tasmania,  Island  of 785 

Thakombau,  Conversion  of 795 

Turner,  Rev.  Nathaniel 798 

Watkin,  Rev.  James 797 

Watsford,  Rev.  John 799 

Waugh,  Rev.  J.  S.,  D.D 799 

Whiteley,  Rev.  John 798 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


PAGa 

Kelynack,  Rev.  W.,  D.D • 790 

Martin,  Rev.  George 786 

"Watkin,  Rev.  E.  1 794 

Watkin,  Rev.  James 784 

Watsford,  Rev.  John 782 

Waugh,  Rev.  J.  S.,  D.D 783 


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